The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I recently saw a facebook ad for a Brunswick Cortez. In the pictures, it looked to be in decent/good shape, but when we got there it wasnt as good as I thought. For one, the legs were sawn off which is one of the most annoying thing to find, especially on a great machine. The doors and 3 sides are in ok shape, but the lid is atrocious. I'm missing the crank, but I have taken the motorboard out and used a shorter crank in order to test. Unfortunately, it seems to crank but only up to a point, then it makes a clicking noise and doesnt crank more. My guess is that one of the springs is disconnected from its barrel arbor.

I will try to revert it to its former glory. I've collected too many projects that haven't been tackled, so I wont buy anything else until this and the 163 are complete. Does anyone know of someone who can be commissioned to reproduce wooden parts/legs?

Thanks
Martin

I can’t wait to see how it turns out. Congrats Martin!

AmberolaAndy wrote:I can’t wait to see how it turns out. Congrats Martin!

Thank you! It's an intimidating project, but it was $100 so I couldn't resist.

Martin

I can see why you bought it. It looks fine and that horn can produce some of the most amazing sounds from batwing Caruso's to hot 20s jazz! Too bad about the legs, but you still got a great machine at a great price!

The Cortez is certainly a worthy project for restoration. I saw one at a house tour a month ago and I had to ask the owner about it. She said it was her grand mothers machine and they love it. Hopefully I will find my own Cortez one day. Please keep us posted about your progress and good luck with the restoration.

Did you see the Cortez listed in the ebay section on the Forum? Looks like it has some of the legs.

I'm sure this one is headed for a brighter future. Great find, Martin.

Attempt to fix the rotten door. It turned out better than what I started with, but not as good as I'd hoped. There was a part of the wood that just wouldn't accept any stain! I tried my very best to force it to, but ended up muddying the whole corner. Either way, it's on the bottom of the inside, so I'm not going to re-do it.

Enough whining on my end, here it is.

Martin

At least you cut off the gangrene part, and now it looks 100% better.

I always try to reach for perfection when repairing damage. I wise expert in the field once told me, "You have to know when to stop." You are giving the Cortez a second life and all your efforts will not be wasted. Do what is possible and while it will continue to carry scars from an earlier life, it will live another day. Great work so far! Please keep posting your progress reports.