Amet Echophone Question

[phonohound]

Hi eveyrone:

I recently got out my wooden mandrel Echophone, all original, and brought it to a friend's house who also has an Echophone, but with a gutta percha mandrel. I brought it there to see if they could help figure out why my phonograph wouldn't play and compare it to theirs. After some lubricating and taking things apart, we determined the glass rod is about ½ inch too long. The stylus barely touches the record.

I am 100% certain my Echophone is all original, even the glass rod. I was curious if anyone else has this problem. How could it leave the factory with a glass rod that is too long? I'm stumped and was curious if anyone here might have some ideas.

Thanks much.

Scott

[MTPhono]

I am sure you know this but the wooden stand is designed to move towards and away from the mandrel. To close the lid on my gutta-percha mandrel Echophone, I have to move the stand towards the mandrel so the base is out of the way of the lid. In that position my glass rod appears to be about ½" too long too.

From what I have been told, none of the glass rods are original. I dont know whether that is true but it seems reasonable.

Good luck!
Another Scott with an Echophone

[phonogfp]

From what I have been told, none of the glass rods are original. I dont know whether that is true but it seems reasonable.

That's absurd! Unless someone has inspected every known Echophone, how would they know this? And how would they determine if they were original or not?

For the record, my Echophone has both its original glass tube and a 20 year-old replacement. The original is broken in half! I'll bet there are several more original glass Echophone tubes around - and even unbroken ones. But that's only a presumption, as I haven't examined every known Echophone!

George P.

[TinfoilPhono]

I have an original, though like George's, it's broken in half. But the replica on the machine is an exact match to the original in length, shape, diameter etc.

[MTPhono]

From what I have been told, none of the glass rods are original. I dont know whether that is true but it seems reasonable.

That's absurd! Unless someone has inspected every known Echophone, how would they know this? And how would they determine if they were original or not?

For the record, my Echophone has both its original glass tube and a 20 year-old replacement. The original is broken in half! I'll bet there are several more original glass Echophone tubes around - and even unbroken ones. But that's only a presumption, as I haven't examined every known Echophone!

George P.

Sorry George - I meant to say "it seems unreasonable". I suspect "a few" are still around but VERY few originals.

[phonogfp]

Scott,

I agree with you - - there are very few Echophones around, so original glass tubes will be rare indeed, but they do exist.

What struck me as absurd was the statement told to you, since it could not possibly be based on fact. It's one thing to say, "I've never seen an original glass tube" (or anything else for that matter) but to state that "none of these exist" is to imply a breadth of knowledge virtually impossible to attain. And as Rene mentions, the new glass tubes are indistinguishable (to my eye at least) from the originals, so how is someone to tell? You're right - it is completely "unreasonable" and utter nonsense. It reminds me of the "facts" offered by many eBay sellers - - which have obviously been spun out of thin air!

George P.

[phonohound]

Hi Scott;

When you refer to the "stand," am I to assume it is the pawn shaped piece with the "bellows" on it? I would love to get my machine to play.

Regarding the originality of the glass tubes, I would suspect you can tell by the air bubbles and other imperfections. My glass rod is still in great condition.

Thanks

Scott M

[Allen]

Having looked at a few Echophones over the years, I have seen both original and repro glass tubes.

From what I have learned, the original glass tubes were not annealed, and hence very sensitive to vibration and surrounding temperature changes. The modern annealed ones tend to be made of thicker glass.

I really should scan or measure my original to get an exact number for the thickness of the original glass tube.

It may be of some interest to know that the first models did not yet make use of the little coiled tension spring, but depended on a horizontal weight hanging from the length of the tube. It was rather temperamental (as to the stylus staying in the proper groove) and the machine was supplied with a bubble-level in the base, to keep everything on an even keel. The baseboard also had an adjustable leveling screw in the cast-iron frame. Remnants of this design can still be seen in later models by the little flat area at the bottom of the curve. The first ones had a threaded hole at that point - the later ones were untapped.

Remember also that the cylinder record spins toward the tube (not away).

I believe that an excellent article by Rene in CAPS several years ago showed much of the early history from the days when it was first just called the 'Amet Talking Machine.'

[AllenKoe]

Having looked at a few Echophones over the years, I recall both original and repro glass tubes.

From what I have learned, the original glass tubes were not annealed, and hence very fragile and sensitive to vibration and surrounding temperature changes. The modern annealed ones tend to be made of thicker glass.

I really should scan or measure my original to get an exact number/value for the thickness of the original glass tube.

It may be of some interest to know that the first models did not yet make use of the little coiled tension spring, but depended on a horizontal weight hanging from the length of the tube. It was rather temperamental (as to the stylus staying in the proper groove) and the machine was supplied with a bubble-level in the base, to keep everything on an even keel. The baseboard also had an adjustable leveling screw in the cast-iron frame (and also thru the wood). Remnants of this design can still be seen in later models by the little flat area at the bottom of the metal slope/curve. The first ones had a threaded hole at that point (small plateau) - the later ones were untapped.

Remember also that the cylinder record spins toward the tube (not away).

I believe that the excellent article by Rene in CAPS several years ago showed much of the early history from the days when it was first just called the 'Amet Talking Machine.' It was also shown on Amet's own stationery in late 1895.

[phonohound]

Hi Scott;

Thanks for your reply. It seems the wooden post can be moved a little, but mine doesn't move all that much. It barely allows the stylus to contact the record and it doesn't track that great. I played with the pressure and it helped somewhat, but it's hard to adjust.

My stylus is located towards to front of the cylinder vs horizontally over the record.

Photos of my Echophone can be found at http://webpages.charter.net/phonographs

Thanks

Scott