The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I found a nice looking Edison Home on Ebay, the seller is located in the same country as I am, so I am a little tempted. It seems to have a serious problem with the speed, though, it sounds terrible! What could it be? Lubricating problems, something wrong with the governor?

http://cgi.ebay.nl/EDISON-HOME-FONOGRAF ... 414d8742d6

To me it sounds like either a lubrication problem, or the half nut is riding on the feed screw too heavily & needs to be backed off a little. This could mean that the half nut is a little worn & they've done it to make sure the carriage moves properly, but from memory a new half nut is only about $15.

My first guess is the half nut riding too heavily as Shane suggested. I have also seen similar behavior from a stiff belt and the idler pulley not putting a sufficient and constant pressure on the belt which could be due to a sticking idler pulley arm, sticking idler pulley, or a weak, broken, or missing idler pulley spring.

It looks like a very clean machine, though the price seems a bit high to me (though I am not familiar with the prices in Europe).

I'd agree with Brad & Shane. It's probably a combbination of things, nothing that a good cleaning would not cure along with possibly a new half-nut.

And of course the horn is new

Guido is an expert phonograph dealer, and I would expect that he had taken care of all of the minor problems before offering the machine for sale. The early Home machines tended to be a trifle underpowered, and the springs used in them were not of the best alloy. In a worst-case scenario, one might need to replace the main spring.

Guido purchased a great many machines at last November's Stanton's auction, for common Edison machines were selling cheaply. I believe that this may be one of his November purchases. If my memory serves me correctly, this would be one of the nicer "Long Homes" that I've seen of late.