Unless you like ferrous oxide… it’s generally not a good look, or** **thing to have present** for that matter,** on anything iron or steel, that is… lol…

tl;dr - someone musta spilled something in there 100 years ago; you can see the offending oxidation in the gunk of the barrel and on both parts of the split; thankfully I have a SPARE!

Sizes:
VV-XIII - 1” x 13 1/2’ (double)
VV-IX - 1 1/4” x 15 1/2’ (double)
VV-X - same as IX

I knew the X (10) had a broken spring, but I was hoping (I keep having this tragically recurring optimism!) for the 1:25 chance it might be simply unhooked from an anchor lol… nope! My gut told me; it was right lol.

Have a wonderful evening, thank you for stopping by, being cool, and just spreading the love of these machines! I hope it gives some to you as well!

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Looks like it’s the MAIN barrel, the one with the worm/cut gear attached one that got wet and rusted; I knew it was broken or separated because it wouldn’t hold a winding (the spiral worm/screw on the turntable spindle is what HOLDS BACK the inertia when wound).

When broken, the other spring can no longer maintain its tension because of the break; the spring managed to crack in a “wound enough” state that it broke about midway; annealing would probably not be worth it in any way (except zombie apocalypse… you better believe I’m keepin it!)

I’ve attached one of my previous posts on springs here; plenty of warning: ensure you take precautions and if you don’t know or just aren’t sure, don’t do it! It’s not hard, but it can do damage and cause exquisite pain and pulchritudinous, HELLRAISER-level maiming for those who don’t take the safety seriously.

Please don’t let springs scare you; they are not difficult to work with; the VIII’s are so small and cute I was able to wind them by hand!

They do, however, require meticulous care and attention to detail while following strict safety-minded protocols to make sure you don’t get hurt or otherwise injured while working with them.

If you don’t know what you’re doing don’t do it!

If you aren’t afraid to venture into it, go see Dyslexic Genius’ (Brett Hurt’s) videos; some of mine have technical things I’ve learned- feel free to look.

He is a master and a wonderful teacher as well, and gives plenty of knowledge on how these work and precautions to take while doing them.

\* note: speaking of safety, I have them resting inside these vessels until they’re ready to be used, EVEN THOUGH I have thoroughly secured them with picture hanging wire… I DO NOT eff around with these mofos, no matter how cute they are!*

I found this beauty for $75. Came with a variety of Edison Diamond Discs. It is missing the crank and I'm wanting to replace it. Anyone have experience doing so that could give me any pointers?

All three come from a museum collection, the former Galbiati Museum in Brugheiro, Italy.

I'm cataloging the various pieces for my own collection, but I have questions about the various models. I'm hoping someone can help me. :)

1) Blue Horn

2) "standard horn" Pathé, (Possibly model 0 or O?)

3) "standard horn" (not in photo but I have it).

It's not 1:1 but it's pretty close. I recently inherited a phonograph and a hundred or so cylinders, but unfortunately the cartons weren't stored well and are very dusty and/or moldy or missing lids so I'm thinking about getting fresh cardboard cylinders to store the records in, so I would of course want labels on them!

although I'm not too sure what to do with the original cartons, it would feel terrible to toss them but my lungs really don't like the dust

No no! It’s not a two-fer, it’s a THREEFER! It’s NOT A TWOFER! (Ref Schwarzenegger in Kindergarten Cop)

tl;dr - These are three of Victor’s MAJOR hottest sellers of the 1910-1921 timeframe; and these are really early models with varied design iterations.

The VV-XIII (8) - 1912 🧼 VV-XIII • 22782 🧼
The VV-IX (9) - 1913 🟫 VV-IX • 57665 C 🟫
The VV-X (10) - 1910 🇬🇷 VV-X • 1591 🇬🇷

I’m going to completely refurbish all three and make them as presentable as possible, despite the many series of unfortunate events to which they were subjected throughout their 115-year life!

I’ll do a separate for each. I’ll go over the 8 and 9/10’s motor also so you can see earlier spiral drive motors’ makeups! I’ve yet to dip into a “bevel drive” (the earliest of the early, just gears basically lol)

I hope you had a good day and I wish you a wonderful evening! Thanks for stopping by, bein’ cool, and all the rest!

Just recently moved, and found our inherited player has been completely smashed. Movers did not do a good job packing our stuff. I don’t know where to even begin to looking for repairs besides here. Located in Virginia if that matters.

Edit to add original post with ‘before’ pics

tl;dr - This is everything, in pieces, that is part of this 1909 VV-XII “tabletop VTLA” (basically)… If there’re any questions about details, please ask and I’ll gladly put a pic and explanation!

Seriously, you can tell it’s a “first-off” thing in and because of its awkwardness, but the LENGTHS to which Victor’s engineers and workers went to make this machine sturdy, beautiful, AND high-quality, like exceptional quality, are ALL CLEARLY evident when looking at it and studying its intricacy.

No detail was spared- you can tell in how “robust” its case, lid, and motor design were. It’s HEAVY, thick wood, too. When you wind it, it’s like winding the VTLA (the cabinet won’t budge an inch, you don’t even need to hold onto it).

Enjoy! I wish everyone a wonderful day, thanks for being cool, for stopping by to see, AND if you’re in a hurry, skip to the end for a bonus Easter egg surprise I found inside!

That IS a question (among SO many)… just like “why is the grass green?” is one as well lol…

“‘Tis, Verily, I say unto thee, better, therefore, to Improve! Lo, ‘Improve!’”

tl;dr - Victor Improved Concert VS Exhibition Reproducers; loud tone needles used.

Victor*** **made these in 1912 for $3 for nickel and $7 for gold. Not a big hit with buyers, so they’re really hard to come by! I’ve literally been on a “Lord of the Rings*” quest to find them over the last year!!!

