Electrola

Hello everybody,

My father gave me this gramophone:


As you can see it is not in mint condition, so my plan is to restore it. I searched a lot on the internet already but i cannot find very much. What i do know (correct me if i am wrong) that it is the same as an HMV101 made between 1927 and 1931. I found out that the little brake lever is missing on the lower right. The original Electrola soundbox is broken:

as is the spring holding the arm when in rest.
I found a shop on ebay where i already ordered a new spring and a mica piece. The motor is (original?) a type 59
I am trying to find a good replacement for the outside fabric, i found that it is called rexine but no shop where i can buy it.For now i need the rexin, a non broken electrola type 4, a clip for the arm, the brake lever and the carrying strap. I will keep you updated with fotos here and any help/ info is very much appreciated. I need to add that i am completely new in the world of old gramophones although it interested me for quite some years.

Greetings,

Goodevening,

Today i dismantled the gramophone and i bought 25m of rexine wich i found here in Holland. So i now have enough for many gramophones to come
The grain is a little different but when you don't see them together you don't notice it is different,

here is a picture of the 'naked' box:


I cleaned the box and sanded it and sprayed the inside black and this evening i put the rexine on the body, it was a pleasure to do it an the result is very nice, i glued the rexine with normal woodglue, works perfectly (i had to make a foto with flash so the pictures aren't very good);

Looks like you did a great job with the covering!

This is, virtually, the same model as the HMV 101, and once restored, it should perform very well.

Hello,

i am making good progress with my electrola, i sandblasted all the black metal and copper pieces and resprayed them with 2k satin black, and the inside of the horn brown;

I also split the soundbox, sandblasted it and repaired the missing piece with 2k metal, then sprayed the head and painted the logos with gold, that wasn't an easy job!, but i think it looks nice again;

I sorted the parts that need to be nickel-plated again;

I am now waiting for the parts coming from England (new spring and mica) so then i can reassemble the soundbox and repair the engine and i have to restore the woodparts and then it should be a matter of screwing things toghether....

Hello,

Yesterday i received the new spring, so today i opened the springbox to replace the spring. It took me a while to figure out how to open the case, but when you know how to do it it is very simple, there is a steel ring that is holding the lid;

Putting the new spring in is pretty straightforward, i had problems closing the box but eventually i succeeded when starting with the open ends of the steel clip and working towards the end, bit like mounting a tire on a bicycle;

I also worked on the wood, i was thinking how to get the wood in a like new condition again and i found some mahogany veneer. First i plastered the scratches and other damages;

then i glued the veneer over the original wood;

The panels have to get a few more layers of clear coat, but i think it already looks nice again...
This week i brought al the metal pieces that had to be nickel plated, it will be finished in about tree weeks and then i can assemble the electrola and test it.

What a transformation! Just goes to show that there is all the difference in the world when someone who knows what he is doing, is doing it!

Fantastic job so far! Cant wait to see the end result.
-Tony

Thanks guys for the compliments,

this is the end result, i personally am very pleased with it :


I have one last question, when i play a record (the sound is very nice by the way!) the record somethimes slows down a bit. When i lift the soundbox the table turns fine. It seems odd to me that the head is resting so heavy on the record, so could it be that there should be some kind of spring in the arm or something to reduce the weight of the soundbox?

And a few more pictures:

Old and new (can't get enough ):

As for it slowing down, does it only do it at the end of the record, or the beginning? Does the slowdown depend on how loud the particular tracks are that are playing? Are you giving it a full winding?
I have an old Silvertone portable that has only a single spring, looks like yours does too. Mine can slow down if I use a loud needle or on especially loud parts... the resistance on loud parts can sometimes audibly slow the record down, so I use a soft needle, always give it a full wind, and made sure it's all clean and lubed. This cheap Silvertone was designed to barely get thru one record and no more.
Normally lateral-cut reproducers like yours would not have a spring or anything to reduce the weight, but you might want to try to add a counterweight to the elbow the soundbox is attached to, to reduce the pressure on the record. I.e. the soundbox is pivoting where those two tubes connect, you could attach a stiff wire with weight on the end of it. The weight would counteract the weight of the soundbox. Technically the weight of the soundbox is what is *supposed* to be on the record for the needle to track the record as designed, but I think you can experiment with counterweights a little and add just enough to eliminate that slowdown... as long as everything else has been eliminated (you said you replaced the spring). You could put the rod with the weight(s) on it temporarily with rubber bands or whatever so you could play around with it and not make permanent modifications. I'm not talking about removing a ton of weight where you would start getting mistracking or anything like that, just a small % of the weight and see if it might help.

Thanks frenchmarky for your reply,
i noticed that the quality of the record is what is mainly causing the slowdowns, i have a few records which are in like new condition and then the playing goes well.
I wil try your tip to use the soft needles and see how that goes,
Thanks again!

Goodevening everybody,

I thought i should post a final update;
Frenchmarky tipped me about using soft needles, so i ordered them and indeed that does the trick.
Not only is the sound much more pleasant ( the loud needles are indeed loud) but also the electrola now plays beautiful!
So thanks again Frenchmarky for the tip

Good job!
I have one gramophone same model and i just start to restore. Unfortunately my box is not in good shape and i try to made a new box but with old wood from some old furniture.

Here is some pictures.
http://forum.club4x4.ro/album.php?albumid=20


Sorry, i forgot to introduce myself.
Hello everybody!
My name is Dan and i am from Romania.

All best!