Grille for Edison Phonograph

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BArnold
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Grille for Edison Phonograph

Post by BArnold »

My wife recently was given an Edison LU 37 Diamond Disc Phonograph built around 1922. Some of her cousins had it and wanted to find a good home for it. Aside from extensive cleanup, it had all parts but the grille.
z.LU37d.jpg

I checked around online and found some photos of the same type phonograph to see the design of the grille.
z.LU37c.jpg

Next, I went to work in VCarve Pro to do a layout. The only measurements I had were the height and width of the opening - 10.25" by 14.75". So, I did some calculations, tested some dimensions and finally got a suitable design. A combination of circles, half-circles, arcs and straights got it started, then I had to do a lot of node editing to setup the carve properly.
z.LU37e.jpg
z.LU37f.jpg
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Bill Arnold
VCarvePro, PhotoVCarve, SketchUp, UGS
Member of Mensa and NRA

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BArnold
Vectric Craftsman
Posts: 189
Joined: Sat May 02, 2015 12:20 am
Model of CNC Machine: SO2/XCarve hybrid w/NEMA23 on all axes
Location: Thomasville, GA, USA

Re: Grille for Edison Phonograph

Post by BArnold »

I set up my cnc to do most of the cuts with a 1/8" end mill running at 70ipm and 1/16"doc. I set up a final pass using a 1/16" end mill to get into the small notches and clean up the previous carving.
z.LU37g.jpg

I didn't get photographs of the finish steps, but you wouldn't want to watch paint dry anyway! My first step was wiping on some brown mahogany stain. To darken the grille more, I sprayed shellac with a few drops of TT Dark Walnut dye in it. Then, I sanded that back a little to expose the stain and give the grille a distressed appearance.

Here's a before and after look at the phonograph.
z.LU37k.jpg
z.LU37l.jpg
Momma's happy!
Bill Arnold
VCarvePro, PhotoVCarve, SketchUp, UGS
Member of Mensa and NRA

gad5264
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Re: Grille for Edison Phonograph

Post by gad5264 »

Momma should be very happy, that looks awesome
Grant "gad5264"
Westerville, OH

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mike.davison
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Re: Grille for Edison Phonograph

Post by mike.davison »

Nice work Bill! I love to see old furniture nicely restored. Digital design and fabrication was a great tool here.

cheers,Mike

Samson
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Re: Grille for Edison Phonograph

Post by Samson »

That looks really good. Very nice replica.

I remember my grandfather having an old Victrola. He let me crank it when I was young and he offered it to me when I was old enough to appreciate it, but I had no place to keep it, so he sold it along with a huge stack of vinyl records a few years later.

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BArnold
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Joined: Sat May 02, 2015 12:20 am
Model of CNC Machine: SO2/XCarve hybrid w/NEMA23 on all axes
Location: Thomasville, GA, USA

Re: Grille for Edison Phonograph

Post by BArnold »

mike.davison wrote:Nice work Bill! I love to see old furniture nicely restored. Digital design and fabrication was a great tool here.

cheers,Mike
Thanks, Mike.

On another forum, one of the guys commented about the use of a 2016 CNC machine to refurbish a piece of 1922 furniture! The originals were probably made using a treadle scroll saw, although I wouldn't be surprised if Edison set up some kind of powered saw.
Bill Arnold
VCarvePro, PhotoVCarve, SketchUp, UGS
Member of Mensa and NRA

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BArnold
Vectric Craftsman
Posts: 189
Joined: Sat May 02, 2015 12:20 am
Model of CNC Machine: SO2/XCarve hybrid w/NEMA23 on all axes
Location: Thomasville, GA, USA

Re: Grille for Edison Phonograph

Post by BArnold »

Samson wrote:That looks really good. Very nice replica.

I remember my grandfather having an old Victrola. He let me crank it when I was young and he offered it to me when I was old enough to appreciate it, but I had no place to keep it, so he sold it along with a huge stack of vinyl records a few years later.
Thanks, Samson.

This is different from a Victrola. See details here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edison_Disc_Record
Bill Arnold
VCarvePro, PhotoVCarve, SketchUp, UGS
Member of Mensa and NRA

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