The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Here is a difficult issue. Being offered this "L" door in mahogany for a very cheap price. The case has a few dings,etc.... also, no crank (not a big deal) and a spring(s) is broken. If I buy it, I will more than likely part it out. Comments??.

if you buy it, it will be yours... so feel free to do what ever you want.
also remember that if no machines were parted out, there would be no way to find original parts.

but I agree it's not a fun decision.

you can always debate the dichotomy between absolute ownership (it's yours, do with it whatever you want) and historical stewardship (it has made it this long and will outlive you, so be a responsible caretaker for the next owner)... but I don't know why anyone would want to part out such an apparently complete machine that's by no means a basket case (unless there's some serious damage that isn't apparent in the photo).

I would really hate to see a pretty good L-door die to parting out and would not do it personally, but as someone else mentioned, it is your machine.

Clay

It was cheap 'cause no one wants it ! The bits are worth more and will probably save a lot more better machines from the scrap heap !

soundgen wrote:It was cheap 'cause no one wants it ! The bits are worth more and will probably save a lot more better machines from the scrap heap !

sure, the condition really could be horrific (despite the photo that suggests otherwise), but it may just be cheap because the seller doesn't know any better or doesn't care. I just saw an extremely clean, standard door very early model XVI (with the forward positioned crank and more elaborately decorated corners) in oak on craigslist locally listed for what I thought was a very low price - it was gone within a couple of days before I could pick it up (I think the seller just really wanted it out).

brianu wrote:

soundgen wrote:It was cheap 'cause no one wants it ! The bits are worth more and will probably save a lot more better machines from the scrap heap !

sure, the condition really could be horrific (despite the photo that suggests otherwise), but it may just be cheap because the seller doesn't know any better or doesn't care. I just saw an extremely clean, standard door very early model XVI (with the forward positioned crank and more elaborately decorated corners) in oak on craigslist locally listed for what I thought was a very low price - it was gone within a couple of days before I could pick it up (I think the seller just really wanted it out).

But how many cabinets can a collector collect or would want ? They sold in their hundreds who has the space for more than a few ?

then maybe he can pass it along, make some money reselling it to someone else who wants it as it is and has room, and then perhaps use the profit to buy the parts he needs from vollema, ebay or whereever. I don't know, we can go back and forth, I just always find it tragic when decent relatively complete machines, especially the less common ones, are parted out. but I know that not everyone feels that way.

brianu wrote:then maybe he can pass it along, make some money reselling it to someone else who wants it as it is and has room, and then perhaps use the profit to buy the parts he needs from vollema, ebay or whereever. I don't know, we can go back and forth, I just always find it tragic when decent relatively complete machines, especially the less common ones, are parted out. but I know that not everyone feels that way.

I have and I know other dealers who have many cabinet gramophones , we can't sell them even for pennies , even on Ebay they fetch very little
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-Very-rare-C ... 1c35d332ce

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HIS-MASTERS-V ... 33848db7ba

soundgen wrote:

brianu wrote:then maybe he can pass it along, make some money reselling it to someone else who wants it as it is and has room, and then perhaps use the profit to buy the parts he needs from vollema, ebay or whereever. I don't know, we can go back and forth, I just always find it tragic when decent relatively complete machines, especially the less common ones, are parted out. but I know that not everyone feels that way.

I have and I know other dealers who have many cabinet gramophones , we can't sell them even for pennies , even on Ebay they fetch very little
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-Very-rare-C ... 1c35d332ce

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HIS-MASTERS-V ... 33848db7ba

Humm. Well L-doors still bring pretty good money here in the colonies--at least when offered in large population centers where there are buyers who don't have to drive long distances to acquire them. These are not just your everyday run-of-the-mill uprights. Now those do go begging more and more.

Clay