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Well, I have dismantled the ebay class m. I clearly need info on motor wiring. The locking eye bolt from the gate broke in shipping, anyone with that part, who could part with it would be very helpful. Also, any thoughts on the "taglessness" of the motor plate? the pits in the motor plate do not seem to be from a removed one... Ive seen up to 3, but never none. Any and all comments welcome.

I should add that i do not consconsider the scissors pictured there to be a "universal phonograph repair tool"

Scary to look at all torn apart, but it will be a wonder once you have it restored. I can't wait to see the final result.

Dan

With the source for Class M parts being almost non-exisrant..

This resto is not for the faint of heart....

)

Tony K.

Edison Collector/Restorer

daverob wrote:I should add that i do not consconsider the scissors pictured there to be a "universal phonograph repair tool"

why not?? its a perfect tool to cut stuff in case stuff needs to be cut, it could be? there's always stuff in need of cutting. but beware not to cut the wrong stuff! you could for instance cut your hair so it wont get in stuff, you could cut your nails so you wont scratch stuff, you can cut your fingers so you can't touch stuff, you can stick in in your eyes so you can't see stuff, or you can slam it trough your neck so that you can never do stuff again!.
so you see its a very useful tool those scissors tino

I use them to cut my new replacement Leather belts.... Does that count??

)

I see a Diamond B reproducer (or as we apparently call them 'round this forum, "Lenin-Tone" Reproducers) and a horizontal carriage... Is this a 4-minute Class M? That seems like a bit of an anachronism.

I believe it is... take a look at the photo showing the pulley-end of the mandrel - there's an spur-gear there, as well as a "sun gear" on the pulley-end mandrel bearing.

Quite the outfit - a Bettini "Micro-Attachment" for 2-minute, and the Diamond B for Blue Amberols....

Thanks for the comments. Pretending this clarification question would be for the sake of others in the forum and not myself, do these most recent comments suggest that this machine was retrofitted by its owner as time went on?

I assume it would be desirable to find all of the "factory parts"? Or is this type of thing acceptable. I ultimately know that preference plays a role. That being said, I like to think of these ancient machines being used for the first time and everything in front of me being just how it was when being used pre 1900, as though the proper conditions might just somehow make edison appear behind me. Uh, and maybe he can grant me 3 wishes.

daverob wrote:I assume it would be desirable to find all of the "factory parts"? Or is this type of thing acceptable. I ultimately know that preference plays a role.

Dave,
Were it mine, I would probably try to simply clean it gently and make it function as-is. (At least for now.) It looks like parts have been added and subtracted over the years. That's not too surprising considering how expensive they were. Obviously, an early owner would want to upgrade as time went on. On the other hand, perhaps the upgrades came as a result of a collector's earlier restoration. It's a fairly rare machine so genuine parts were (and are) hard to come by.

In either case, the upgrades represent the machine's history which is also very cool. If the 2&4 minute setup can be made to work, you'll have the most awesome daily user ever. Anyway, that's my gut reaction. Good luck with the project. I'll be interested in seeing your progress.

Happy 4th!

Martin