Dean Martin 'Love Letters'
Monday, 12 September 2011
Finished at last!
Once the hinges finally arrived from the USA it was time to re-fit the lid and finish the job. I can't even describe how frustrating the lid-stay was to to fit. Some new swear words were learnt that day!
As you can see, I've relocated the Decca 75 logo from the inside lid where it was hidden from view to the front of the case.
Those long awaited rear hinges...
As you can see, I've relocated the Decca 75 logo from the inside lid where it was hidden from view to the front of the case.
Those long awaited rear hinges...
As you can see, I've not yet bothered to fit the 'Salon' Decca record flap...personally I think it makes it look a bit cluttered. I know purists will not like that...but they probably won't like the colour either.
Before and After
Originality and non-originality
I had planned to keep this as original as possible, but with the non-original exterior fittings it seems pointless being too anal about it. Besides, while purists may scowl its not going to bring about the end of the world. You may recall the Salon Decca record flap that sat inside the lid? Well, I managed to recolour that from burgundy to black using ink (as its made form leather-look paper on card). I then made up a foam backed black suede lining to go inside the lid to match the black horn, turntable and record flap. This veers away from originality but I'm not too worried about that now and it helps make the new colour scheme more cohesive....and will also keep the tonearm cushioned in transit.
Luckily I managed to salvage the original manufacturing specification label....just! Its pretty much intact thankfully and gives a nice bit of history to this gramophone.
Luckily I managed to salvage the original manufacturing specification label....just! Its pretty much intact thankfully and gives a nice bit of history to this gramophone.
Shiny bits
With the case re-upholstered it was time to re-fit the metalwork. I attempted to clean the fittings up using a drill fitted with a wire brush. But try as I might they were beyond redemption and remained dull. I then had a look on eBay to see what I could find. It turned out that identical zinc plated corner pieces were very cheap and looked a lot better than the old ones. I also needed a new handle to replace the white plastic monstrosity. I ordered a red leather one from the Netherlands but it turned out to be very different from the photo and was in fact burgundy! After much searching around it looked like I would never find a red handle so I opted for a handle similar in style to that used on the HMV models....and indeed most musical instruments ever since.
I also ordered some ornate art deco styled rear hinges from the USA....but had to wait 3 weeks for those to arrive. In the meantime I re-fitted the deck and motor into the base. It turned out to be a VERY tight fit due to the extra thickness of the leathercloth compared to rexine and paper. In retrospect I should have shaved a little off the edges of the deck before covering it. But after much swearing it went in.
I also ordered some ornate art deco styled rear hinges from the USA....but had to wait 3 weeks for those to arrive. In the meantime I re-fitted the deck and motor into the base. It turned out to be a VERY tight fit due to the extra thickness of the leathercloth compared to rexine and paper. In retrospect I should have shaved a little off the edges of the deck before covering it. But after much swearing it went in.
Re-upholstering the case
I put this job off for a good few weeks while working out how best to go about re-upholstering the case.
I decided the best course of action was probably to glue the bases down first and let them set for a few days using PVA wood glue. After pushing out any air bubbles I left them to set with a large weight placed on top. Once they were set I could then freely experiment with the sides to see how to cut a pattern.
With the pattern cut it was just a case of folding and glueing. Not an easy task as it turned out. The PVA takes forever to grip the fabric and it can slip out of place easily. I cheated and used an industrial stapler (in non-visible places) to hold the leathercloth in place while it set.
The next problem was that the corners where the leathercloth was overlapping leathercloth were not sticking. Possibly because they were not porous enough for PVA to dry. I resorted to carefully superglueing the corners. I used duck tape to hold the corners firmly in place until they'd set.
I decided the best course of action was probably to glue the bases down first and let them set for a few days using PVA wood glue. After pushing out any air bubbles I left them to set with a large weight placed on top. Once they were set I could then freely experiment with the sides to see how to cut a pattern.
With the pattern cut it was just a case of folding and glueing. Not an easy task as it turned out. The PVA takes forever to grip the fabric and it can slip out of place easily. I cheated and used an industrial stapler (in non-visible places) to hold the leathercloth in place while it set.
The next problem was that the corners where the leathercloth was overlapping leathercloth were not sticking. Possibly because they were not porous enough for PVA to dry. I resorted to carefully superglueing the corners. I used duck tape to hold the corners firmly in place until they'd set.
Starting to rebuild
Using the old turntable felt as a template I cut a new one from black suede fabric. This didn't work as well as expected and for some reason was too small to fit. I ended up cutting another one a few centimetres wider.
I have sprayed the horn black and recovered the deck in a red faux leather imported from the Netherlands. Its quite thick and soft in a nappa style. I had considered using real leather but it was four times the price...and I'm not sure yet wether I'll ruin it.
