The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Last month I picked up a 1910 VV-XIV "project machine". I saw this listed for $75 on the Richmond, Indiana Craigslist. The lady who sold it to me was very personable & told me she'd aquired it from a flea market five years before & had the intention of locating a motor for it. But it never happened. So now it sits in my brother's breezeway awaiting some attention. In the pics you will see a 1917 VV-X I bought for $50 about 18 months ago. It's the one on the right whose legs were cut off. It has a good 2-spring motor which I intend to put into this VV-XIV. Having chatted with a fellow member of the forum, I will not carve up the unit to fit the VV-X motorboard. Instead my sister's beau, who is a good woodworker, is going to make a new motorboard for me. The VV-X's board sits about ¼" too high to just drop into the space on the XIV-although the dimensions otherwise are an exact match. The hinges & latches of the X's board also prevent it from laying flush. Once the new board is stained & finished, it will sit flush in the opening & the crank opening will line up correctly. However, I may need a different 'winding key'(as Victor cranks were called). This is because the original 3-spring motor may have had either a shorter or longer crank-I'm not sure of this. At sometime in the future I hope to get the proper motor in this XIV, but in the meantime I intend to enjoy the use of it as a nice player rather than a pristine "investment" machine.

The machine you have is pretty rare. These type of VV XIV are very scarce machines. The correct motor is a three spring motor that is used on the Victor V ,VI, and L-Door XVI. Don't butcher this machine to have something "fit". Place an add in the trader section and advertize for the correct motor and motor board. This machine uses the same motor board as an L-Door. It has the yielding turn table, bullet brake and round speed control.
Harvey Kravitz

Harvey, I have no intentions of touching a single square inch of this beautiful machine. I didn't realize it was that rare. What I'm going to do is simply have a motorboard made by a woodworker so that I can drop it in & use the VV-X motor I mentioned in my earlier post until I can get the correct motor. Believe me, my stomach churns every time I see a poor Victrola/Grafonola/Edison/etc. painted over in a 70s "mod" color but leaving the beautiful interior wood alone. Or seeing vintage machines carved up as bars, TV stands, stereo cabinets-disgusting. I figure somebody many moons ago paid top dollar for these units, & they should be appreciated as such today. By the way, I also have a 1909 VTLA L-door that a guy from work found for me last fall. It had the exact motorboard & bullet brake, round speed dial that you mention. I paid him $60 for it. It needs a good cleaning & some of the molding under the lid on the left side is missing(not much). I got a winding key & needle cup from George Vollema for that machine. Other than a reattachment/replacement of a spring I think that one is in good shape. And the VTLA has its motor & tonearm intact, so that's a plus. You'll also see a 1917 VV-XVI in one pic that needs some veneer work & the lid reglued back together. That one is otherwise intact as well.