The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Hi everyone,

I recently joined the forum this past December, after I intentionally bought myself a crapophone for Christmas (you may think I'm insane but I honestly am just a cheapskate ).
Well, the crapophone motor broke the day after Christmas, so I returned the whole thing to the seller. Thankfully I bought it through Amazon so I was able to get a full refund.
Since then, I searched eBay until I found the perfect gramophone for me a week or so ago. It is a little internal-horn Columbia tabletop, very similar to the Victor VV-IV. The seller only had it listed as a "Columbia Graphophone", but there are several models of machines that are classified as this. I was hoping that somebody here could identify the model for me. I'm sure the seller won't mind if I post his pictures.

It just arrived today (2/1) and it runs beautifully. However, the seller said that the motor could use a greasing even though it runs well. While I know how to grease and have greased the motor of my grandfather clock, I wanted to check with the experts on the proper way to do it.

Thanks,
Colin

That is a nice little machine you have. I would guess the competition was the VV-IV, but the Grafonola is prettier. I'm no expert, but....
If you are rarely using the machine, I would put a little oil on the governor bearings and friction pads and let it go at that. Would oil the sound box needle bar pivots too. If you go all the way, then tear it down, clean all parts in naptha and re-assemble with a molybdenum grease. Make sure the spring is comletely wound down before the tear-down, and if you yank the mainspring, be sure to draw the coil orientation on a piece of paper.
The sound box would sound better and be easier on records if the gaskets were renewed.

RDGCrusader wrote:Hi everyone,

I recently joined the forum this past December, after I intentionally bought myself a crapophone for Christmas (you may think I'm insane but I honestly am just a cheapskate ).
Well, the crapophone motor broke the day after Christmas, so I returned the whole thing to the seller. Thankfully I bought it through Amazon so I was able to get a full refund.
Thanks,
Colin

Hey Colin,

Glad you were able to get a full refund for your crapophone. Probably a stroke of luck for you that the spring broke! The little Columbia you have is a much better option imho.

Slightly O/T here but I understand you are a train fan too. Click on the link for a short video, a restaurant in my neighborhood which you might enjoy. It's called "the Boilerhouse".

http://youtu.be/vqlGjnexvWg

Hello!

Nice machine, welcome to the fold! I'm comparatively new to this myself and my method is always to run the motor down first. Then I disassemble and clean everything, taking photos as I go to help me get it back together. I use a light machine oil with a good quality grease on cogs, just a little or it draws dust like a magnet.

I'd send the spring barrel away personally, the springs are sharp and tightly packed even when relaxed. If the motor runs evenly without knocking or bumping you might even be able to do that later on. Replacement gaskets on the reproducer will give you a sweeter sound and even out the volume. There are a few great threads on here about good needles too. Mike Child's here in the UK I can recommend for quality but there are others.

The Compleat Talking Machine is really handy if you want to take care of the reproducer yourself.

I hope you have a great time. I'm on my 3rd machine and 200th record this month and loving it. Hope you do too, and hope my newbie advice is helpful. My own mistakes are so fresh in my memory!

Hello!

Nice machine, welcome to the fold! I'm comparatively new to this myself and my method is always to run the motor down first. Then I disassemble and clean everything, taking photos as I go to help me get it back together. I use a light machine oil with a good quality grease on cogs, just a little or it draws dust like a magnet.

I'd send the spring barrel away personally, the springs are sharp and tightly packed even when relaxed. If the motor runs evenly without knocking or bumping you might even be able to do that later on. Replacement gaskets on the reproducer will give you a sweeter sound and even out the volume. There are a few great threads on here about good needles too. Mike Child's here in the UK I can recommend for quality but there are others.

The Compleat Talking Machine is really handy if you want to take care of the reproducer yourself.

I hope you have a great time. I'm on my 3rd machine and 200th record this month and loving it. Hope you do too, and hope my newbie advice is helpful. My own mistakes are so fresh in my memory!

Ken Priestley (Holmfirth Antiques) is the best person in the UK to buy spares / needles from - he recently bought the whole "phonoservice" (Barry Williamson) stock - his needles are the best - needles from anyone else are likely to damage records as they are poor quality Indian imports and not made to the right specification

Ken also has a very large and well organised stck of spares - some for very rare or unusual machines and can supply almost anything for any machine !

Go to the best - don't trust the Crapophone maker !

Unless the mainspring is bumping, thumping or rumbling, you probably don't have to lube it. And if you aren't sure that you're hearing anything like that, then you don't have a problem. You could use sewing machine oil on the governor parts and vaseline or moly grease on the gears. I would remove a century's worth of dried grease from the gears, if it was my machine.

I think that the soundbox might be a slightly later model than this machine- but if it fits well and plays well I wouldn't change it. The big thing with Columbia tome arms is to get them to move across the record as smoothly as possible. Sometimes you've got to take them apart (very carefully) and sand the joint down to do this.

Welcome aboard to the forum and congratulations on your machine. It is a Columbia Meteor from around 1914 or so. It is a good solid machine that will provide you with many years of enjoyment. The reproducer is original to this machine. It's nice to get a decent all original machine instead of a crapophone.I'd strongly suggest that you get a copy of the Complete Talking Machine by Eric Reiss. It tells you everything about motors, reproducers, etc. So far, you have a good start. Good luck with your new/old machine.
Harvey Kravitz

Thanks everybody for your advice. I will get myself a copy of The Complete Talking Machine as well. Can I get it from a bookstore like Borders or Barnes & Noble or do I have to order it online?