Harvey, An Edison "Home" numbered in the 3400 range would date from February 1898. As I noted yesterday on the ATM board, "Homes" began appearing with nickel-plated mandrels in October/November 1898. Hope this helps - -
George P. -----Original Message----- From: harvey kravitz <harveykrav...@yahoo.com> To: Antique Phonograph List <phono-l@oldcrank.org> Sent: Mon, May 17, 2010 3:09 pm Subject: Re: [Phono-L] Edison Brass Mandrels... some idle thoughts... Hi Al, Thank you for all your help.I really learned a lot from you. I have an Edison suit case Home with a 3400's serial number. Do you know if it had a brass mandrel? It was converted into a 2/4 min. machine either by the original owner or a collector. If this indeed had a brass mandrel, I'd love to get it back to original. Thanks, Harvey Kravitz ________________________________ From: "clockworkh...@aol.com" <clockworkh...@aol.com> To: phono-l@oldcrank.org Sent: Sun, May 16, 2010 4:04:46 AM Subject: Re: [Phono-L] Edison Brass Mandrels... some idle thoughts... Greetings Harvey: The solid brass mandrels were on the early M and E electric machines. They were press fit onto the steel mandrel shaft. Even in those days solid brass of that diameter was expensive so few are found to be solid after 1896. As the M topworks was adapted for the Springmotor machines the brass mandrel became a hollow cylinder with brass ends pressed in. It was a thick wall brass which still carried some weight. The smaller diameter end was indented to allow for the needle bearing guard on the endgate. In 1901 the nickel plated thin walled drawn brass mandrel allowed for a drastic reduction in brass costs and reduced the number of machining operations. The indented end continued for the M and E but the new Triumph line did not require it. For the rest of the Triumph production the drawn brass mandrel continued to serve well. The Home phonograph had the thick walled hollow brass mandrel with end pieces almost from the earliest machines. Only the very lowest serial numbers are occasionally found with a solid mandrel and the indented end. The Home had that thick walled brass mandrel for a long time but wall thickness was reduced as nickel plating was added. The drawn thin brass mandrel was introduced before the 1901 new style cabinet change. The length of the mandrel shaft remained the same until the Model B was introduced. SADLY, there are sellers who swap out the brass mandrel for a later thin walled nickeled mandrel. They then charge more for the brass mandrel than they paid for the whole phonograph. So, you can find a Home with a serial number below 9000 with a shiny nickeled mandrel that should not be there. And further along there will be an eBay listing for the original brass mandrel for a higher price than the mutt machine. Grrrrr ! ! ! I hope that helps. I am away from my research materials so I only guarantee the above to be 50% correct... Al _______________________________________________ Phono-L mailing list http://phono-l.oldcrank.org _______________________________________________ Phono-L mailing list http://phono-l.oldcrank.org _______________________________________________ Phono-L mailing list http://phono-l.oldcrank.org
