The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I asked this question a couple years ago but there were no replies so I'll throw it out there again.

I have a concert mandrel made out of aluminum which shows minimum wear. It came with the machine when I purchased it over 10 years ago and the seller said it was original.

I have include two picture of this and was wondering if there is a way to authenticate if this is an original or a reproduction.
I suppose in this case the minimum wear is probably not an issue as sliding a wax cylinder onto a metal mandrel would not create any friction.


Thanks in advance

Gary Blizzard

bump??? any ideas out there??

blizz

Gary,

My guess is that it's a reproduction. This based on the weird step on the mandrel hub, as shown in your second photo.

Thanks Jerry..

Does any member have a picture of an original that they could post so I could make some comparison.. Sure would appreciate it.

Thanks in advance

fmblizz

Here's what I have always believed to be an original mandrel. The outside is very smooth no signs of any machine or tooling marks. The center hub looks like it is one piece with the mandrel(I don't know if it is) The inside shows machine and tooling marks and again the center hub looks like it is one piece with the mandrel. Best Regards, Larry

Thanks so much Larry for the pictures. That is exactly what I was looking for.

I hope there are some others out there that will contribute..

Gary Blizzard
fmblizz