The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I've had one of these handsome machines for years, and only recently discovered that it originally had casters. The hole measures about 5/16" on the outside. Does anyone have a Cheney with original casters, so I can get a sense what they look like? And were caster receptacle holes pretty much standardized, so you could mix and match as you wished?

I'm also curious what the Cheney vertical reproducer would have looked like in the back; if someone who has one could post a picture, I would appreciate it.

Of course, if someone has either casters or vertical reproducer (or both) and would consider selling them, please let me know! Thank you.

Another question: The reproducer is frozen on the tone arm -- not sure if there's pot metal involved or not -- and I can't figure out how to remove the tone arm entirely. It's not the two flat screws at 3:00 and 9:00 -- those are securing the horn in the cabinet. I would appreciate any tips on either; I've already tried penetrating oil on the reproducer.

Oh, and in response to Frank's PM, I'm also attaching a picture of the cabinet. Enjoy!

Looks to me as if the two thumb screws at 3 and 9 o'clock on the tone arm collar should release the arm out of the collar. Back the lock nuts against the collar off just enough to be able to screw out the thumbscrews. Hard to tell if the nuts are part of the collar or locknuts, but the sure look like lock nuts to me.

That did the trick! Thanks!

I'm trying to find good replacement grille cloth, but I don't have a great idea of what the original looked like in terms of texture, color and design. All I have is the small swatch in the picture, which looks more like burlap than I imagine it did originally. If someone has a Cheney with original grille cloth, I would be grateful if you would post a good closeup photo. Also, it seems from what I can tell that the grille cloth was actually nailed in behind a wooden stretcher. Is this correct? Has anyone successfully removed the stretcher, replace the damaged cloth and the nailed it back in again?

Finally, if someone has a Cheney key, would you consider posting a picture of it?

I remembered this, and it was. Check this:
https://oldcrank.com/articles/keys/keys.html