The machine is gone. If a table model is 70 lbs, the London must have weighed well over a 100 lbs. I could not even lift one side. It was way too heavy for me to realistically deal with...I'm glad I went back though and checked it out. It was a good adventure. As far as the table models...if they're 70 lbs, they're too much for me as well. My limit...is 20 lbs...just about what the records weigh. ;)
The cabinet was black. No shine. It had spots of white mildew on the inside wood. Nothing we ever got (back in the 1950-60's) looked as bad as this. Those old machines had that nice old wood antiques smell...still do as a matter of fact...and with a little lemon oil shine up nicely. This was beyond lemon oil. I think even my Pop, the inveterate collector would have passed on it. He would have needed help moving it too. There was a small brass knob just sitting there...don't know where it came from; loose screws floating around; the horn looked kinda green and bent; the front grill had the 4 side pieces stuffed into the cabinet with none of the frilly middle stuff. The closer I looked, the worse IT looked. I know you guys like to preserve these things, and I agree with that wish. The weight, in my opinion, is what really made it unrealistic to even contemplate. It was a big white elephant. I'm happy to have the records though. I've seen thick DD records in the past, always with the edges all messed up. These have pretty sharp edges; only one had some small bubbling. And some day I'll get to hear them. Happy New Year to everyone. Stay healthy and safe. :) Ger ----- Original Message ----- From: DanKj To: Antique Phonograph List Sent: Sunday, December 27, 2009 1:11 PM Subject: Re: [Phono-L] The last word on Diamond Discs...I think Too bad you didn't get some pics of it - I wanted to see what made it seem such a mess. The solder is supposed to be there, as Ron L'H said, and if there was anything running into the horn it was just a volume control, which I remove anyway because it muffles the sound. The straps behind the slots sound correct, too. Except for the missing grill, how bad is the cabinet? You might be disappointed to learn that the few Edison table models are less common than floor models and they're HEAVY, awkward things. My Chalet weighs about 70 pounds, and my B-80 nearly as much. ----- Original Message ----- From: "ger" <ge...@comcast.net> > The poor London model of Edison's Diamond Disc machine looks like it had > been tortured. The vertical section was there afterall, but a cable, wood > block and some other things (part going into the horn) were missing. > Someone had SOLDERED the horn on th.... > > Needless to say, the machine still sits with the seller...who is now a bit > wiser, since I shared the photo and what I knew with her. She seemed not > at all disappointed and actually fascinated to learn something about the > poor mess. > > As for its WEIGHT. I've got an "AH-HAH!" I took the flashlight and checked > out the left side where the 24 slots for records was. I could see that 2, > that's TWO, thick metal weights were in place behind the slots. They went > across the back, one high, one low. \ > > > I will, however, now keep an eye out for an Edison (table model) which > could play my records _______________________________________________ Phono-L mailing list http://phono-l.oldcrank.org _______________________________________________ Phono-L mailing list http://phono-l.oldcrank.org
