The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

A few weeks ago I picked up an very nice VE 8-35X. It came with just about everything you could want with a machine, except the original albums. The machine is from a local house, and the family I purchased it from has lived there since the early 1960's. They purchased the house fully furnished, and this machine was included in that. From what the daughter had told me, they had never played it or even opened it until I got there. It was used as a TV stand until acquired into my ever growing collection. Now it's the center piece in my living room and I play it just about every day. The metal horn is very bright when compared to my other orthophonics (8-4 and 8-12) and it is very loud.

My question and need of help is this. The machine had the leather turntable on it, and well the leather is a little worse for age. Any suggestions on how I could re-leather the turntable and have it similar in color. I can fix the back bracket, I had to do that with my other orthophonics.

nice find! can we see it opened up

It's the loud speaker unit that is fascinating me: I've never seen one like it. I presume it's a Victor product, too.

You will have to excuse the early unsupported credenza tone arm and orange felted turntable while I get the others repaired, but here is what it looks like under the hood. The motor is the Victor induction disc motor, which I think was supplied by G.E.

I have the grill and cloth out of the machine as well while I get those repaired and restored. In any case, it lets people see that workings, which is much cooler than me telling you there is a folded orthophonic horn behind there. It kind or reiterates and proves that it is acoustical amplification and not electric.

The loud speaker unit was supplied to Victor by RCA. It let you connect any radio of the era that required an external speaker to the orthophonic horn. It was basically an orthophonic diaphragm and spider connected to an RCA 100 speaker instead of to a needle bar. They work quite well, but as you can guess sound a bit like any permanent magnet speaker of the era. The orthophonic horn does help though.

The units were also supplied with some of the Victor radio/phonograph combinations. Examples 7-10, 7-25, 8-60, 9-15, etc. They could also be purchased separately. I use mine to connect my 1928 Radiola 18 to the horn. on a clear night, with my 50ft antenna wire I can pick-up AM760 WSM quite nicely. My modern radio's can't even come close to that. I'm in Saint Charles, MO and WSM broadcast from Nashville, TN an approximate distance of 329 miles. It's just fun to sit around the radio and scan the dial and see what I can pull in.

chem_jv wrote:The loud speaker unit was supplied to Victor by RCA. It let you connect any radio of the era that required an external speaker to the orthophonic horn. It was basically an orthophonic diaphragm and spider connected to an RCA 100 speaker instead of to a needle bar. They work quite well, but as you can guess sound a bit like any permanent magnet speaker of the era. The orthophonic horn does help though.

The units were also supplied with some of the Victor radio/phonograph combinations. Examples 7-10, 7-25, 8-60, 9-15, etc.

When I bought my 9-15, it came with 2 of these, one, I suppose, a spare picked up at some point.

Clay

Yes, those electric drivers are fun. I've hooked up mine through a matching transformer to a modern FM radio just to see what I could get out of a Credenza horn. Pretty impressive.

I have a question. I know these drivers with the RCA 100A guts and Orthophonic diaphragm and spider were available with certain victrola/radio combinations. Did you say they were also available as a stand-alone purchase from Victor or RCA? I know there were a number of drivers made by others to allow radio owners to make use of their phonograph horn as a speaker. I wasn't aware that these particular units could be purchased outright for that purpose. Since they were made to mate with an Orthophonic tone arm, it certainly seems someone had that in mind as a possibility. If they were available for outright purchase, do they show up in any literature?

Steve

chem_jv wrote: My question and need of help is this. The machine had the leather turntable on it, and well the leather is a little worse for age.

I only see traces of the original forest or dark green color left. At least, I'm pretty sure it was green, based on other examples I've seen -- for instance:



I'd say a well stocked upholstery shop would be your best bet. For instance, I spotted some synthetic leather (yeah, I know...) that's a very close match, especially the texture:


FROM -- http://www.vinylfabricwarehouse.com/aca ... orest.html

The price for real leather, which is normally sold by the yard, would be about five times as much -- http://www.bonanza.com/listings/M8-Leat ... n/44486159.

Very nice, so glad you rescued it, I can't imagine having something like that sitting in my house since the 60's and not even opening it?
I just added a nice VE 8-30X Credenza to my collection, mine also came with a original tube of victor grease, victor motor oil and those tags. Always great when you be all the little extras with them. Came with 3 tins of tungs to. Congrats on your fine!

Were the originals real leather? I'd expect leatherette, or a "Bonded" leather- the stuff that was made from ground scraps pressed together with a binder. It was in common use back then and still used today for things like cheap belts.

If you use real leather get something really thin like the kind used in book binding.