The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

This is my first ever phonograph. I was in the thrift store Savers shortly before Christmas and while I generally favor mid-century modern pieces, I couldn’t pass this up. I took it home for $49.99. When I shared it with my friends and co-workers they were very interested in the resale value but I don’t think it is worth very much. Besides, I just got it home and am not thinking of parting with it.

It is a Columbia Grafonola floor model but I don’t know the model. I’m thinking it is a later model since it has the tone control knob on the side. Earlier ones seem to have the knobs on the louvers themselves. I hope my online research of old catalogs and ads helps me narrow it down. I have many anti-Apple friends so I've been unable to get the ibooks/ebook version of the Columbia Phonograph Companion Vol 2.

The cabinet condition is fair. There are areas of chipped veneer, scratches and gouges, and stains on the lid. The mechanics, the crank, motor, turntable are all working. I haven’t tried to play 78s yet because I don't want to damage a vintage record until I know what I am doing.

I wish I had taken more time to prep it for transport to my house but I was by myself and the teenage kid who helped me load it into my car wanted the chore done. The turntable and deck rattled around a little and a couple more scratches were made on the underside of the lid but thankfully nothing was severely damaged.

I can't afford a professional restorer so the focus now is cleaning. I spent the slow holiday work weeks researching online and reading this forum for tips. Following an expedition to 5 different stores to find the non-pumice GoJo I began tackling the cabinet on New Years Day. I haven’t touched anything under the lid yet. I’m hesitant to take anything apart to clean it for fear of damaging it.

The attached photos were all taken the night I brought it home. I'll keep updating this thread with my progress since I love documenting it with photos (even amateur cell phone photographs).

Any tips and encouragement would be greatly appreciated.

Amrose, Welcome to the Forum. You will find many friendly people here and they range from new collectors to long time collectors. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Your Grafonola looks like a worthy and fairly easy project. One issue with Columbia Grafonolas is the tone arm. The joint is made from pot metal and frequently swells. The tone arm should move freely both side to side as well as up and down. If yours is stiff, it will need some attention. There are threads pertaining to this issue. Hopefully, yours does not suffer from this problem. Jerry Blais

Jerry, thank you for the kind welcome.

The tone arm moves freely, up and down, and side to side. I'm concerned about cleaning it and figuring out how to remove the reproducer to avoid damage but I'll research that more once I'm done with the exterior of the cabinet.

Welcome to the forum. You have a Columbia model K-2 from 1918. It's a good solid machine. For #49.99, that was a good deal. Good luck with your first machine.
Harvey Kravitz

Glad to see you got your first machine, however be aware that it is a slippery slope to addiction...

As far a cleaning goes, if you can't find GoJo without pumice, GOOP works well and is available cheap at WalMart... One more thing, don't be afraid to clean and work on it, as the more you do the more familiar you become. Most of these machines were overbuilt and that's why they lasted so long - if your tonearm is free, you are well on your way. The reproducer removes by rotating it and then pulling it off to the right - a little oil might help if its been in the same position for years.

Welcome to forum. As was mentioned earlier, this is a very addictive hobby. Start making room in your house now for more machines, many more machines.

I am sure you are anxious to play a record. Lesson 1 is needles. Steel needles will only provide 1 or 2 sides of play then they should be discarded. The needle tip wears which will cause record wear. Needles are available from APSCO and Wyatts Musical Americana and a few other places.

The vast majority of old records are not worth much, a few cents, so if you have an old record that looks like it is in poor shape and you recognize the artists name, you could play it once or twice while you are waiting for your needles to arrive.

The cabinet should clean up nicely. Take a look at this thread which provides a beginning restoration how to http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... ?f=7&t=146

Whatever you do, do not attempt to refinish the cabinet. Popular consensus is that an original finish in poor condition is worth more than a refinished cabinet in any condition.

A great book for the beginning and experienced collector is "The Compleat Talking Machine". A lot of good information.

Don't be afraid of anything and keep asking questions. Take pictures of your journey and post them to the board.

Hi Amrose, and welcome to the forum!

You've received excellent advice already. Once you've completed your exterior cleanup, you can remove the motor and do a quick lubrication. It's pretty straightforward and should take about 5 minutes. Let us know when you're ready and someone will walk you through it.

There are a number of introductory articles on the Antique Phonograph Society website which may be interesting/useful for you. This one in particular will help you avoid common newbie mistakes:

http://www.antiquephono.org/basic-antiq ... onal-tips/

If your records look clean and shiny, you can probably play them without undue damage. If they're dirty, they really should be cleaned. That too is easy, and by using the "Search" function at the bottom of this page (try "cleaning records") you'll find lots of suggestions that have been made over the past few years.

Just ask questions when you're ready!

George P.

Welcome and congratulations on your first machine !


In addition to what others have said about your machine, I will add that those oval-shaped medallions at the top of each pilaster (front leg/pillar) suggest a Sheraton or Adam influence ( 18th Century )... this is the first Columbia I've seen with that type of cabinet ornament. Might not influence value, but I like it !


I've been actively collecting talking machines for about 30 years now, and these last few years have been exploring the Columbia world.

Enjoy !

What a welcome. This really is a nice group.

Phonofreak wrote:You have a Columbia model K-2 from 1918. It's a good solid machine. For #49.99, that was a good deal. Good luck with your first machine.

I found an auction listing for a K-2 online and thought it very close to mine but couldn't be certain. Thank you for the confirmation.

Brad wrote:Lesson 1 is needles. Steel needles will only provide 1 or 2 sides of play then they should be discarded. The needle tip wears which will cause record wear.

The machine did come with needles in the lone surviving needle cup but I'm not sure how to tell if they are new or used. Again, even if the vintage records are inexpensive I don't want to needlessly destroy them.

De Soto Frank wrote:In addition to what others have said about your machine, I will add that those oval-shaped medallions at the top of each pilaster (front leg/pillar) suggest a Sheraton or Adam influence ( 18th Century )... this is the first Columbia I've seen with that type of cabinet ornament. Might not influence value, but I like it !

I have been comparing those medallions to every ad I found online and haven't found a match. That was one of the reasons I wasn't sure about the model number. I'm pleased to hear I have a rare design.

Progress photos: The first thing I worked on was the crank. Spent about an hour on it and more is required.

Amrose wrote: The machine did come with needles in the lone surviving needle cup but I'm not sure how to tell if they are new or used. Again, even if the vintage records are inexpensive I don't want to needlessly destroy them.

If you find loose needles in a machine, you should assume they are used. Many machines have one or two open cups and a cup with a cover with a small opening. The new needles would go in the open cups and the discards in the covered cup.

I would not worry too much about one or two plays on a used needle, others may disagree but you can quickly find yourself with more records than you know what to do with and more then half of them will not meet your musical tastes.