Update: VE XVIII Circassian Walnut-- "in the wild" find
Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2019 10:12 pm
Hi All- Last Fall I was fortunate to be able to purchase a Circassian Walnut, VE-XVIII that had been in a small warehouse type building on "display" for the past 50+ years. I posted info and a plea for assistance in my original posts-- here is a link to the original thread for those who may want to see it.
http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... n+the+wild
I am pleased to report that "I" have finished the restoration and wanted to post some pics-- I put "I" in quotations because without lots of help from forum members and others, the restoration would not be complete. Many offered tips and links to info pages-- I'm a greasy spring guy, so delving in to this "lectricity thing" was a new experience for me. It's always hard to list everyone that helps with a project because inevitably someone gets left out- But those who were most involved in this restoration were:
1) Chuck Azzalina who rebuilt the early Universal Electric motor. It runs smoothly and quietly-
2) Nick Greer--antique restorer and conservator from Purcellville, VA. Nick has done restoration work for the Smithsonian as well as furniture restoration for congressional offices. He did a masterful job repairing a few veneer chips,fabricating a few small pieces of the door beading, repairing and blending a little water damage on the lid, cleaning the original finish and french polishing the machine. Though the original finish was mostly intact, he was very careful to preserve the originality of the piece. I didn't want it super glossy and I couldn't be happier with his work.
3) Geoff Shearer, a close friend and radio collector. Geoff was extremely helpful in checking out the wiring and resistors, giving me the confidence to move forward. We tested the original wiring in numerous places and found it to be in remarkably good condition. Only after his help did I decide to preserve the original wiring harness. It is functioning perfectly.
I did some of the more minor work- I fixed the lid switch which turns on the light when the lid is raised. I supplied the rebuilt gold Exhibition reproducer and replaced the tonearm with one that had better gold plating than the one that came with the machine. I cleaned all the gold plated parts using Jerry B's suggestion of ammonia, cleaned the resistors, and I re-soldered a loose part on the light bulb cartridge.
So- I take little credit for this restoration-- but it is indeed one of my most satisfying projects in nearly 43 years of collecting. Please enjoy the pictures.
Brad Abell
http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... n+the+wild
I am pleased to report that "I" have finished the restoration and wanted to post some pics-- I put "I" in quotations because without lots of help from forum members and others, the restoration would not be complete. Many offered tips and links to info pages-- I'm a greasy spring guy, so delving in to this "lectricity thing" was a new experience for me. It's always hard to list everyone that helps with a project because inevitably someone gets left out- But those who were most involved in this restoration were:
1) Chuck Azzalina who rebuilt the early Universal Electric motor. It runs smoothly and quietly-
2) Nick Greer--antique restorer and conservator from Purcellville, VA. Nick has done restoration work for the Smithsonian as well as furniture restoration for congressional offices. He did a masterful job repairing a few veneer chips,fabricating a few small pieces of the door beading, repairing and blending a little water damage on the lid, cleaning the original finish and french polishing the machine. Though the original finish was mostly intact, he was very careful to preserve the originality of the piece. I didn't want it super glossy and I couldn't be happier with his work.
3) Geoff Shearer, a close friend and radio collector. Geoff was extremely helpful in checking out the wiring and resistors, giving me the confidence to move forward. We tested the original wiring in numerous places and found it to be in remarkably good condition. Only after his help did I decide to preserve the original wiring harness. It is functioning perfectly.
I did some of the more minor work- I fixed the lid switch which turns on the light when the lid is raised. I supplied the rebuilt gold Exhibition reproducer and replaced the tonearm with one that had better gold plating than the one that came with the machine. I cleaned all the gold plated parts using Jerry B's suggestion of ammonia, cleaned the resistors, and I re-soldered a loose part on the light bulb cartridge.
So- I take little credit for this restoration-- but it is indeed one of my most satisfying projects in nearly 43 years of collecting. Please enjoy the pictures.
Brad Abell
