edison recorder

[leoburdorf]

Hello everybody,

I' am a new member on your board. I am dutch and i live in Germany and I am a phonograph fan. Recently i received a edison recorder (serial number 221205) for my edison home phonograph. During transport the stylus was disconnected with the membrane. Now I have some questions so that I can repair;
- with what kind of glue I can fix the stylus on the membrane
- is it correct that the stylus is fixed a little bit form the middle of the membrane, but not exactly on the middle
- on the photo you see the recorder i bought, what is wondering me is that the stylus is glued on the edge wheras I see that there is a little hole in the edge, that fits exactly to the stylus.

Please I hope someone can help. Perhaps someone has a clear photograph of this kind of recorders

Thanks a lot

Leo

[maroongem]

Hi Leo and welcome to the board!
You didn't mention if your Recorder was 2 or 4M but they were both shellacked originally to the center of the diaphragm with the cutter facing the center. I suppose a super glue type could be used to re-fasten it to the diaphragm but I have never done it that way.
There are Recorders pictured in previous posts. You just have to search around.
I'm not sure which photo you are referring to. Did you try to post a pic here? You may wish to use a imaging site such as Photobucket to post your pics here.

Bill

Leo,

Here is a recent post regarding recorders and you can get an idea of how they were fastened to the mica diaphragm.

edisonphonos.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cylinders&thread=1135&page=1#7396

[leoburdorf]

I made an additional photo. On photo nr5 you see the slot in the edge. Is this slot meant to put the stylus bar in ?
The only thing that is wondering me, is that the stylus itself is rather "round". Is it sharp enough to make grooves on a blank cylinder record ?

Attachments:

[maroongem]

Hi Leo,

The slot you mention is actually a limit loop that allows the diaphragm assembly to drop down only so far. There should be a slight hook or bend at the end of the limit loop to catch the edge of the diaphragm assembly.
Original Edison cutters were round and slightly cupped at the end. You may need some magnification to see the concave cut at the tip.

Bill

I forgot to mention, there should be a sliding weight inside the sound tube that puts pressure on the stylus/diaphragm assembly to assist in the volume of the recording

[edisonphonoworks]

Rich Goodin and I had a run of cupped center saphires made a few years ago, Rich has them and is rather hard to get ahold of. The stylus holder can take several days to make, trying it and adjusting it, copper foil is best to make the holder out of. I make blanks, but the materials are getting very expensive to me , and the sad thing is, they are as close to the Edison formula as can be made today, They sound like a regular Edison blanks, except they are a bit quieter, it has taken over 10 years of development and research, I have made over 1000 pounds of the composition. Making cylinders, is like shooting a moving target, you can make it the same however, it comes out different every time, different color, noise levels change, after awhile you quite weighing the ingredients and use intuition, because you have to adjust it all by weather, different seasons require modifications to molding temperature, ceresine content, sal soda, lye, aluminum ect. you fight streaks, bubbles, cracking, precepitates forming inside the blanks, as a crystaline. Most of these problems have to do with stearic acid, the principal ingrediant in the records, The original stearic of the late 19th and early 20th century was made from bovine fat, pressed, with water, and dried, 3 times. Glycerine and olaic acid were seperated in each pressing, as it floats to the top from the fat, until it was flaky, hard and white. Today stearic is derived from palm trees, and is much harder, and the subtle differences create headaches. I have read over 5,000 pages on making cylinder records. My website, members.tripod.com/~edison_1/index.html. I have made about 200 blanks this year. I now cook them in a cast iron kettle, with ring gas burner, which is what the original Edison blanks were made with, and it is a small detail that makes all the difference, I used to use a thermostatically controlled laboratory electric warmer, I use this for molding purposes only, however the cast iron kettle rules!