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Old 11th Dec 2022, 12:33 pm   #1
Slammer
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Default The Thujuphone

Finally it has come home with me. Along with around 400 records, not sure about the full amount, but it was an Opel Astra full.
The first assessment is that it is a nice little machine with no larger issues in the cabinet and nothing to suggest that the machine has been mistreated in all the years since it was built.
At some point it has lost the oval frame around the funnel and the speaker cloth looks like it was cut out of some girls knickers, I will be replacing it with something more appropriate.
It has been lightly sanded down, however I cannot quite tell what wood was used, it is not as brown as oak and its not mahogany, perhaps somebody here can tell. But at the moment I think I will be using a clou teak aqua stain. (I read about it here on the forum somewhere) and then finish it with Shellack.
I love the smell of shellack in the morning
I am however quite disappointed by the seller, an antique shop that has closed down. When I first saw it there were four or five tins of needles and I failed to check when I picked it up. OF COURSE the tins were no longer there, I phoned the guy and he told me that „somebody must have taken them!“ A statement that I totally believe straight out of the gate.
The records… well. I am unsure if I have found a gold mine or just dug up some fools gold. I don’t know enough about records to tell if they are valuable, it „Pustza flowers in spring“ on a Polydor pressing is worth much, so after picking some that I like or think I may like the rest has gone into storage.
Despite being annoyed ever so slightly I am looking forward to working on this machine and I think it will turn out just fine.
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Old 11th Dec 2022, 12:35 pm   #2
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Default Re: The Thujuphone

And some more piccies.
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Old 11th Dec 2022, 2:17 pm   #3
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Default Re: The Thujuphone

Looks like oak veneer to me and the speaker cover looks original or at least purpose made.

Andy.
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Old 11th Dec 2022, 3:14 pm   #4
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Originally Posted by Diabolical Artificer View Post
Looks like oak veneer to me and the speaker cover looks original or at least purpose made.

Andy.
The cabinet does look like oak the more I clean it, so I think I´ll be good with a light teak stain. It´s the only one I have.
The speaker cover is only a thin ply which seems to be hand cut and stapled in with modern staples.
I am going to do some research and find something that fits into the period of the mid twenties and use that.
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Old 11th Dec 2022, 5:49 pm   #5
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Default Re: The Thujuphone

Quote:
The speaker cover is only a thin ply which seems to be hand cut and stapled in with modern staples.
I am going to do some research and find something that fits into the period of the mid twenties and use that.
I thought the speaker cover was what you referred to as being made out of a pair of womens smalls, the woven thing: that looks original, I've seen similar on old radiograms and speakers.
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Old 12th Dec 2022, 12:31 am   #6
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Default Re: The Thujuphone

I agree with you regarding the missing tins of needles - makes you wonder if someone has also gone through the records and removed all the good ones, it's very annoying!

I agree that it looks like an oak cabinet, many of them were and a lot were solid oak.

You're going to have to discipline yourself regarding these large cabinet gramophones as I remember you saying that you live in small apartment and you'll soon not be able to move for gramophones. I've had to stop accepting large items such as radiograms. I refused one just recently, but the chap has threatened to bring it down in the dead of night to my house and leave it on my doorstep so that when I open my front door first thing in the morning I'll find it stood there. I've told him that if I accepted it that I'd only break it up for scrap, but I rather hope he'll be able to find a home for it somewhere else. It's nothing special, just a great big upright 1950 console with a three band AM radio and an RC72 deck with a missing stacker spindle - I told him there's no chance of finding one of them any time soon. I've helped him with some advice regarding getting the electronics going successfully and he's spent some money on replacing the smoothing electrolytics and several other parts. I did take a Garrard stacker spindle from one of my decks down to his house after he'd given the deck a service, and after making a couple of temporary drive belts from glove fingers for the 'other' two speeds, the deck worked well.

