Edison Gem D

[kevan]

Hi All Just Back from Union and had a great time, met alot of fellow phono nuts. Have a new project for the summer. I know you will all be so helpful on this one. It is an Edison D Maroon Gem with the original crane and horn and a H 4 min reproducer. The belt is slipping but runs well and just needs a good cleaning. The gear cover is the only part that is a reproduction.

[lukewarmwater]

Hey, congratulations! Nice machine! I would love to have a Maroon Gem again! Send the reproducer to Steve Medved for rebuilding. He will only charge for parts and return shipping -- not for labor -- and it will be done right!

[kevan]

Thanks Luke
I looked for you on Name tags but was unable to locate you.

There was a Amberola V there on Friday but it when fast for 300.00 It neede work and the feet were missing and after seeing one in real life I think it is to big for what I want.

Kevan

[lukewarmwater]

Jun 16, 2008 19:23:08 GMT -5 kevan said:

Thanks Luke
I looked for you on Name tags but was unable to locate you.

There was a Amberola V there on Friday but it when fast for 300.00 It neede work and the feet were missing and after seeing one in real life I think it is to big for what I want.

Kevan

I saw you several times, walked right past each other on several ocassions, but didn't know that was you. 'Luke Warmwater' is only an alias, I had my real name on the tag. Amb V's are big, but they sound good, too. I like the pre-fire Amberolas!

[larryh]

Keven, Luke,

Wish I could have ended up at Union but had some other issues come up here near home, plus the same day a sale about 50 miles from me had an amberola and a table top victor.. I only wanted the amberola in order to work on a diaphragm for them. But, as it turns out I may have wasted some money.. The machine is a 30. It looks pretty fair, minus the gear cover and grill. But I am not good at knowing what to look at on cylinder machines and it ended up being a somewhat poor purchase. They didn't have any 4 minute cylinders so it was yesterday when I finally tracked one down, for way too much money at a local shop.. It sounded good on the machine the fellow had, but when I tried it on my new one, it was pitiful. No resemblance to music, just sort of wobbling garble.. Well thats been my usual cylinder machine luck..
On closer inspection last night I see that the spring is missing that would hold the horn.. what ever held the front of the horn in position is also gone. The screws have been replaced to the motor board and are loose. One screw on the governor shaft is gone and the governor it self has been soldered. I knew that, but figured I could probably get that replaced.. I overlooked the other issues.. Now what to do? I see some one ebay that people say are in good shape selling for about a third more than I paid. But considering the repairs this one will need I don't know exactly which way to proceed. I could send the motor to George and have him get it going I guess. I won't be fixing it I am sure. The case is dark oak and in pretty fair shape with a saveable finish, but I am a bit irritated at my self for purchasing a machine that someone has screwed up so to speak..

[andersun]

Congratulations on the Gem D ! I have worked on many of these before. If you have any questions, just ask.

www.theedisonshop.com

[kevan]

Thanks To All
I do have a question. when I bought the Gem the belt seemed to be slipping but when I got it home to work on it I found out that the lower belt pully lock screw had not been tight enough to prevent the pully from slipping. I fixed that. Now I have it turning the mandrel but the spring slips two times through a two minute record and I see that there is no greese packed on it. Should I pack the spring with greese or do these open springs not require greese at all?
Kevan

[andersun]

None of the Gem springs I have worked on were packed with grease. I would try light oil like sewing machine or clock oil.

[lukewarmwater]

Or, allow it to rundown and blow dry black lock graphite through the coils. Wind it up and repeat the process a couple of times.

[andersun]

Jun 20, 2008 17:15:14 GMT -5 lukewarmwater said:

Or, allow it to rundown and blow dry black lock graphite through the coils. Wind it up and repeat the process a couple of times.

If you take the motor out, the spring can unwind a lot more where you can get your fingers in between the coils. You can wind it up by hand (wear leather gloves) to get it to fit back in the housing again afterwords. Make sure if you do take the motor out, to stuff something through the large gear that meshes with the governor BEFORE you remove the governor so it wont free spin. That is also the gear you can wind the spring up by hand with prior to putting back into housing. After you wind it up, make sure you stuff something back through the gear again so you can put the governor assembly back on to again avoid free spin.

Steve

[kevan]

Thanks
I'll give the light oil a try first, I think this machine has sat for a long time without being enjoyed. I think the best thing for machines is to play them alot and they just start working better. I will clean it and oil it this weekend and try to post something on youtube before the end of the weekend. I did buy a new spring for it in Union but will try to use this old one up first.
Kevan