The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Hi all,

I recently filled a longstanding wish of mine and acquired a wind up gramophone. The machine I ended up with is badged as a Victor Consolette (SN: C-8636), which appears to be an early model, c. 1926, that was destined for the Canadian market, the stack of records that came with it suggests its been to Canada and Ireland before ending up in West Yorkshire, quite the journey.

Unfortunately the machine has seen better days, its been glossed over in white paint and has also been fitted with a 'new' motor, a Garrard Junior B, and so has had a hole drilled to fit the new crank. Some fixtures from the motor board are different as well, the auto brake control is not the bunny ears type but is marked as a Victor design, is this an early version? I intend to replace the speed control with a Decca model which looks to have the same fitting as the one on my machine, it also has a metal plate which will cover the hole where the original speed control was. There is also a small hole at the bottom left hand side of the motor board, any ideas what this was originally for?

The machine actually still runs pretty well, I've cleaned and superficially regreased the motor (a before pic is attached), though I couldn't work out how to get into the spring barrels. The soundbox sounds pretty good despite the chip missing from it, am I right in thinking this is one of the pot metal versions?

I've attached a heap of pics to give an idea of the general condition and features. I'm hoping to restore the machine somewhat, namely by stripping the paint and refinishing, replacing the damaged turntable cloth and replacing the grille cloth (though I still have what remained of the original). Theres also an area of damage to the veneer at the back of the cabinet which I don't know whether to try and repair or not. Any advice or pointers on these would be great.

I understand restoration and alteration is a touchy subject but this machine is so far removed from its original state I'd rather get it looking nice and functioning as a player model rather than trying to turn it into a museum piece. Apologies for a bit of a rambling first post but I've got 1001 questions and I'm excited to see how this machine turns out! Many thanks for any help.

That does appear to be an earlier 1920s autobrake as used by Victor, also as used by HMV even in the early years of The New Gramophone. I have it on one of my two 109s. (The other has the later style of two fork-prongs, which also releases the brake to start the turntable.)

The good news is that the reproducer looks to be very rebuildable. The missing flake on the neck should be no problem.

One of my Credenzas is a Canadian machine with a Canadian serial number like your Consolette.

JerryVan wrote: Mon Feb 01, 2021 7:32 pm The good news is that the reproducer looks to be very rebuildable. The missing flake on the neck should be no problem.

Thats good to know! Hopefully I can find someone in the UK who rebuilds them, I'm usually pretty brave with fixing things myself but I can just imagine it crumbling in my hands

If the sbx sounds good, don't touch it! these soundboxes have felt joints instead of rubber, so no need to replace them. only grease and adjust the needlebar pivots if there is clear lack of sound, or any buzzing. if not, I would only add some drops of light oil inside them.
the neck chip isn't important. if you want to make it more solid, just refill the void with liquid soldering... I've used simple white pva glue in one case I had. the neck rubber is what could need replacement... if it is rock hard. But this must be done with extreme care, for the neck is made of pot metal and may crumble off under some force. You need to preserve the neck integrity and its joint to the sbx back, if not, the sbx will be ruined. Skylight I've read somewhere in this forum...? that somebody sells good aluminium replacement for this soundbox back...?

Inigo wrote: Wed Feb 10, 2021 9:41 am If the sbx sounds good, don't touch it! these soundboxes have felt joints instead of rubber, so no need to replace them. only grease and adjust the needlebar pivots if there is clear lack of sound, or any buzzing. if not, I would only add some drops of light oil inside them.
the neck chip isn't important. if you want to make it more solid, just refill the void with liquid soldering... I've used simple white pva glue in one case I had. the neck rubber is what could need replacement... if it is rock hard. But this must be done with extreme care, for the neck is made of pot metal and may crumble off under some force. You need to preserve the neck integrity and its joint to the sbx back, if not, the sbx will be ruined. Skylight I've read somewhere in this forum...? that somebody sells good aluminium replacement for this soundbox back...?

Thanks for the advice, the rubber neck is pretty solid but it did sound quite good when I played a few discs when I got the machine, although I don't have a point of reference for how they should sound.

For a reference you could do what others do; get other Victor soundbox, one of those late portable ortophonics would serve... If you have a nearby collector he may come to you and lend it for the test... If your sbx sounds similar, let it as is. If yours sounds bad comparatively, you can try fixing it... Anyway you're then going to need a new or refurbished one... Just an idea. It's simply to evaluate if the improvement is needed, and then, the risk of destroying your sbx...