Now he wants rid of it as he can't have it in the house and it's outside under his car port where he's been working on it. I hope he can sell it to someone and recover a bit of the cash he's spent, otherwise I'll probably end up with it free for scrap, although at the moment I've point blank refused it - picture of the big old beast below to give an idea of its size - I suspect it's even bigger than your latest gramophone:-
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Old 12th Dec 2022, 7:23 am   #7
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Originally Posted by Diabolical Artificer View Post
Quote:
The speaker cover is only a thin ply which seems to be hand cut and stapled in with modern staples.
I am going to do some research and find something that fits into the period of the mid twenties and use that.
I thought the speaker cover was what you referred to as being made out of a pair of womens smalls, the woven thing: that looks original, I've seen similar on old radiograms and speakers.
Don´t know about that, the material looks more comfortable decorating a hookers ass than on a Gramophone.
I also think that the grill doesn´t really fit, it could be a copy of the original but as a decorative piece it seems to be cruder than the rest of the machine.
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Old 12th Dec 2022, 7:29 am   #8
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I agree with you regarding the missing tins of needles - makes you wonder if someone has also gone through the records and removed all the good ones, it's very annoying!

I agree that it looks like an oak cabinet, many of them were and a lot were solid oak.

You're going to have to discipline yourself regarding these large cabinet gramophones as I remember you saying that you live in small apartment and you'll soon not be able to move for gramophones. I've had to stop accepting large items such as radiograms. I refused one just recently, but the chap has threatened to bring it down in the dead of night to my house and leave it on my doorstep so that when I open my front door first thing in the morning I'll find it stood there. I've told him that if I accepted it that I'd only break it up for scrap, but I rather hope he'll be able to find a home for it somewhere else. It's nothing special, just a great big upright 1950 console with a three band AM radio and an RC72 deck with a missing stacker spindle - I told him there's no chance of finding one of them any time soon. I've helped him with some advice regarding getting the electronics going successfully and he's spent some money on replacing the smoothing electrolytics and several other parts. I did take a Garrard stacker spindle from one of my decks down to his house after he'd given the deck a service, and after making a couple of temporary drive belts from glove fingers for the 'other' two speeds, the deck worked well.

Now he wants rid of it as he can't have it in the house and it's outside under his car port where he's been working on it. I hope he can sell it to someone and recover a bit of the cash he's spent, otherwise I'll probably end up with it free for scrap, although at the moment I've point blank refused it - picture of the big old beast below to give an idea of its size - I suspect it's even bigger than your latest gramophone:-
Oh tell me about it. I kind of point and laugh at people who go all gooey eyed at the thought of these so-called "Tiny houses" they may look great on the glossy magazines but in reality if you want something you have to move something to get to the bit that needs to be moved to get to what you want in the first place.
Most stuff I have on wheels so I can clean the place from top to bottom in a half hour, so that is at least one advantage.

By that way, that is one magnificent beast, probably be your next pride and joy.
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Old 12th Dec 2022, 8:25 am   #9
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Default Re: The Thujuphone

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picture of the big old beast below to give an idea of its size - I suspect it's even bigger than your latest gramophone:-
That looks like a Ferguson. J.
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Old 12th Dec 2022, 8:47 am   #10
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Default Re: The Thujuphone

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Looks like oak veneer to me and the speaker cover looks original or at least purpose made.

Andy.
More likely solid oak I would have thought.
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Old 12th Dec 2022, 9:30 am   #11
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I also think that the grill doesn´t really fit, it could be a copy of the original but as a decorative piece it seems to be cruder than the rest of the machine.
It looks to me as though there was once some sort of trim between the grille and the surrounding cabinet, which would have filled the gap and positioned the grille centrally. I say this based not only on the gap (currently off-centre) but the discoloration and unused pinholes of the surround.
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Old 12th Dec 2022, 1:43 pm   #12
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That looks like a Ferguson. J.
Yes, it does have a bit of a Ferguson look about it. It's a Masteradio 650. I was going to start a thread on it if he was going to keep it and do a full repair job on it. There's no service info out there for it, but I found something similar and printed it off for him to work with. The drive cord had gone and I gave him a length of cord to replace it. I offered to take the chassis away and do it for him, but suggested that it would be better for him to have a go at doing it himself first. I think he's just lost interest in it.

