The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Another thread on a specific topic! How many of you have come across machines that had some sort of homemade fix to them that was done back in the 1950s to 1990s when original or reproduction replacement parts were harder to get? Sometimes done by original owners that wanted a cheap way to get their machines working again or early collectors.

For instance: a governor spring made with an old tape measure?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xH3hvGf7rmY

Or a motor board made with a lid from an old console radio?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olf9gmRnoPI

What are some old “Handyman” fixes you’ve come across and were you able to reverse them with the proper parts?

A previous owner of my HMV 163 added a manual brake made from a semi-circular block of wood (lower left in photo). I removed it immediately when I got the machine. I cleaned and adjusted the original auto-brake, and it works flawlessly.

Neat topic!

I had an Edison Standard once where someone had used a straight pin, instead of a cotter pin, to hold the yoke for the speed control pads on. The straight pin stayed.

I think that it was done long ago, (long before the 50s), but there was my “pull start” or “weight driven” Canadian Berliner. That was a clever and quite well done modification.

What do you mean, “old days 50s to the 90s”??????

The most interesting repair I've owned was done to a four clip Edison Standard. The machine must have been dropped upside down on a hard surface. The resulting collision broke the carriage, bent the carriage rod resulting resulting in the cast iron being broken at each end of the carriage rod. The parts use for the repair were the current parts used on the Standard B series. The carriage rod had the rings used to adjust to the correct speed. I believe the repairs were done professionally when the machine was a current machine,

Jerry Blais

Django wrote:What do you mean, “old days 50s to the 90s”??????

I start with 1950s because that’s when collecting old machines started to get popular, and to the 90s (or at least the first half) when you didn’t have online sources for parts. And I’m aware these fixes could have been done during the 1930s Great Depression when people wanted to save money any way they can, so they did their own fixes. Kind of the reason why you sometimes come across Orthophonic machines with pre-1925 tonearms.

(I’m 30 so any year before 2000 or so is old days to me )

I've heard of collectors using aluminum printing plates as Edison diaphragms and having machined steel back isolators made for Exhibition reproducers. It's a wonder we have anything left that hasn't been modified a little. Lots of torched & drilled mainsprings too.

AmberolaAndy wrote:

Django wrote:What do you mean, “old days 50s to the 90s”??????

I start with 1950s because that’s when collecting old machines started to get popular, and to the 90s (or at least the first half) when you didn’t have online sources for parts. And I’m aware these fixes could have been done during the 1930s Great Depression when people wanted to save money any way they can, so they did their own fixes. Kind of the reason why you sometimes come across Orthophonic machines with pre-1925 tonearms.

(I’m 30 so any year before 2000 or so is old days to me )

I wasn’t really offended, the emoji gave me an error. This could be a fun topic.

When I acquired my Sonora Melodie it had a large rheostat, presumably a volume control, on the left hand side panel (pictured). It was not connected to anything, and there were no tell tale holes in the motor board to suggest that an electric pickup had ever been fitted.

When I removed it the hole made for it in the case was quite small, so I was able to fill and disguise it fairly easily. I still have no idea how this volume control operated. The original manually operated volume control which operated inside the horn has completely disappeared.

I've seen these years some cases, so well done, that it would be a pity to 'recover' the original status, more in case this is a surplus machine in your collection. Unless it is a very valuable machine that justifies reverting it to the original, a well engineered modification, maybe done by someone who had no other chances and needed the machine in full use ... The modifications are part of the 'war stories' of the machines life. It would be a pity to destroy that story and work of art.... I've seen such cases sometimes...