The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I just received an Edison Phonograph from my father. It was my great-grandfather's and has been in the family since around 1920 but it's hardly been played in the past 50 years. The cabinet has faded quite a bit and the colour has ligthened - I remember it being almost black when I was a child. I would like to restore the finish and keep it in the family for the next generation.

Here's a short video of it playing. The first disc (Harry Lauder) has been fairly well used, the second is in good condition, the third (Saxarella) has a scratch.
[youtubehd]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZquMxL83CbA[/youtubehd]

I've read through these forums and have done some research online to learn what I can.

What I was told by my father:
Always let it unwind after use
Oiling tube is inder the turntable

What I know (or think I know):
Edison Diamond Disc model LU-37 (LU means London Upright)
80 RPM discs with vertical grooves
Diamond reproducer is different from needle reproducers found in 78s

What I'd like to know:
How should the discs be cleaned? I've read "never use alcohol, only water", "never use water, only alcohol"...
How should the cabinet be restored?
How often should it be oiled?
Should the nicks in the wood be filled before restoring the finish?
This one will really show what a newbie I am, but how many times should the crank be wound before playing a disc?

Any advice or comments would be greatly appreciated.

Here are a couple of the discs. The one on the left is the worst of the bunch and the one on the right is typical of most of them

Hi, welcome to the board!


What I'd like to know:
How should the discs be cleaned? I've read "never use alcohol, only water", "never use water, only alcohol"...

For Diamond Discs never use water. The core is similar to particle board and will expand if wet.
Alcohol with a soft rag. Search "cleaning diamond discs" on the board and there is an extensive
thread on the details.

How should the cabinet be restored?

Your cabinet is actually in pretty good shape. My usual procedure would be to clean the cabinet with Kotton Klenser and 0000 steel wool. Don't go too hard with the wool though or you will wear through the varnish and that's a bad thing. After wiping it with clean rags, then apply Howards restore a finish with a soft rag. Then finally Howard's Feed n Wax.

How often should it be oiled?

There are oil port tubes but often they get bent out of whack after so long. With Edison Diamond Disc players its a pain to access the motor since its attached to the horn. Your best bet is to get a light spray oil like gun oil or sewing machine oil and shoot it on the gears and governor pads, pivots etc.
This should only need to be done every 6 months or so at the most. If your springs make a bumping sound they should be pulled out, cleaned and re-greased. Not an easy task but not too hard either.


Should the nicks in the wood be filled before restoring the finish?

I would ignore minor scratches as the cleaning and howards will cover them up for the most
part.

This one will really show what a newbie I am, but how many times should the crank be wound before playing a disc?


You can wind it all the way until it stops. Just be gentle when winding and stop as soon as
you meet resistance. I think you have a 2 spring in that machine so you would then be able
to play at least 2 sides of a record or more depending on the condition of your springs.


PS: Don't use steel wool on the Edison decal, you will wear it off.

Hope this helps!

Harry Lauder is the composer of the song on the disc, but not the performer. Lauder was never released on Edison discs, although he was issued on cylinders, both two and four minute. Someone correct me if I am wrong, but the reason Lauder was not issued on Edison discs was because his contract with Victor stipulated that he not record discs for any other company. On Edison discs, Glen Ellison was the performer of Lauder's material.

Inside of Lid:

My only comment is to just clean the inside of the lid with furniture cleaner and then wax it.

Steve

JohnM wrote:Harry Lauder is the composer of the song on the disc, but not the performer. Lauder was never released on Edison discs, although he was issued on cylinders, both two and four minute. Someone correct me if I am wrong, but the reason Lauder was not issued on Edison discs was because his contract with Victor stipulated that he not record discs for any other company. On Edison discs, Glen Ellison was the performer of Lauder's material.

I recently read somewhere on-line ( Tim Gracyk? )that "Glen Ellison" was actually Harry Lauder recording under a pseudonymn ?

I have one Glenn Ellison cylinder and a bunch of Victor Harry Lauder discs ( all Blue Label), and they sure sound like the same singer to me... ?

Hmmm. Never heard that before, Frank. I'd like to see the reference . . . . Googling 'Glen Ellison' didn't turn up anything to that effect. BTW, it is 'Glen' with one 'n' -- Glenn Ellison is a football player per Google.

Yeah, Lot's of stuff on the football player, and now I can't find the site where I read about it... grrr.

I must have been "linking" from one site to the next that day...

Just from listening to "both", I'm still fairly sure they're the same performer... if not, Ellison is an excellent mimic.

Heck, I sound just like Lauder when I have enough Laphroaig in me!

A lot of artists, even very famous one, moonlighted recording for other companies, using the most outrageous pseudonyms. Fats Waller was on a session for Commodore, while having a very lucrative contract with RCA Victor. His pseudonym? "Maurice" (even spelled on the label in quotation marks), his son's name. His solos are 100% sure Waller. Nobody had that touch and used those riffs as the 'harmful little armful'.
So it's quite probable that Lauder DID record that Diamond Disc himself.