Based upon a recommendation from this list, I ordered for a restoration I was doing, what I thought to be an Amberola 30 crank from:
http://www.scotlandvacations.com/cranks.htm Well, just recently I finally got around to completing the restoration and was disappointed after I installed the crank to see that it protruded too far out from the machine?s case. Upon contacting the vendor (I thought perhaps he sipped a crank for a 50 by mistake) I received the following response: ?Hi Robert, Sorry to hear you were disappointed with the Amberola 30 crank, and no it will not fit a Amberola 50 as the thread is different. I have sold quite a few of these and never had a problem. Maybe you have a "rogue" machine? I always state " If you have any doubts if one of our cranks will fit your machine please check your machine for thread/slot size and crank clearances before ordering. Check Here " If you wish to return it I can shorten it to the length you require but you will have to include $9.00 for return insured mail (or $6.00 uninsured) Regards, Jim? Needless to say I was not pleased. So I went back to the web site to double check the wording and sure enough it says: ?A2 is used on Edison Amberola 30 Cylinder Machines?. Now in all fairness to the vendor, the measurements are given just above this verbiage and sure enough the crank length is about an inch longer than a real 30 crank. As I did not have an original crank (that ?s why I ordered one) to compare the length, I was unable to recognize that the shaft was too long. I also noticed that this same gentlemen sells ?Amberola 30? cranks on eBay and advertises them as ?Amberola 30? cranks. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2218939617&category=38029 I asked permission to post this on this list and received the following reply: ?Hello Bob, Of course you can do whatever you wish. But as you did order this particular crank and the sizes were clearly given I have to stand by my policy " We can not be held responsible if you order the wrong size or length of crank ' as stated on http://www.scotlandvacations.com/CrankSizecheck.htm I have sold hundreds of cranks over the years and have a excellent reputation in the Phonograph community, this is more of an service than a business hence my origonal offer to shorten your crank. Sorry for any misunderstanding, Best Regards, Jim? Now I?m not about to start a flame war nor do I intend to respond to any e-mail regarding this issue unless I have misstated the facts or the situation changes. BUT pleased be warned that the cranks sold as ?Amberola 30? cranks by this gentleman are not authentic reproductions and will protrude about an inch too far out from a 30 case. Bob
