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I purchased a Edison Standard Phonograph cylinder machine off of craigslist today. I have never owned an Edison machine or a cylinder machine and am looking for help on where I can find information about them. I would like to know something of their history, what is the proper way to adjust them and what maintenance I should either perform or have performed. The one I purchased is the just the basic, two minute, machine. It seems to play very well. It came with a few records but I plan to add more as soon as I can find them. What really caught my eye on this one was the large horn and the really good condition it seems to be in. I would also love to know about when it was made, the last patent date is May 1898 and the serial # is: 82942 I am, of course, including some photos. Any advise would be really appreciated.

Congratulation on your new phonograph! For starters, you got a great deal for the price. I would suggest buying some books for reference. There are some great ones out there regarding the history side of phonographs as well as some focused on repair.

Usually the first thing I look to do with a new phonograph is assess the motor and reproducer. Motors are usually in need of a good cleaning and re-greasing. That will make sure it runs quiet and stays strong. Reproducers are usually in need of a good rebuild and should be properly tuned. By the looks of your new Standard these may be the only things you will need to do as the cabinet looks clean and the crane/horn are in good shape.

I am sure others will have suggestions outside of mine as there are some really great members of this forum who do exceptional work. I will leave the rest to them to explain while I stick to the easy stuff! Either way, congrats again!

Congrats, my first cylinder machine was a standard and I had to wait a week until I was able to obtain a few cylinders to play. It was a long week indeed.

I have never seen a crane and horn set up as you have there. Others may know more, but I would be concerned that the horn fitting over the throat of the reproducer would exert force on the repro that you don't want. Typically, there is a soft rubber tube that mates the horn to the throat. You may want to consider this unless this particular horn and crane set up is correct this way.

A very useful book on Edison cylinder machines is Frow's book. Even though there might be less than 1 page dedicated to any one model, there is a wealth of company history contained. As for serial numbers, there is not much available, either because Edison did not keep records, or the records were lost/destroyed or are in private collectors hands so they are not generally available. Depending on the model, you can infer some range of dates from Frow's book, but it is iffy. You appear to have a model A which is amongst the earlier Standards.

If it plays strong an quiet, I would not do much other than a little cleaning and light lubrication.

Have fun!

I forgot to mention something. Send Martinola a PM. He has been tracking serial #'s on Standards for quite some time and has a very impressive database of information pertaining to them. He can tell you more about variations and may be able to approximate a production date based on your serial #. Hope this helps!

VV-IV,

Very nice original 1901 Edison Standard. Those machines were very solid with a mild temperance. Looks like all it is missing the shaving device housing. (under the carriage, behind the reproducer) They come up on Ebay often. Here is one that is up now but comes with some parts you already have.

http://cgi.ebay.com/EARLY-EDISON-STANDA ... 2ead8eb999


I second the comment on the rubber tubing between the horn and reproducer. You should be able to extend the upper rod on the crane to give some room for the rubber connector.

Nice looking machine congratulations!

Steve

Thank you everyone for your comments and recommendations so far, please keep them coming. I agree about a rubber boot for the end of the horn. The setup that is has works, but I would thing that a rubber end piece would give a better seal and would take some of the pressure off of the reproducer. I am defiantly going to purchase one. I also have a question that is going to show my lack of knowledge on these machines, what does the shaving device do? My machine is playing very well so I am guessing it is not for the sound reproduction. I am also going to purchase that part since I want my Edison to be complete, but I would like to know that the purpose is for the part. Once again, all of you on this forum are great, I really appreciate the information you are sharing with me.

Glad we can help out! Don't worry about any questions as we all had them at one time as well. The shaver was used for shaving brown wax cylinder to prepare them for recording. Edison produced blank brown wax cylinders that could be used for making home recordings if a recorder was used instead of the reproducer. Then, if the person recording wanted to "erase" the recording and try another on the same cylinder, the shaver was engaged which would remove just the very outside layer of the cylinder essentially shaving off the grooves with the recording. That would allow for a smooth blank cylinder to record on again. This process could be performed many times with a single cylinder.

It isn't necessary to have one unless you plan on trying your hand at recording down the road and shaving your blanks while doing so. I will say, however, that I agree with you in completing the phonograph to it's original condition.

Your phonograph looks great and the advice and information that has been given is good. My extra thought is to be careful with the two minute records. They tend to be fragile and remember to handle them with care. It is fun to hear the ones that are announced and then the music begins! Your phonograph is a great way to start a collection of Edison products!

Hey Boyle6!

That's a very nice New Style Case Model A. I have one that is absolutely my favorite everyday player. As Sonny mentioned, I keep a database of Edison Standards. According to Frow, the New style case was introduced in Nov. 1901 (around serial # 45000). If production was about 2000 a month (a number not entirely pulled out of the air), then your machine would be somewhere about early 1903. Is that a model C reproducer and is there a serial number punched into the straight edge (just above the signature decal)?

I heartily concur with the others' advice on this machine. Don't be in too much of a hurry to get a shaver for it. They didn't work too well and lots of folks simply removed it to keep from accidentally ruining a record. (I did that once and my kids always bring that up when I'm showing my machine to guests.) I've seen this type of horn and crane used before on machines of that vintage, but Brad is entirely right about needing the rubber connector. If the crane arm will adjust down a bit that will allow for the extra distance the connector will add. (If it won't, then a longer chain should help.) Again, that's a real peach of a machine. Have fun with it!

Regards,
Martin

PS: If you (or anybody else) want the latest excel file of the database, just PM me.