The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Does anyone know if the metal parts on the Victor wood traveling arms for front mount machines were nickel plated? I am restoring a machine and would like to know.
Thanks!
Dave

Yes...

Thanks, Curt! They always seem to have a light layer of rust on them when I see them, so I wondered if they were unplated steel.
Dave

Early Victor products had the lightest coating of nickel so therefore does not hold up well over time. The type of nickel plating used at that time is not generally used in the industry today. Most plating companies today use nickel plating with brighteners rendering the finished product like a chrome finish. Most plating that was done over a hundred years ago needed to be buffed to bring it up to shine.

The rust can be cleaned off and the parts can be polished with a buffing wheel and jewelers rouge. They will look nickel plated again, after polishing.

Thanks, guys, for all the information.
Dave D