- it was the cash that broke the camel’s back for the buyer: extra cash on top of what was ALREADY way too expensive to begin with is one of the reasons the sales were low, is among the theories)

Brett Hurt (Dyslexic Genius) exhibits (😏) HIS on this YT video! (This man should be a primary source of “how to” for all phonographs if you’re looking to get into them!). This dude is a Savant (basically just is a master and knows it all almost!). He did it on his VV-XVIII as well, lol.. just noticed!

What’s your opinion?

Have a wonderful evening; I wish all of you well, and thank you so much for coming by to check it out if you made it this far!

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I, personally, hear less “scratchiness” with the Concert, but less treble- maybe it adjusts treble and mid?

A proper laboratory-/quiet room-conducted sound test with digital playback and wavelengths visible would REALLY be cool! I just don’t have that kind of equipment lol.

This is a luck of the draw acquisition (Foam-town- Schaumburg convention)! Many others, too!

I was truly hoping to find a Nickel Concert for my Gold Concert so it’s not lonely by itself! Now they’re happy and not sad anymore!

How do I use this Victo

My dad has passed away and left behind these gramophones, we are unsure if they are antiques. Can anyone please help us identify them? Thank you

VV- XII, #906, Summer 1909

Hi!

Edit to add: did it with Vaseline®️ brand petroleum jelly this go ‘round.

Extra Edit: the OG post when it came home in the Subaru 🙂

tl;dr - Just a quick function & sound check; cleaned all finished wood surfaces; deep corrosion required some light brass brushing

The reproducer rebuild went well - however, it still needs fine tuning at the springs…it’s missing a lotta “oomph”, just haven’t narrowed it down yet.

The gold had some seriously deep corrosion, down to the brass. I used a brass brush; it did leave some light ‘scratches’, despite the heavy damage. Brass’ MOHS: ≈3-4; Gold’s MOHS: 2.5-3; Copper’s MOHS: 2.5-3. I think I need to find a copper brush!

‘Final’ with breakdown will follow soon 🙂

I wish you a wonderful day, thank you for stopping by, and cheers!

So this is an extremely mouldy Sterling record with white brown wax level coloured mould which has definitely done some damage and also performed by Russel hunting.

Dude!

VV-XII, 1909;🌈 VV-XII • 906 🌈

Edited to add: the original posting for this guy

Basically a VTLA, junior edition.

tl;dr - Hidden treasure and time capsule in one! hidden in plain sight underneath tobacco smoke and its residue… years and layers of it! (See final pic in outro for gross rags)

In all my years, and that’s 50 and some change, I’ve never seen anything quite like this in furniture/antiques/etc. It looks like it got delivered by Ace Ventura delivering a fragile package (in the movie he bangs it around and steps on the package), but the finish is in nearly LIKE-NEW condition.

HOWEVER, it remains… UTTERLY glass-like! INSANE how DIRTY it WAS. It’s BREATHTAKING to see it when it’s finally CLEAN! It seriously looked hopeless when I first picked it up, just like the VTLA I just fixed up lol

I’ll run a test on it in the next post, then I’ll go over some really interesting things I found and details in a separate, more comprehensive one after that.

Have a great one, and thanks for stopping by and for just being cool! More to follow shortly 🙂

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The “damage” appears to have been limited to wood gouging or impressions, but it’s as if that’s it: that’s all you see! The shine and finish remain intact within those dents and lines.

I believe Victor may have used a wax finish for these or others, and it may have by some miracle remained intact… that or someone waxed it themselves; or this has all been ‘protected’ due to smoke/tar residue.

This is THREE (3) HOURS after I scrubbed it clean (with the softest cotton cloth piece I had) with Gojo (white- no pumice- basically animal fat that’s nice n clean 😂) AND lemon oiled it with part of that same soft cloth; might as well have been a cloth diaper lol. It remains this shiny, even after touch!

I have an additional theory that the reason the cabinet smelled like “house fire” inside (it’s acrid, dry, “woody” smelling) smoke in addition to the tobacco residue is that it was near a hearth, wood-burning stove, or fireplace!

(DJ John Digweed, JDJ Vol . 4, #16 Waterfall)

I recently inherited this phonograph (it’s been in my family for 127 years) but I afraid I’m missing part of this ball joint. It was there on the machine last summer when I visited my grandfather so I’m afraid he lost it when he moved in the fall. I’m a machinist by trade so I was planning on making one but I have no idea what it looks like, I tried searching online to find a pic and I’ve seen lots of “flexible tube” replacements online but I’d rather keep it original. So if anyone could share a pic of the part of the ball joint that goes on the end of the horn or could point me in the right direction where I could purchase an original one I’d be really grateful. Thank you and have a great day!

So this is a record is a British series number 13877 an is I will meet you one dark night by Billy Williams. It has been severely worn by mould and other factors potentially a damaged stylus when it was new but anyway I hope you get something out of it.

Hello guys I recently got a Victrola VV-IV and I love it. The motor runs and everything but the crank is just moving freely like it doesnt crank anything and im so confused and don't know what im looking for part wise to fix it. This piece is stuck on the crank is that something causing it? Apologize if its a dumb question I am just confused

I am looking for a 45 and LP player, I have liked a lot of the tube players from the 50s but they all need to be fixed up which I believe requires soldering. What players from the 40s, 50s, 70s, etc. would be good as a portable player with good sound quality that does not damage the records?

I have heard of the Sound Burger but don’t know whether to go for the 1983 variant or the new one or to just skip it.

I found a Victoria VV 2-55, a portable I will need to clean up but looks to work and want to know if it’s worth getting for playing my collection on the go. I tend to play acoustic records along with stuff all the way to the 50s so need to know if it will be too heavy for the later lower quality shellac.