The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Both bodies are in good condition, one still has it's original diaphragm but one is missing it's diaphragm and both are missing their stylus bars

£40 gbp + shipping

Those both look like the typical recorder
hulks that are very common.

Yes. What you see there is the starting point to
use for rebuilding recorders.

From that starting point, a person can then learn
about how to make the stylus mounting bar out of
thin copper or aluminum. Then, one can start learning
about obtaining a proper sapphire cutter.

After those ingredients are found, then one can learn
how to make the gaskets, how to seal them using beeswax,
and then how to mount stylus and holder assembly to diaphragm.

There are, of course, some shortcuts to all of these
things. One can (for example) substitute any of
a variety of materials and shapes for the genuine
"cupped point" ground and polished .040 inch diameter
sapphire rod type recorder cutters.

"Results may vary".

But these two recorder bodies shown here are two
perfectly good starting points on the way toward
having 2 decent working recorders.

bump

Kirtley, I might be interested in a recorder if you don't mind selling one. I'm working on fixing up an Edison Standard, Model A, originally able to record, and need a recorder head. However, all I really need is one!

I'm living in Texas.

PS. Hope your little HMV 101 front-wind turned out, however you decided to fix it up. Anything with a No. 4 soundbox is really a cool machine--I wish that reproducer was more common over here!

still available

These recorders are still for sale

I think new recording stili will be available soon, and at a reasonable price. I installed last week a brand new .039" in diameter cupped center sapphire I will let you know more after tests,My first tests of the stylus seem bright and clear. I am not making them, however a fellow collector and lapidary expert is working on them. Stay tuned!

edisonphonoworks wrote:I think new recording stili will be available soon, and at a reasonable price. I installed last week a brand new .039" in diameter cupped center sapphire I will let you know more after tests,My first tests of the stylus seem bright and clear. I am not making them, however a fellow collector and lapidary expert is working on them. Stay tuned!

Good news! Please let us know. I have been looking for a good cutter stylus for a few years for one of my recorders. However, the other problem is making the holder for the cutter, I have made many attempts and I just don't have that knack for making them.

Once the cutter and cutter holder is perfected by one or more people and available for sale, there should be a good market for all of these recorder bodies out there. Recording is interesting, but I am not sure if it is as popular with collectors as just listening. I have made some decent recordings playing around. I never owned a shaver, but I did use kerosene on felt to "erase" the recording.

Victrolacollector wrote:However, the other problem is making the holder for the cutter, I have made many attempts and I just don't have that knack for making them.

this might be of service: