What I said was the mech and tag match but those 2 do not match the
cabinet numbers even though all of the cabinet numbers do match each of
the other cabinet numbers. It is a given that the mech has been changed
if it fails to match the tag on the case.
And as you said, many mechanisms were replaced due to wear and failure.
The lubricants of the period were not up to the task in any way so
parts failed.
On 01/11/2011 07:20 PM, DeeDee Blais wrote:
If a machine, such as a big Amberola, has been in the same family since new and
the serial number on the mechanism does not match the ID tag, I would suspect
that the mechanism was swapped out near the end of its useful life span. Lets
say a Amberola 1-B was sold new in 1913 and saw continued use until being
replaced by a radio in 1928. In 1923, the spring broke and it was cheaper to
replace the entire mechanism with one from a parts machine rather than install a
new spring. It's only my best guess that this happened more often than
something being swapped out when new.
*
As a side note to my story... The Amberola was moved to the attic in 1928 and
sat there until Mike Stitt bought it in 1985 for $500. He kept all the 5000
series cylinders that were bought in the 1920s and sold me the machine for
$1500. Jerry Blais
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