New To Edison Restoration Need Help

[mikesonair]

My wife owns a very old Edison phonograph. It is a cabinet type. A plate on it says 1914 I think ?? When we first got married it played great and looked great. After 28 years we have lost all of her records (moving) , and it needs some general help. WHERE DO I BEGIN ?
Are there places where I can purchase records for it ?
Can I do the restoration or should I hire someone ?
Can I purchase parts for it ?
Do I forget about the whole thing ?
I REALLY want to put this back into GREAT condition for our anniversary in January. PLEASE HELP !!

[martinola]

Hi Mike!
Welcome to the board. This is the right place for getting help. The first thing you'll need to do is zero-in on the specifics. A good start would be to take lots of photos of it in its current condition (both wide and close-up). Use a photo hosting site like Photobucket ( photobucket.com/ ) and add the images' links to your posts.

Having a test record (not rare or valuable) would be a good thing, too. Check on this and the other forums for sale items as well as eBay. I assume that this is a Diamond Disc machine? (This is where having photos and data plate information would be helpful.) There are various dealers and restorers out there that can help you if you decide the work is too overwhelming. George Vollema ( www.victroladoctor.com/ ) and APSCO ( www.antiquephono.com/ ) are two resources that jump to mind. Does it still play or is it DOA? Does it make noises it shouldn't? Or does it just not make any noise at all? Answering stuff like this will start you on the right path. Generally, parts are out there for these things and it's really just a matter of patience and research. Good luck with your machine!
Best Regards,
Martin

[larryh]

Yes some general idea of what seems to be going on would surely help. I don' t believe you need go though Photobucket any longer to put up photos here, this reply screen has the link to choose a file and will download photos right on the message here.. I hated that photo bucket kind of thing where I had to move all sorts of links around to make it work. This is a lot simpler.

Does your machine wind up and run alright?

If it does then the next step is to be sure your needle is still good, easily determined by carefully watching the record as the needle plays in the run off black shiny area of the record at the end. If your needle is not leaving any scratchy looking lines in the surface the needle is at least still good enough to use. If it makes a scratch you can see when held to the light then its probably damaged from rough handling or hitting chips or cracks in the records. You want to watch your records carefully when you get them as its easy to put one on that has damage that can hurt the needle if it hits just right.


After than then your probably due to replace the gaskets in the reproducer to get the best sound provided your diaphragm is still working well. Many aren't but some are. It can be a do it your self project as long as your a bit careful with how your doing it. We can help with suggestions there as well.

Adjustments to the arm and height of the needle all need to be correct to prevent damage of the records. There is a Edison Repair Mans Manual in one of the threads here on sources or repairs, I for get the name. It tells how to remove the motor, oil and grease it, check the running speed, set the height of the arm, ect.

Cabinet work is also something a lot of us have dealt with so just ask..

Larry