The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

On my A-450 I am missing a handle for the back access door. I was curious as to what it looks like and it there are replacements out there. There is a round hole on my machine where it appears to have been one at one time.

I would think any access door handle from the A series would work and shouldn't be too hard to find. I just looked at my A200 and from what I can tell from the picture it looks like it would be the same thing, though not 100% sure. It will be gold plated like the rest of the hardware, which is really something since it would face a wall the majority of the time and not be seen. Edison was highly conscious of quality, so just installing a painted door pull would not have been good enough. Hope this helps, and again congrats!

That is a huge help, thank you so much.

Here are pics of A 400 and A 250. They appear to be identical

Great that is a huge help, one thing I noticed on my machine is that it has the hole for the pull handle, but it doesn’t have any screw holes, I wonder if never had a pull from the beginning?

I'm thinking it has new veneer covering up old holes. You'll know when you install a pull handle and the screws go in easily after they break through the veneer layer and drop into existing holes before eventually tightening up.

Another thought... Is the dimple in the bottom of the pocket simply from the centering point of the flat bottom drill that made the pocket, or is it a screw hole? I've seen versions of these pulls that used 1 screw, in the center.

Thank for those observations, I took another look and it does appear to be a screw hole in the center. I’m almost positive it’s the original veneer. Do you by chance have a photo of the part with the single screw in the center?

Josh_boro20 wrote: Sun Oct 31, 2021 2:37 pm Thank for those observations, I took another look and it does appear to be a screw hole in the center. I’m almost positive it’s the original veneer. Do you by chance have a photo of the part with the single screw in the center?

I have seen the single screw style, but do not have an example to photograph.

Thank you for the information, I will be on the lookout for one