The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Just found out this Phrynis gramophone in really bad condition but wich model is it?
Could someone help?
As well, should it be restored or considered as parts?
By the way, the worns loved it!
Thanks,
Jeff

Boy the woodworm had a field day with that thing!

If you can find a Phyrnis horn & all that, it would be beautiful restored. Phyrnis had a very special sort of horn & it might be hard to find one. I'd restore it if I thought I could find a tone arm and the other parts--they have a striking decal on them and are real lookers in general.

Good luck! At least the motor is not rusted.

I think it depends on just how bad the worm damage is.

If the timbers been honeycombed enough that you can push your finger through it, then I'd consider it as a parts donor, but if the cabinets still basically sound, then it's definitely worth restoring.
They're just too scarce to part out for the sake of some worm damage.
Finding a replacement cabinet will be next to impossible, so provided any further worm damage is halted, I'd be content with a few holes knowing this could be one of very few remaining examples of this particular model left.
The other parts wont be an easy find, but with time and patience they'll turn up.

You can buy wood hardeners , which soak into the wood and go really hard , they work really well on woodworm damage even "gluing" the woodworm sawdust back together and the wood can the be refinished with the surface holes filled in

I vote for restoring. It's too beautiful to be scrapped.

soundgen wrote:You can buy wood hardeners , which soak into the wood and go really hard , they work really well on woodworm damage even "gluing" the woodworm sawdust back together and the wood can the be refinished with the surface holes filled in

Well, I tried wood hardener for other projects but never really succeeded to get the same color than the original wood...
At first, I will kill the worns and clean the case to have a better view on the overall condition.

Good luck on the rescue attempts!

This model differs from the more common Phrynis as its motor does not have the lever speed control on the side of the machine, near the winder, and it does not have the colorful decal with the flags. The brake is also different from the one I have.

It will not be easy to find the arm: mine has a stepped arm (two different diameters). Phrynis soundboxes show up for sale once in a while, but beware that there are different sizes, and they are not interchangeable. You can find Phrynis horns, there was one on French ebay last week, however it is a conventionally-shaped horn. The oblong Alice in the Wonderland model that everyone associates with this brand is quite scarce.

I bought a Phrynis years ago mainly for its horn, and it's still an eye-catcher in my collection. I never play it, though, soundwise it is a pretty mediocre machine.

I will refrain from recommending keep-it or trash-it, but most likely it will be something of a lottery to find the missing parts, and will cost you more than the price of a complete machine, which does not come up for sale frequently, neither.

Well, for sure renovating this machine will be a long and maybe expensive project !
Carlos, could you post a pic showing the brake and lever speed control of your machine ? I'm lucky enough having two complete Phrynis units and their brake and lever speed control hardware are identical to the ones of my « junk » machine and at the same place.
By the way, does someone have a pic of a hill and dale Phrynis arm as I have the Phrynis adaptor  for needle records?

phonodesbois wrote: Carlos, could you post a pic showing the brake and lever speed control of your machine ?

Here they are: