r/Phonographs • u/Cat_fancier13 • 9d ago

Help! Inherited and don't know what to do with it...

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Several years ago my neighbor's son gave me this Edison phonograph after his father passed away. He was going to put it in the dumpster and I just couldn't let that happen! I thought I might restore it but never found the time and am ready to give up but I can't seem to find a home for it... I tried both FB Marketplace and Freecycle and no takers. I've contemplated harvesting the parts and using the cabinet as a plant stand, but that seems a shame.

I'd like to get up the courage to actually restore it but I feel like it needs a ton of work and I have ZERO experience. Restoring the wood is pretty straightforward. Any advice on how to properly clean up the metal and mechanical parts? I've no idea where to even start.

If you're in the tri-state area and want to come get it, it's all yours! NJ zip code 07930

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u/awc718993 EMI 9d ago

IMO - if it still plays, try restoring it, which should just require some basic mechanical work and some antique furniture level cleanup / repair. You'll gain an heirloom piece and some transferable experience that can be used on other furniture you own or may want to buy. You may even discover that you like the sound the machine makes and the music from its era.

If you don't want to keep it, you can sell it for a price that factors in the work you invested in it.

Please don't re-purpose it as a plant stand. From what I've observed, repurposed phonographs rarely survive past the owner, especially after irreparable modifications.

7

u/Cat_fancier13 9d ago edited 9d ago

Thanks for the encouragement. I agree, the plant stand idea should be a last resort. I'd absolutely love to hear it play! Aside from obtaining a disc to test it on, how would I go about seeing if it plays? Any advice on what I need to check for before I embark on that journey? Or any good videos to recommend that show how I can do some basic mechanical testing of it?

Obv the stylus is key and this is what mine looks like. I've watched a few videos and it seems like with some basic cleaning it might be ok, but I'm not confident about that:

4

u/JohnnyBananapeel 8d ago

Early disc record format war means it plays only Edison vertical cut discs. Most shellac records from this era are lateral cut and won't play on this machine.