Thread: Gramophone

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For the past week or two (I lost track), I've been building my own take on a gramophone:



It originally wasn't going to have a spinning record, but I found a small, motorized disco ball that is battery-operated. It was just something lying around the house that hadn't been used for a year or more. The motor is strong enough to turn the record at a perfect speed: slow enough that the Photoshopped record label ("Music to Haunt By") can be read, but fast enough to be convincing. Unfortunately, the motor is loud. Hopefully, the music will help drown that out.

The best part is that the gramophone really does work. That is, it produces sound; it doesn't actually play records. The horn is attached to some black pipes, which are fed into the side of the box. Inside, there is a mini speaker taped to the open end of the pipe. I used an [ame="http://www.amazon.com/iHome-IHM7BC-Rechargeable-Mini-Speaker/dp/B0023NVS3K/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1253004620&sr =8-2"]iHome Rechargeable Mini Speaker[/ame]. Despite its teeny size, it's pretty loud. The sound quality is fairly good, too, not that I'm concerned about sound quality for a gramophone. I also bought a new [ame="http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Sansa-Clip-Player-Black/dp/B000VIHFZ4/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1253004647&sr =8-4"]mp3 player[/ame] to plug into the speaker so that I have complete portability (no electrical cords to plug in).

Filled with appropriate music and record pop/hiss sound effects, I now have a neat new prop.

Stunning piece! The detail is absolutely convincing.

Wow! That's absolutely beautiful!! What did you use to make the horn?

wow , really cool ! Great work TS!

I have this on my to-do list for next year (not gonna get it done this year!). How did you make the horn? That looks AWESOME! Great work!

Amazing job!

That is amazing. I thought at first you'd posted a pic of a real gramophone that you were trying to replicate...

WOW!

I came across one in an antique store a few months back and hubby and I seriously considered it, but decided not to get it due to lack of space to properly display. That, and the $300 price tag.

You HAVE to post a tutorial, you know!

The box is made from two 20''x30'' black foam board, whick saved me having to paint it all black. I'm surprised at how much of the foam board wasn't wasted; I only had two tiny pieces left.

The horn is made of thick watercolor paper. It was the largest paper that I had, and I didn't feel like spending more money. I designed the template, cut 9 pieces out, and taped them together. I didn't want to see any tape lines, so I used blue painter's tape to hold it together. I then coated the entire inside of the horn with 3-4 coats of Mod Podge. When that was dry, I removed the tape and coated the outside with 3-4 coats of Mod Podge. Completed, the horn is flexible but very sturdy. I do recommend letting the Mod Podge dry for a full day before working on the outside. Although it holds, the horn pieces (particularly at the curved edges) tries to pull itself apart, and Mod Podge stretches a little.

If I had known that there would be so much interest, I would have taken photos of the assembly process. If you want a high-res view, check it out on Flickr.