Edison Cylinder help!

Greetings all -

Good news. I purchased my first cylinder phonograph. Hooray! (see photos #1-4 below) If anyone would be so kind as to entertain some questions it would be much appreciated.

1) I bought this as an "as is" risk. I was excited to find that when cranked, everything on the bottom half works! ...but not on the top. I would guess that this is a minor repair. (a belt connecting the bottom and top? ...but like I said that's just a guess.) Any input?

2) Even thought I just bought this unit, I found another affordable (and much cleaner) top half. (see last photo) This seems like something I can do myself? Is the motor connected to only the top? (ie: will it go crashing down when unscrewed or is it harnessed/attached to the case itself in any way?)

2a) Is there anything "wrong" with replacing the top? (ie: devaluing, etc.)

3) Can anyone tell if the condition of the reproducer from this picture? (see photo #4)

3a) The replacement appears to be a 2 + 4 minute player, whereas i'm not sure if the original can claim that. It comes with a "Model H" reproducer. Will this work with the new top half?

4) Do all cylinders play on this unit? (Most cylinders I find for sale/auction are called "Blue Labels" or "Amberols", is this the right cylinder? (ie: Amberols are not exclusive to Amberola's?)

5) Does anyone want to buy my current top half?

6) Does anyone have a lid to sell me?

Thanks for your time!









I WILL BE REPLACING WITH THIS TOP:

Hi,
The phonograph bought is an Edison Standard Model D (should be marked that way on the metal ID tag).It can play 2 and 4 minute records, provided one has a reproducer Model C for the 2-minute records, and a Model H for the 4-minute records.The replacement top is also a Model D, so they can be easaly exchanged, and wil not effect in a negeative way the originality.The motor is only attached to the metal base plate.Both machines lack the gear cover (can be bought sometimes on Ebay, or bought as a repro part).Also missing in both machines is the belt--phonograph dealers sell the right leather material for making a new belt--no big deal.It is recommended to clean the motor and moving parts , and oil them , it looks that these machines were on hold for quite a time.The good news is that these machines were very well built, and after cleaning etc. they resume without problem active life. The Reproducer model H looks allright, but cannot be judged accurately by photo.All 4 min records can be played by this reproducer: both the Blue Amberols as well as the wax Amberols.And of course a horn is lacking, a nice 14" brass-belled horn is always a good choice--can be bought as a good quality repro.Original horns are offered from to time, but are pretty expensive ($90-150).A lid for these machines will cost 20-40 .
good luck,
Pauul

Hi again, when you look on Ebay :
http://cgi.ebay.com/EDISON-STANDARD-MOD ... dZViewItem

you find a similar model with good photo's,may be intersting as reference.
Paul

Thanks much for all your help!

Do these cylinder top halves have some sort of lock/unlock mechinism that would stop/free the top cylinder + gears from spinning?

(ie: new top half arrived in the mail today, but cylinder won't budge)

Hrmm. :-/

Thanks!

The drive belt is missing. It connects the two halves. it is in the pictures of the other unit.

Phono...,

I'm not sure but I would think that the whole mandrel assembly is tied into the reproducer carriage via the feedscrew so the mandrel shouldn't ever just "free-wheel" Have you had any luck since posting? If not I will try to locate my copy of "The Compleat Talking Machine" to see what it has to say. (I know it's around here some place! )

Regards,
J.

Unfortunately i'm still stuck with my cylinder unit.

I am aware the the drive belt is missing... that is not the problem. The problem is that I have 2 "tops". When I spin the "older top" cylinder, it spins along with all the top gears. When I spin the "newer top", the cylinder feels as if it's locked in place and nothing moves.

You should make sure of the following:

1. The upper works are clean, also make sure that the end gate is not too
tight, you may have to adjust this. Be careful though, some of these
parts are rusty and can break.

2. Replace the belt. (I carry belts for sale).

3. Does the lower gear assembly have a broken pinion gear? if this is
broken the top will not spin. It is common for this little gear to break
and they can be replaced with a reproduction new gear.

I am amazed at all the guesswork that poor phonophan79 has had to put up with!

All Model 'C' Edisons (machines, not reproducers) and later (D-H) replaced the earlier end-bearings of the mandrel-shaft with a single centre-bearing. (This was done because Edison believed that there was resistance to cylinder machine sales because work was involved in changing records). The change was a retrograde step in that in engineering terms the position of the bearing is poor and invites huge friction.

Had the centre-bearings been made of bronze they might have worked better but they were made of Mazak (aka. 'Muck metal, aka. 'Pot metal' aka 'S**t' metal). Mazak is an alloy which expands with age as seen in 'perishing' Dinky toy cars of the 1920's and twisting Columbia topworks. It takes about fifty years from moulding to initial visible breakdown. The designers could not have known that this would happen.

The result is that 99% of Model C-H Edisons need to have this seized bearing driven or chipped out and replaced with an easily-turned phosphor-bronze replacement. There is no alternative solution. Believe me I have had it done dozensof times over the years.

Al the Best, Howard Hope