The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Is there anything right about this Hexpahone??

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Hexaphone-Mode ... Swq1NeUrcp

Can you tell us unfamiliar folks a few of what things are not right with it?

I assume he's referring to the replaced/restored parts. As mentioned by the seller: "This particular unit was completely restored and is far from original, necessitating a much lower price than the norm."

I've seen this quite a bit. A rare set that someone recreated all the parts (accurately or not) and now it's a shiny new looking set. It comes down to personal taste, but my personal taste is that I would never do such a thing. Antiques such as this have history to them, character, and you can imagine all that it has been through or who has played a record on it in the early 20th century. Something with 90% new parts does nothing for me, but I do realize that sometimes a part needs replaced. Pot metal swells and breaks even in the best of conditions sometimes. If it's a gear or two, sure, but if a whole cabinet has been replaced, or all the internals are completely replaced, what's the point?

Hello,

Just an observation or 2. If the seller was going to replicate an entire cabinet, horn, gallery, why would he have not replicated the missing right hand side pillar crown molding? The molding is present on the left hand side.

I doubt anyone is making enough replica parts to build an entire mechanism 100%. Including the cast iron cash box and cover, tin insert, and coin chute.

My one experience with this machine. I thank my lucky stars that the Hexaphone that I worked on at the Belfer Audio Archive at Syracuse University Library, just before I retired, had not one atom of pot metal in it. For what it's worth, I could never figure out what caused a part to fracture and the mechanism to get as out of kilter as it was. But I got the part braised and the mechanism back in time so that everything that had to happen in 6 turns of the crank got done without the mainspring getting over or under wound .

The 4 screws that hold down the main plate don't look original but a trip to anyone's vintage screw/ washer/ nut (sometimes called a he!! box) stock would yield the right style. Round head/ straight slot steel screw. The red paint trim seems a little too bright, but that could just be the monitor or camera setup .

Hope all this is of use,

Bob Hodge

Personally, I think it looks pretty good and unless you are a machinist/mechanic, its probably best to get one thats restored and working properly...