The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I have a brunswick parisian portable I just picked up, and was wondering about a few repairs that need to be done. first off, I would like to give this thing a good cleaning and re-oiling/greasing. the problem is, the whole thing looks to be riveted together. is there some good way to take these apart other than drilling out the rivets? does the platter come off without removing the rivets that look to be holding it in place? It also came without a paper cone. are there plans available describing the shape and thickness of the cone?

any tips, resources, what have you relating to these players would be welcome at this point. seems like a cute little record player. probably won't ever sound all that great, but it's fun all the same.

thanks in advance,
jon

I just finished a Polly Portable last fall, it's not that difficult. There are two screws at the front of the case next to the handle. Remove those screws and you should be able to flip up the motor board. Take many pictures of the motor from every angle before you take it apart, it's a bit of a pain to put it back together.
I have the speaker cone, but it's softened over the years, so I'll have to re-create one anyway. When I do that I could get you detailed measurements etc or maybe build a second one for you. May take some time until I get to it though. Please let me know if you are interested.
BTW: was that the one on eBay last week? It came with an original instruction disc, correct? If you have that I would be interested in a high resolution scan of both sides
Andreas

Hi andreas,

I found this one buried under some stuff at a local antique market. unfortunately someone took the screws out and the top got pushed in at the front left corner. I should be able to figure a way to pull this open carefully, but was thinking if I took the platter off that would be easier. it still runs, but I want to fix it up right.

nope, I got this one at a local antique mall. the screws were gone when I got it, and unfortunately someone pushed in the front left corner so that it is now stuck in the case. I have dealt with stuff like this before, but I was hoping there might be an easy way to get at the inside of the case through the top where the platter goes.

I was just thinking how much nicer this would be in a wooden case, would it be sacrilege to use the guts in another case?

Outch. So yours has a metal case? My Polly Portable is technically exactly the same as the Parisian, but in a wooden case (which has it's own challenges). On mine the wooden case was coming apart at all four corners and had to be re-glued. Not sure what to tell you about the metal case....
In mine the motorboard is "hooked" in at the rear side and 2 screws hold the front. Maybe if you can bend the case a bit to get the motorboard up? Or could you post some pictures of it?
Andreas

drilling out the rivets doesn't seem like a problem, but I don't want to mess up anything too much if it is more valuable in its original state. there's a part of me that just doesn't care, though. I collect things not for their worth (if they are that valuable I usually sell them), but more for the fact that I can use and enjoy them. I'll try to get some pictures up at some point, but I have a million other things I have to do this afternoon before the power gets cut off for 6 hours.

well, i got the top unstuck (tapped the corner upside down on the edge of a wooden table and it popped right out), but it is still riveted to the back. if anyone knows anything about these metal cased machines and how to get inside without ruining them, let me know. I'm sure this thing was only intended to work for a few years and I have it in my hands 80 - 100 years later. it goes, but hesitates a little bit. I'm thinking fresh oil/grease is in order.

and if anyone has a pattern for the cone, give me a shout. I'm sure you could make a decent one using manila folders. if they are too soft, probably stiffen the cone by paining it with PVA glue like elmers.