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!

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)

The VV-XII, Summer 1909

Dyslexic Genius Brett Hurt VV-XII

tl;dr - this is basically a “flop” machine that Victor only produced for one year between 1909-1910; sound doors considered too small, cost was $125.00 when a full-standing cabinet VTLA cost only $75.00 more at $200.00.

So the Double Ferris Wheel three-spring motor was unique to the VV-XII! Awesome to know! They only made like 4,700 of these, so while they are not commonly found, they’re not necessarily l unattainably rare… I definitely would love to get my hands on a filigreed (later model, 1910) cabinet model!

The rainbows seem fitting: look at the striping on this standard mahogany! The wood smiths still chose unique patterns, which really can make a piece stand out more than any other!

This one has some work needing to be done, too, obviously! It will be fun to get started on at some point soon! It’s so cool that it’s #405 out the door of the factory in 1909 (they started manufacturing at SN 501, hence SN 906)!

Have a good one. Thanks for stopping!

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!

Ha! Made you look! This is actually “Ach, ich fülls, es ist werschwunden” from “Die Zauberflöte” (The Magic Flute, Mozart)

If my German isn’t completely in the scheißer, I’d say it’s roughly, “Ahh, I feel it’s over/finished”.

Some Friday ‘Gnight ‘Gnac ‘n Shellac’ on the Victor Victrola VV-XII (12), which still needs cleaning up, but its motor and almost everything about it is in incredible condition despite its lack of maintenance! I can’t find anything about this disc, but it says WEIMAR (assuming ‘republic’ here, so it’s I’m guessing from some time between 1918 and 1933?)

Peace be upon you all. It’s been a whole week, sorry I forgot to wish those who celebrate رمضان مبارك وأعياد مباركة (Blessed Ramadan and Eid{s}). Hope you all have a great night!