Edison model L reproducer with trimmed weight

[phonopal]

Any chance that the trimmed weight on this model L was factory-made? Anyone else owns a similar model L with a trimmed or trowel weight? This one plays surprisingly well with plenty of volume.

[MicaMonster]

Yes ,that is a factory trimmed weight. It was found that the full round weight would damage the black wax 4-minute Amberol cylinders. Some were sent back for an update, others were made this way.

I don’t play black wax Amberols, but find that either trowel cut or full weight L sounds great on Blue Amberols.

[phonopal]

Yes ,that is a factory trimmed weight. It was found that the full round weight would damage the black wax 4-minute Amberol cylinders. Some were sent back for an update, others were made this way.

I don’t play black wax Amberols, but find that either trowel cut or full weight L sounds great on Blue Amberols.

Thanks for the info! I'm still puzzled as to why they chose not to trim the hinged side of the weight like they did for the M's and O's. Also, while both George L. Frow and Rob Lomas have documented the existence of trowel weight M's and O's, neither of them mention the existence of trimmed or trowel weight L's.

[gsphonos]

And what about a curved weight Model L? Ron Dethlefson had one, but I never examined it closely, and don't have a close up picture. Now I see that there are 3 varieties of the Model L, when I thought there were just 2.

Mike Sorter
Riverside, CA

[MicaMonster]

The early one was a flattened H weight, essentially, called the “fishtail.”. Had one on Amberola ser# 2!

And what about a curved weight Model L? Ron Dethlefson had one, but I never examined it closely, and don't have a close up picture. Now I see that there are 3 varieties of the Model L, when I thought there were just 2.

Mike Sorter
Riverside, CA

[JerryVan]

Yes ,that is a factory trimmed weight. It was found that the full round weight would damage the black wax 4-minute Amberol cylinders. Some were sent back for an update, others were made this way.

I don’t play black wax Amberols, but find that either trowel cut or full weight L sounds great on Blue Amberols.

Thanks for the info! I'm still puzzled as to why they chose not to trim the hinged side of the weight like they did for the M's and O's. Also, while both George L. Frow and Rob Lomas have documented the existence of trowel weight M's and O's, neither of them mention the existence of trimmed or trowel weight L's.

Because trimming the hinged end would only take weight off the hinge, and not the stylus, which was the whole point of lightening the weight.

[phonopal]

Yes ,that is a factory trimmed weight. It was found that the full round weight would damage the black wax 4-minute Amberol cylinders. Some were sent back for an update, others were made this way.

I don’t play black wax Amberols, but find that either trowel cut or full weight L sounds great on Blue Amberols.

Thanks for the info! I'm still puzzled as to why they chose not to trim the hinged side of the weight like they did for the M's and O's. Also, while both George L. Frow and Rob Lomas have documented the existence of trowel weight M's and O's, neither of them mention the existence of trimmed or trowel weight L's.

Because trimming the hinged end would only take weight off the hinge, and not the stylus, which was the whole point of lightening the weight.

Makes sense, but does this mean that the common trowel weight design of the M's and O's with its trimmed hinged end has not been well designed after all? Then again, maybe that 2/4 minute rod that sticks out beyond the hinged end of the M's and O's ends up balancing things out…?

[gsphonos]

The early one was a flattened H weight, essentially, called the “fishtail.”. Had one on Amberola ser# 2!

Ahhh…...that's the one! Thanks!

And what about a curved weight Model L? Ron Dethlefson had one, but I never examined it closely, and don't have a close up picture. Now I see that there are 3 varieties of the Model L, when I thought there were just 2.

Mike Sorter
Riverside, CA

[JerryVan]

Yes ,that is a factory trimmed weight. It was found that the full round weight would damage the black wax 4-minute Amberol cylinders. Some were sent back for an update, others were made this way.

I don’t play black wax Amberols, but find that either trowel cut or full weight L sounds great on Blue Amberols.

Thanks for the info! I'm still puzzled as to why they chose not to trim the hinged side of the weight like they did for the M's and O's. Also, while both George L. Frow and Rob Lomas have documented the existence of trowel weight M's and O's, neither of them mention the existence of trimmed or trowel weight L's.

Because trimming the hinged end would only take weight off the hinge, and not the stylus, which was the whole point of lightening the weight.

"Makes sense, but does this mean that the common trowel weight design of the M's and O's with its trimmed hinged end has not been well designed after all? Then again, maybe that 2/4 minute rod that sticks out beyond the hinged end of the M's and O's ends up balancing things out…?"

Don't know about the M's & O's, just going by MicaMonster's information about Edison wanting to lighten the load on the stylus. If that's the case, they got more lightening by doing what they did. Maybe the M & O strategy was meant for a different purpose, or maybe they didn't need as much weight reduction.

[phonopal]

JerryVan, you might be onto something here. Maybe the trowel weight M & O ended up being designed this way as a compromise between reduced wear of the fragile Amberols and the proper playback of the 2 minute cylinders.

Still, the trowel weight appears to be way more commonly found than the trimmed L weight, partly due to the O's popularity I guess. While I've seen plenty of trowel weights out there, on both M's and O's, I simply haven't been able to find a single other example of a trimmed (more pear shaped than trowel shaped) L weight other than the one pictured above. This explains why I had somewhat questioned its 'authenticity' earlier.