The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Now that I have finished dealing with my Full-o-Tone cabinet gramophone http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... 11&t=18908 I have (after a bit of a rest from gramophones while I got on with a few other things) turned my attention to an Edison Diamond disc machine I have had for some years. It is in good working order, but the cabinet is very much the worse for wear (it was in poor condition when I bought it and my efforts so far have been restricted to making sure it didn't deteriorate further). The varnish is beyond recall, having gone opaque over a lot of the woodwork and is flaking off some parts, particularly the legs. A previous owner has obviously used it as a pot plant stand for a number of years, and the plywood on the lid is in a bad way as a result.

Here it is:

Howard's Restor-a-finish can work wonders on something in that condition, though you'll probably still have to apply shellac afterwards.

Your machine appears to have the long play gearing. Do you have the correct long play reproducer and records for it?

this is a pretty uncommon model, and it's amazing that it found its way to australia and the cabinet has remained in such excellent condition. I used to have one, but sold it during a move... mine was one of the latest machines produced, and I bought it from the family - then still in central NJ - of the original owner, a woman who worked in the edison factory, where she obtained the machine and dozens of fairly rare records in addition to some great dealer advertising material.

be careful with that finish, though... I think this model typically had one of those weathered ones, overlying something like walnut... I forget the official name, flemish something or other, but it's in the frow book. some cleaners and possibly the restore a finish or whatever it's called could actually destroy that original weathered effect, so maybe try it on a very small part first. I'd also try looking for some other cleaner examples online to get a better sense of what this is supposed to look like (even when new, it was never bright and shiny like the standard ones).

I agree with the others. You've got a relatively rare model with a long play attachment no less! I'd clean that finish and see what it looks like. Could come out really nice without much work at all.

Frow says this about the cabinet: "Walnut, finished in French grey. From January 1926, finished in varnished walnut."

Frow also notes it was never a good seller, with over 1400 cabinets in stock when it was discontinued in 1927.

that's it, french gray. his looks like the one I had, which appears grayish (obviously) and dull with an underlying walnut grain that seems to beg for polishing... but doing that improperly, too vigorously or with the wrong materials can actually result in just removing the "french gray" to leave just a more basic, relatively untreated walnut. again, I just say proceed with caution.

I'm sure you already know this, but just for the record, your grille is on upside down. The points, or arrows if you will, should be pointing upwards. You have a very rare Edison DD machine there in nice condition! In fact, I've never actually seen one in person and I've seen hundreds of DD machines.

52089 wrote:Howard's Restor-a-finish can work wonders on something in that condition, though you'll probably still have to apply shellac afterwards.

I did try using Howard's Restor-a-finish on the two sides and one of the legs - in fact I spent several hours in the attempt. The finish is too far gone and, although there was a slight improvement, it still left quite a bit to be desired. The state of the finish is a lot worse than is suggested by the photographs.

52089 wrote:Your machine appears to have the long play gearing. Do you have the correct long play reproducer and records for it?

Yes it does have long play gearing. The machine came with the standard Diamond Disc head, a Long Play head and a 78 rpm head. The two heads not being used are mounted in a stand fixed on the inside to the rear of the cabinet. Unfortunately I don't have a long play record to test it with but, purely from a close visual inspection, the head seems to be in near new condition, except for some of the plating having worn off (as has also happened to the standard head).

marcapra wrote:I'm sure you already know this, but just for the record, your grille is on upside down. The points, or arrows if you will, should be pointing upwards.

No, I didn't realise that. The way you see it in the photograph is how it was when I bought it. I'll have to turn it the other way and see what it looks like.....

I usually don't just say stuff like "your grille is upside down" without giving you a credible source to check. If you have a copy of the George Frow book, Edison Disc Phonographs, you can see an Edison factory illustration on the L-19 on page 153. Also here is a pic on the Internet:

http://thumbs.worthpoint.com/nGSEZWpb9M ... 829580.jpg