I think the gramophone is solid oak. Oak was a cheap and cheerful wood back in those days and not like it's regarded now. HMV made cabinets of oak and then gave them a 'nicer' oak veneer. Time has proved that veneer is a pain when it gets damaged or damp, but the cheaper (at the time) solid oak has turned out to be much more durable. I agree that there's something very strange about that grille aperture. It looks almost like someone has cut it out since the original manufacture.

Having large items on sets of wheels is a good idea - I do that myself, particularly with radiograms in the garage.
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Old 10th Jan 2023, 8:41 pm   #13
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I agree with you regarding the missing tins of needles - makes you wonder if someone has also gone through the records and removed all the good ones, it's very annoying!

-
If, it was a genuine mistake and somebody took the tins, sorry for your loss dear Mr. seller.
If it was deliberate then ain´t karma a bitch.
I checked the records for price and hooo boy. There are some doozies in there.
Of the hundred I checked around 40 are in the 100 Euro price range, a few in the 200 to 300 Euro price range and one by the comedian harmonists commands a price over 600 Euros.
Zahra Leander rubs shoulders with Heinz Rührmann and I really like the German Schlager from the twenties and thirties.
They range from pristine to barely playable, but all in all this convolute seems to be in rather good condition.
Just listening to Dinah Shore, one of my mothers favorite singers, and wallowing in nostalgia.
Just thought I´d let you know.
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Old 11th Jan 2023, 12:50 am   #14
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Default Re: The Thujuphone

Looks great! I don't think needles are a big deal - I get 500 from John Sleep for £25. Tiny houses? A method to distract you from how we fail to decently house our citizens. Don't get me started...

Ben Dijkmann is the go-to man for kosher loudspeaker cloth, and they're on the continent...
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Old 11th Jan 2023, 8:05 am   #15
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Just spent a while on the website you mentioned. Going to get myself some dial drive cord...
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Old 21st Jan 2023, 2:44 am   #16
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I don't think needles are a big deal
They're not, they're readily available. It's the tins themselves that are highly collectable. It's irrelevant as to whether the tins have any needles in them or not, or whether they're full of washers and screws. Strangely, gramophone 'machine' folk tend to look for the good brands of gramophones, such as HMV etc. But, when it comes to the tin collectors, it's the rarer brands that command the value. So this means that anyone hunting for unusual needle tins will tend to look inside an 'off-brand' machine where there's more likely to be 'off-brand' needle tins. An HMV user would tend to buy HMV branded needles and these HMV tins are not rare at all, although they're very nice, but it's all those other unusual brands that command the money. These needle tin collectors are like stamp collectors and have their collections displayed in purpose made glass cases and can be worth hundreds or possibly even thousands.

There's also those who collect sound boxes, so they're another item to go missing from unfortunate machines. I have to agree that needle tins are very attractive and I can certainly see why people collect them. I've got a few myself, although I'm not a collector, they're just those that I've acquired over the years, sometimes in a gramophone or when I've needed to buy needles to use myself. I've even bought some tins still sealed in their original Cellophane wrapping, which I've removed so that I can use the needles, but I usually leave a few of the original needles in the tin before starting on the next one. However, I mostly buy the soft tone new ones that are available from one of the well known on-line dealers and save the genuine vintage ones for 'special' occasions.

I would have been very cross with that dealer over those missing needle tins, but can understand that if you weren't aware of their possible desirability then you'd easily not notice that they weren't there until it was too late. I wonder what actually happened to them, whether someone spotted them and pinched them, or pointed out to him that they were worth something and made an offer for them, or whether he did some research and found that there was a separate market for them. We'll never know if there was anything special about those tins, as I said, it all depends on the rarity, some are worth next to nothing and only for the value of any needles that might still be in them, while others can be worth quite a lot without any needles in them whatsoever.
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