The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Hi everyone,
I've read that you stop a BA from continuing to crack by drilling a small hole at the base of the crack. Where do you drill this hole? On the tapered end of the cylinder?

You drill the small hole right through the celluloid at the narrow end of the crack itself.

"Compleat Talking Machine" (5th edition) describes this on p. 79.

So the hole is drilled parallel to the playing surface?

Drill it like this. The idea is that if you put a hole at the end of the crack, then the round edge of the hole resists further splitting better than the sharp corner which remains if you don't drill it. It's the same idea that keeps pen nibs from splitting.

The picture is very basic, but I think it illustrates far better than words can.

Thanks so much