New Edison

[txhog]

Heres a new Machine I recently bought off a seller in USA, ive been interested in these for a while but had never seen one. Also have been talking to "Gramaphoneshane" a memebr here who lives in Brisbane Australia just down the road from me so will pop by for a visit as he knows his stuff and would be interesting to see his collection and meet him. I do building inspections on hundreds of homes and never have spotted one in or under a house so appear not very common in Brisbane.

Its a 2 minute C reproducer. As Shane pointed out to me it has a aftermarket Model A decal on in but its a model B.I think the Wax cylinders may not like humid conditions but ill see how they go, I bought a few more but would be pity after all these years and they mould up or damage in Australia climate.

Im pretty happy with it but ill have to be carefull and not to get addicted to the collection hobby

[Brad]

Welcome to the board and to the hobby Txhog,

Your standard is very nice looking and is very clean. I am sure you will enjoy it. My first cylinder machine was a standard and I still play it regularly.

There was a thread on the board about the proper environmental conditions to store cylinders. Check out http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... 49&start=0

I don't think you have any hope of not getting addicted once you visit Shane

Please feel welcome to jump in and participate here on the board.

Happy New Year!

[SonnyPhono]

Nice Standard! That was also my first phonograph. I look forward to reading more about your finds!

[txhog]

I got some nice wax cylinders of Ebay in America this week and they brought the machine to life as they are pretty good quality.

Also spoke to Vulcan Records in England who make new ones, she was very helpfull and sent 2, a Dealer edison record, and a song. They are very loud through my machine and feel pretty strong an like them also.

The Edison Dealer cylinder really showed how fast my machine was playing and was easy to adjust speed down to make it near perfect. It even seems clearer and nice speed than some vids on youtube of "i am the edison" cylinder.

Id recommend Vulcan England if you want some cylinders to play and not wear old classic ones.

[estott]

If humid conditions aren't good for your cylinders maybe you can store them with a dessicant like Silica Gel?

[txhog]

Yeah, I got some of those the other day to see how they go.

[martinola]

Hi txhog.

Standard Bs are real workhorses. I especially like the spring mounted motor in that it makes for quieter operating. Although you have a replacement Banner decal, the Banner was found on early model B machines at least up to serial # 340884 and possibly up to 343000. (The last example I have of the Banner on my data sheet is 340884 and the first example I have of the Edison case decal is 343762.) Enjoy the machine!

Regards,

Martin

[gramophoneshane]

Martin,
Thanks for the info on the serial numbers.
It looks like I'll have to look out for a "B' case with banner decal. I bought my Standard B mechanism here in Australia, and the case with the Edison script from USA. The serial number is 320764, so it appears I need a case with the banner decal
Were all the banner B's finished in antique oak, or did some green oak cases slip through on the earliest examples?


txhog,
I'm glad your wax cylinders arrived safely from USA. I also have a couple Vulcan cylinders & was very happy with the quality.
If you intend buying more, it might be worth looking at getting some Wizard cylinders from USA next time. I believe both Wizard & Vulcan use the same masters and material to make them, and both are around the same price once you convert the currencies, but postage is considerably cheaper from US than UK.

In regards to achieving the correct speed of the machine, you'll notice there are two timing marks on the back rod which the reproducer carriage slides along.
When the machine is running at 160rpm, it should take exactly 60 secs for the carriage to move from mark to mark.

[txhog]

Although you have a replacement Banner decal, the Banner was found on early model B machines at least up to serial # 340884 and possibly up to 343000. (The last example I have of the Banner on my data sheet is 340884 and the first example I have of the Edison case decal is 343762.) Enjoy the machine!

Martin

Thanks for info, my serial number is 312458 so is in early B's

[martinola]

Hey txhog. Looks like yours is in the ballpark. (BTW: I've added your machine to my database - Thanks )

Shane, I've only been seriously collecting standard data for a couple of years now (I've got about 200 Bs on my list), so I could be wrong in this, but all of the Bs I've seen are the darker oak finish (excepting refinished machines). Does your bedplate fasten with 5 screws or with 3?

Shane and txhog: do your serial numbers have the "s" prefix?

Anyway, thank you both for helping to enable my particular lunacy.

Regards,
Martin

PS: If either of you would like an excel copy of my database, PM me with your email and I'll send it along.
-M