06-28-2013, 11:34 PM
I just completed restoration on this extremely well preserved example of the first 33 1/3 rpm record player, introduced by Philco in the summer of 1948. As I scanned in a previous post, this unit had all of the original paper work for it. And I had the special 10" LP of Bing Crosby tunes that Philco dealers gave out to anyone who purchased one of these phonograph attachments.
Outside of replacing the 3 capacitors, a new idler wheel, new rubber motor mounts, new fiber board bottom, mercury switch alignment, and a new cartridge, this wasn't a very difficult restoration. The cabinet has a few scratches, but nothing to really detract from its appearance. Turtle wax worked wonders! The biggest challenge was trying to find a way to mount a replacement cartridge, as the original cartridge is nearly impossible to find. I wound up using a piece of that hard pink foam insulation and sculpting out a frame that would fit under the tone arm to hold the new cartridge in place. Surprisingly it worked well and cannot be seen. Hats off to V-M (thevoiceofmusic.com) for their excellent selection of cartridges and idler wheels. They have the exact idler wheels for most of the post war Philco phonographs.
Here are some pictures of the finished product:
Outside of replacing the 3 capacitors, a new idler wheel, new rubber motor mounts, new fiber board bottom, mercury switch alignment, and a new cartridge, this wasn't a very difficult restoration. The cabinet has a few scratches, but nothing to really detract from its appearance. Turtle wax worked wonders! The biggest challenge was trying to find a way to mount a replacement cartridge, as the original cartridge is nearly impossible to find. I wound up using a piece of that hard pink foam insulation and sculpting out a frame that would fit under the tone arm to hold the new cartridge in place. Surprisingly it worked well and cannot be seen. Hats off to V-M (thevoiceofmusic.com) for their excellent selection of cartridges and idler wheels. They have the exact idler wheels for most of the post war Philco phonographs.
Here are some pictures of the finished product:
Greg V.
West Bend, WI
Member WARCI.org
