The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

For any of you that are considering purchasing the Edison Class M that is on eBay, please give some consideration to what I have to say here. Machines such as this should never, ever, be disassembled and shipped via UPS or FedEx. The only way to take delivery of one is to have it driven to you intact or pick it up yourself in person from the seller. The wiring on these is so incredibly delicate that any contact to the field coils will rub the insulation off and will lead to short circuits. This can also happen by just applying gentle pressure to the windings. Also, the castings, although made out of iron, are incredibly delicate.

The repair and restoration to the electrics on these must be left to someone who is competent and careful in manipulating the wiring and components. . Wherever you are in the country, I may be able to refer you to someone that I personally trust to work on the electrics. . I have seen complete hack jobs from people that claim to know how to do proper work on these.

This machine has been around since the early 1890s, and it would be a horrible shame and a heart break for it to become non-functional because of the sellers’ inexperience in packing, combined with the indifference in shipping care that UPS or FedEx provides, combined with negligence (or idiocy) of someone that is overly confident and/or inexperienced in repairing these.

I know that some people will comment that they have been successful in shipping these, and to those people, I say that you are the benefactor of a great miracle.

Good luck trying to collect anywhere from 15,000 up to $22,000 from UPS or FedEx on the shipment of an eccentric valuable antique such as this. It just won’t happen.

I am not interested in the machine, and I will not be bidding on it. I have just seen so many beautiful examples such as this destroyed because people just don’t know how to handle them correctly.

If you can afford to purchase one of these machines, you can also afford to have it properly delivered to you. Don’t be cheap!

Wyatt

That heavy , massive cast iron upper works and motor will destroy the case if it is shipped intact and it shifts in transit. It is held in only by gravity and a few raised mouldings on the iron frame. Neither model M had upper works/ motor frame securing screws. And please be careful in which direction you turn the motor shaft. If turned backwards it will mangle the commutator brushes. The little cast iron plate that fits in under the lateral pulley indicates the direction of the rotation.

I forwarded a link for this thread to the seller. It will be between the seller and buyer.

Thanks to both of you for taking the time to post your concerns.

$23,600 plus tax. I couldn't agree more about the concerns with shipping.

I would think & hope that anyone paying that much, would be well enough versed in these machines to not trust UPS/USPS, or any other commercial carrier.

Well said, Wyatt. I just got done today packing an Opera for shipment to England, and that was difficult enough. I can't imagine any way to safely ship a Class M, unless one simply left it fully assembled, packed it delicately, and triple-boxed it with soft padding between the boxes. Then, instead of UPS or FedEx, securing the package to a pallet and shipping it by freight. Maybe, just maybe, it would arrive safely. A better alternative is to employ a specialty "white glove" carrier - I just had several delicate pieces delivered to me from the Northeast without a scratch or mark of any kind. I've been using this particular carrier for 20 years and he knows how to handle this stuff.

Raphael

Here is a picture, before it disappears.