Columbia BTK Sears Oxford Variant I go for basically FREE
Hello everyone! Last week, I responded to a Facebook Marketplace post about a National Cash Register 313 being sold for a pretty good deal. When I went to visit the seller, they had antiques scattered all over the house. According to the seller, they were selling the contents of the home for a family member who used to be an antique dealer and was getting out of the business. There was stuff EVERYWHERE.
Anyway, after looking at the cash register, I asked if they happened to have any phonographs or record players lying around. They mentioned they had a weird record player that used tube records. I was instantly intrigued!
It turned out to be a Columbia BKT Sears Oxford variant in pretty rough condition. It was covered in ANCIENT cobwebs, and the lid was completely shot. Miraculously, though, the elbow connecting the tonearm to the reproducer was still there.
I asked the seller how much they wanted for it, and they ended up throwing it in with the purchase of the cash register!
The bed plate had definitely seen better days and looked like it had already been painted over at some point, so I decided to strip the old finish and repaint it with an enamel tractor paint that’s fairly close to the original japanned finish. I polished the tonearm rather than repainting it, cleaned up the case, and partially serviced the motor by removing all the cobwebs and old lubricant. I relubricated it and injected new graphite grease into the mainspring barrel.
At this point, all I need is the correct spring for the belt tensioner, a new belt, and to rebuild the reproducer.