Phonoland

I recently inherited my great grandfathers Rishell cabinet phonograph. The cabinet is in decent shape, the grill is in place and there is no damage except the veneer coming loose underneath, but inside, looks like its missing everything but the turntable. It has half an arm (which is cracked) and not much more except a few spare needles. I haven't opened up the piece to see if anything is underneath, but I can assume most is missing. I guess the only good part is that is was stuffed full of old records and they are all in cases and in great shape.

At any rate, I have been searching online for days and have found no one and nothing to replace what I am missing. I find no info regarding Rishell aside from where they were once located. I read several times that HON had bought them out years ago, but upon checking with HON, they have no record of it and have no parts to offer.

Does anyone have any advice for my plight? I'd like to get it in working order to use for my own enjoyment. Would like to restore it myself, don't plan on selling it.

Hi Vikki:

Welcome to phonoland.

Unlike the name brand models produced by Victor, Columbia, Edison, or quality second tier products made by Brunswick Sonora or even Sears Silvertone, your Rishell phonograph was produced for only a short time period and sales were (comparatively) limited.

SEE: 263 Machines and Their Makers: 1916 - 1923 By R.J. Wakeman
http://www.gracyk.com/makers.shtml

For this reason, finding the replacement parts may be difficult, but not necessarily impossible.

I did spot part of a tonearm and reproducer for sale from this seller, for instance -- http://www.phonographs.org/store/produc ... ts_id=1165

You might want to start out by getting in touch with Great Lakes Antique Phonograph -- http://www.victroladoctor.com/ -- which has hundreds if not thousands of parts in stock.

Another shop to check out is the Victrola Repair Service -- http://www.victrolarepairservice.com/

Other shops include:

The Antique Phonograph Supply Company -- http://www.antiquephono.com/
Shenandoah Antique Phonograph Repair -- http://www.shenandoahrestoration.com/phono.html
John Lewis's Mechanical Antiques Repair -- http://www.antiquephonograph.com/

Since this was originally constructed using off-shelf part supplied by third party component suppliers, probably something can be found that will work.

By the way, if the turntable and spindle are in place, chances are, the motor is too. But, you should check this out before contacting the shops.

If you can, please post a few photos of your phonograph. Perhaps some of this site's members might be able to help.

Hope this helps,
Joe

Thank you for all the information Joe. I will take some photos tonight and post them for you to see. Like I said, the cabinet is in pretty good condition, all things considered. Could use some wax for the dryness, but otherwise its in perfect shape, no cracks, damage or repairs. The felt on the turntable needs to be replaced as well, but the rest I don't know. Will pull it apart and see what's under there tonight.

Thanks again,
Vikki

Wonderful news... after pulling the unit apart, we found more pieces of the puzzle. Almost the entire arm is there now, except for the front part of the needle housing. The motor is still there but the spring box is missing. The only other parts that I see as missing are the crank and the turntable stop plunger button.

Hi Vikki:

The cabinet is in very good condition. It looks like the restoration will make for an excellent restoration project.

You may find a correct replacement "sound box," or reproducer (where you insert the needle), along with the spring barrel, crank etc. from one of the shops I recommended. As I noted, this type of phonograph was fitted with off-shelf parts, used on other off-brand models of the period, so chances are, someone will have something.

The main thing is to take your time with it, and keep checking at various places for what you need. Do a Google search for one or both of the following--exactly as they appear--(using copy and paste) to find other message boards:



forum phonograph OR Victrola OR "Talking Machine"

"Message Board" phonograph OR Victrola OR "Talking Machine"



I'd suggest that for the missing motor parts, if a shop has them, that you send the motor and let do the installation, along with any other refurbishment work needed. That will ensure that the phonograph will work for the next 80 or 90 years.

Good luck.

Joe

That's a good idea to send the motor out. Now that I know what I need, it shouldn't be too difficult a job, just need to find everything. Can't wait to hear this thing play. I vaguely remember it a long, long time ago, maybe in the 70s, that nostalgic scratchy, far away sound. Can't wait to hear it again.

I do have some questions though. If you look at the bottom picture, the hole to the bottom right of the turntable I am assuming is for some kind of start/stop button as that's what the mechanism underneath does. Am I correct? What kind of part do I need for that?
Also, to the top and bottom left of the turntable, there are levers, no idea what for. Speed control maybe?
And lastly (for now at least) when you remove the tone arm, there is some kind of spring or something in there, not sure what it does or what its for. Its not spiral but a thin piece of wire with a loop at the top. Any ideas?

Will keep you posted on the progress and thanks again for the help!

Hi Vikki:

The controls are as follows --



The "hole" would have probably held the knob to adjust the speed. When shipping the motor to the shop, it would probably be a good idea to ship the motor attached to the motor board. In that way, all of the replaced missing parts will be correctly installed to work with the motor.

Joe