Newest member of the "Family"--with a question
Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2024 2:21 pm
Fresh in from eBay, a cute-as-a-button little keywind Pathé cylinder player with a salon slip-on mandrel and the systeme verite horn suspension. (As an aside, just how cute is a button, anyway?) I spotted it last Sunday with about an hour to go, and, yes, I dropped out of warp--it was a bit of an impulse purchase, although I can take comfort in knowing that there was only one other bid, and it was barely above the minimum. From what I've seen in some web browsing, I gather this machine is a Model 1 and a knockoff of a Columbia graphophone. I also gather Pathé made more than one version of the Model 1, although I'm not clear how to tell them apart. In the few videos I've seen, some set the key to unwinding, a la an Edison Gem, as the machine runs; on others, the key stays still. Mine is of the "stays still" variety. Anyhow, having now spilled what doubtless seems a thousand words of dubious worth, here's a picture:
It also came with the lid, which has a pretty decent (not quite perfect) decal:
Now, a question. Its belt is shot--it's frayed; it's crudely patched; and, not surprisingly, it slips badly:
As things stand, the machine really isn't a useable player, but I'm pretty confident a new belt would resolve its issues. Anybody know where I could readily get one already made up?
It also came with the lid, which has a pretty decent (not quite perfect) decal:
Now, a question. Its belt is shot--it's frayed; it's crudely patched; and, not surprisingly, it slips badly:
As things stand, the machine really isn't a useable player, but I'm pretty confident a new belt would resolve its issues. Anybody know where I could readily get one already made up?