Wood Manufacturing Company Phonograph Cabinet

[RichardLee]

I got this Wood Manufacturing Company cabinet and matching Victor VV-IX phonograph at a local antique shop years ago. I then discovered it was listed in

Antique Phonograph Accessories & Contraptions by Timothy Fabrizio and George Paul on pages 216-217.  I was not able to find any more information about 

it after that, so when I joined the APS this summer, I e-mailed George about my cabinet. He added that he had shot the photo of the Wood cabinet in the book and had seen a few of these over the years. He also said that Wood had supplied record ejector mechanisms for Columbia. It added $10 to the price of a Grafonola.

 

The cabinet uses cloth-covered wood dividers to separate the discs. These are missing on mine. It also uses a push-button record retrieving system. Their slogan was "Push the Button, Get the Record." My cabinet and Victrola both have a very high-gloss finish. You can see the Vogue picture record on the wall reflected on the Victrola very well. Does anyone know if these are factory finishes? Also if anyone has ideas on the best way to recreate the wood dividers, I would greatly appreciate it. Please let me know if you have additional information about the cabinet or company. Thanks.

[phonogfp]

Hello Richard,

 

It's difficult to tell from the images, but at least the record cabinet looks like it has been overcoated with a new finish.

 

As for the record dividers, are you sure they're missing?  The short dividers look quite similar to the Pooley design where the records are held in place by their edges only - - typically 10-inch records on the top shelf and 12-inch records on the bottom shelf.

 

As for additional information on the Wood Manufacturing Company, I recall seeing ads for its products in The Talking Machine World in the issues from the late 'teens.  You might want to do a search, starting around 1917 or so:

 

https://archive.org/search.php?query="talking machine world"

 

Best of luck,

George P.

[RichardLee]

George, thanks for the insight. I guess when I saw the green dividers in the book, I figured mine somehow needed them, too. They don't. I also appreciate the link to "Talking Machine World".

 

Rick

[phonogfp]

Happy to help!

 

George P.

[GrafonolaOwner]

Rick,

 

After several weeks of searching, I fortunately recently received a record ejector system for my Columbia Grafonola Type F-2 which I intend to install into the cabinet inherited from my grandmother years ago.  Attached are some photos of this unit which may assist you in recreating the wood dividers for your unit.

 

I hope this helps.  Good luck with your project.

 

Henry L.

 

Columbia Ejector Unit (front1)

 

Columbia Ejector Unit (front2 - top)

 

Columbia Ejector Unit (front4 - bottom)

 

Ejector Unit (above - showing all steel rods)

 

Ejector Unit (above - showing close up of steel rods)

 

Ejector Unit (back - 1)

 

Ejector Unit (back - showing inside lower section detail1)

 

Ejector Unit (back - showing inside lower section detail2)

 

Ejector Unit (back - showing inside lower section detail3)

 

Ejector Unit (back - showing inside lower section detail4)

 

Ejector Unit (back - showing inside lower section detail5)

 

Ejector Unit (side - left)

 

Ejector Unit (side - right)

 

Ejector Unit (side - right)-showing lever action detail1)

 

Ejector Unit (side - right)-showing lever action detail2)

 

Ejector Unit (side - right)-showing lever action detail13)

 

Ejector Unit (side - right)-showing lever action detail4)

 

Ejector Unit (side - right)-showing lower detail1)

 

Ejector Unit (side - right)-showing lower detail2)

 

Ejector Unit (side - right)-showing upper and lower detail)

 

Ejector Unit (side - right)-showing upper detail1)

 

Ejector Unit (side - right)-showing upper detail2)

 

Ejector Unit (side - right)-showing upper detail3)

 

 

 

Edited March 23, 2021 by GrafonolaOwner
Reorder photos and add labels to photos & delete duplicated photos

[RichardLee]

Henry. Thank you so much for all the photos of your unit. I'm glad you found what you were looking for. I will compare your unit with mine.

 

Rick

[GrafonolaOwner]

 

Rick,

 

Here is additional detail which may be useful in adding the dividers in your record storage unit.

• First remove top cover which may be held in place by the 4 nails circled in red.
• Then unpin the steel rods from wooden slats in rear in order to pull them through the front black panel.
• Second, unscrew the 3 screws (circled in green) and remove the black panel from the front of the unit in order to expose the top area of the dividers as shown in the next photo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This next photo shows the top of the dividers exposed with one partially removed.

 

Here is one of the dividers removed to show its construction and the area covered by a 1 inch x 12.5 inch velvet strip with an adhesive backing.

 

I purchased the self adhesive velvet in 12"x24" sheets from:

Rockler Woodworking and Hardware www.rockler.com

 

Green Self-Adhesive Velvet 12" x 24" - 5 pieces

SKU: 10489

$74.95 for 5 pieces (12"x24") + shipping

 

 

This photo shows dimensions of the divider which is made of 1/16" basswood and connected with a metal clamp.

(The larger exposed wooden area is the top of the divider.)

The basswood can be purchased on eBay in sheets and can be cut to size.

 

Basswood Sheets 1/16 Thin Plywood Wood Sheets for Crafts 1/16 ×8×12 Inch 5 Pieces

Price = $18.56 for 5 sheets

 

Rick, I hope you find this additional information useful.  As you can see from my photos, I am in the process of restoring my ejector unit and recovering the dividers with some new velvet.  The velvet purchased from Rockler is very close to the original color of the old cover.

 

Please let me know if you have any questions or need assistance in your project. 

 

Henry L. 

 

Edited April 17, 2021 by GrafonolaOwner
Removal of extra photo which was inadvertently added.

[RichardLee]

Thanks so much for the additional information!