I have sprayed the horn black and recovered the deck in a red faux leather imported from the Netherlands. Its quite thick and soft in a nappa style. I had considered using real leather but it was four times the price...and I'm not sure yet wether I'll ruin it.
The stripdown (2)
The internals are surprisingly simple. Here we can see the trumpet horn and British made Garrard 20 motor. Garrard began life as appointed Crown Jewellers in 1721, tasked with care and maintenence of the crown jewels. They went on to make quite a name in the world of HiFi and are still revered by audiophiles today. Their later turntables sell for thousands of pounds. http://www.garrard501.com/history.html
The covering on the deck turned out to be leather look paper and came off easily after soaking in hot water.
The covering on the deck turned out to be leather look paper and came off easily after soaking in hot water.
The stripdown (1)
Having a photographic record makes things a lot easier when it comes to reasembly and remembering what goes where.....
To restore or not?
After several weeks of living with the tatty but working gramophone I was in two minds as to wether or not I should restore it or keep it original and tatty. I'd already tried cleaning it up a bit while the motor was out. The chrome had come up quite nicely but the burgundy covering on the deck was worn and dirty. The rexine on the case was beyond repair. I could glue it down on the corners but it would always look tatty. With my previous experience of re-upholstering being limited to wrapping Christmas presents it was a daunting task ahead. I decided to bite the bullet. If it went wrong I would pay someone to do the job properly.......
After a few glasses of wine the rexine covering came off very easily. No going back now!
After a few glasses of wine the rexine covering came off very easily. No going back now!
Aaargh....it doesn't work!
Now that I had both the gramophone and the 78rpm records it was time to test it. I tentatively wound the handle being careful not to overwind it (especially after wrecking a nice victorian mantle clock by overwinding it once) and set it playing. I had to re-use an old needle for testing purposes as I was still awaiting the arrival of 400 new ones from the Netherlands. It started out well enough, albeit a bit crackly and tinny.......but when the vocals began it was obviously playing far too slowly. I adjusted the speed dial. It got better. Then worse again. And slowly ground to a halt after around 30 seconds.
I then removed the turntable and unscrewed the deck to see if there was anything obviously wrong with the motor. Everything looked ok and I wasn't going to risk opening up the spring barrel (very dangerous!).
After a bit of googling I came upon a very good source of gramophone info (http://www.gramophones.info/graminformation.html) which suggested its almost impossible to overwind a gramophone. So I decided to give it one last go before admitting defeat and relisting it. I wound it and wound it and wound it until eventually I could feel resistance and could wind it no more. Set it off playing and to my relief it worked perfectly and would last both sides of a 12". Phew!
I then removed the turntable and unscrewed the deck to see if there was anything obviously wrong with the motor. Everything looked ok and I wasn't going to risk opening up the spring barrel (very dangerous!).
After a bit of googling I came upon a very good source of gramophone info (http://www.gramophones.info/graminformation.html) which suggested its almost impossible to overwind a gramophone. So I decided to give it one last go before admitting defeat and relisting it. I wound it and wound it and wound it until eventually I could feel resistance and could wind it no more. Set it off playing and to my relief it worked perfectly and would last both sides of a 12". Phew!
Need to find some 78's....
While I'd been waiting for the gramophone to arrive in the post I'd been desperately trying to aquire some 78rpm records to test it with. There are plenty on eBay, but when you add on postage costs they start to become very expensive! Someone suggested looking in charity shops....and sure enough after trawling through most of the local charity shops I finally hit the jackpot managing to buy approx 25 gramophone records for 50p each. The weight of them is unbelievable! Apparently they are made from around 70% limestone/slate....so it was like carrying a bag of bricks!
Worse than expected
When the gramophone eventually arrived I was a bit disappointed by its condition. It was quite a bit worse than I had been expecting. Unfortunately I'd made the stupid mistake of only viewing the auction photos on my mobile phone before bidding. Auction photos often look a lot better on a phone than on a computer screen, and can hide a lot detail.
Note the horrific homemade replacement carrying handle - fashioned from a wire coat hanger wrapped in white plastic. Oh dear. These photos actually make it look a lot better than it was....hiding the fact that the rexine covering was badly ripped on all the corners and edges.
Spotted a gramophone on eBay
Usually my eye for an eBay bargain is pretty good. But just occasionally I get it wrong. This was one such occasion.
At first glance the condition of this gramophone looks pretty good. Just needs a bit of tlc and a clean-up I had decided....and at 30 quid it was too tempting to pass up.
At first glance the condition of this gramophone looks pretty good. Just needs a bit of tlc and a clean-up I had decided....and at 30 quid it was too tempting to pass up.
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