Bakelite

[Lady Day]

My first golden era record player (that didn't have a crank

Swing High,
- C H

Ahhhhh that baby is freggin sweet! Now I wanna start collectin players!

LD

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

No! No! Bad Lady Day! No giving me ideas! I don't have room for all the hats I've collected (not to mention my old phones), let alone a half-dozen or more old record players. Given my vintage OCD, that's what I'd probably end up buying. lol

 

[Cousin Hepcat]

Ahhhhh that baby is freggin sweet! Now I wanna start collectin players!

LD
__________________
Then Trogdor smoked the Kerrek, and all was laid to burnination.

lol "Trogdor was a man, I mean... he was a dragon-man..." (got that in the ipod MP3 rotation, that whole website is too much, LD you're Too Cool)

Glad you like the phono Lady Day & Tony, too bad I haven't found time to continue running my shortlived home-based restoration biz, I'd surely have a few to sell ya, haha. Maybe someday I'll find time again. lol lol lol

Another, "U"-shaped:

Swing High,
- C H

 

[Lady Day]

lol "Trogdor was a man, I mean... he was a dragon-man..." (got that in the ipod MP3 rotation, that whole website is too much, LD you're Too Cool)

- C H

I was wonderin' when someone was gonna get my signature
I LOVE that site! So much so, that I have the collection on DVD (I know, so, so sad).


LD

 

[ITG]

Are these record players made out of bakelite? I was curious because I'm trying to figure out what record players have to do with bakelite, as I have never heard of bakelite record players, which I find a very interesting concept.

 

[Cousin Hepcat]

Are these record players made out of bakelite? I was curious because I'm trying to figure out what record players have to do with bakelite, as I have never heard of bakelite record players, which I find a very interesting concept.

Sorry, I had no intention to hijack a thread to talk about music-related stuff again last post: Bakelite really was used for all kinds of functional items besides jewelry & ornamentals, from household appliances like radios and record players to even working parts in the spark plug rotors of some old cars (just found that out with a Google): the following three aren't mine but are other examples from the web

.

.

.

It seems there are 2 tests to see if something's bakelite, and several guidelines: the tests involve either rubbing a Q-tip with the "scrubbing bubbles" product on a clean inconspicuous area to see if the swab turns yellow, and the other is touch a spot with a high-heated object & see if it starts to melt (bakelite doesn't).

Re: The first 2 players of my own I posted: the swirled brown-and-black 40s player I'm pretty sure about; it has bakelite traits: (1) super-heavy weight & dull "thud" sound, (2) verry brittle (some chips in the lower rear of the case), and (3) the smell. The red one, although one site has a photo of the same one & cites it as bakelite, I'm not sure, will have to test...

Swing High,
- C H

 

[decodoll]

ITG, bakelite is the earliest form of plastic, and just as modern plastic is used for all sorts of things, so was bakelite. You might find this site of interest:

http://www.bakelitmuseum.de/

 

[Senator Jack]

But do you say Bakelite or Bak-er-lite? I've always said Bakelite and I keep on getting corrected that it's Bak-er-lite.

Regards,

Senator Jack

 

[decodoll]

Bakelite ... Bake - e (pronounced as in edible) - lite (just like looks ) There is no R sound.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

Great website, Decodoll! Bakelite is amazing stuff!

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

There is no R sound.

Unless you're from the Northeast. lol

A fellow I know who is from Rhode Island started calling himself the Grand Poobah, only with his accent it became "Poobar" so ever since I just call him the Grand FUBAR. lol

 

[decodoll]

Unless you're from the Northeast. lol

A fellow I know who is from Rhode Island started calling himself the Grand Poobah, only with his accent it became "Poobar" so ever since I just call him the Grand FUBAR. lol

lol lol Well now...I didn't take that into account! Glad you enjoyed the website.

 

[jitterbugdoll]

As decodoll said, it's three syllables and not two (it's not Bake-lite, it's bake-e-lite.)

 

[ITG]

decodoll, thanks for the link!

 

[herringbonekid]

this thread needs a bump !

why ?

because BAKELITE is 100 years old this week ! the first totally synthetic man-made substance. you might even say it was the beginning of the modern age. blame bakelite for your post-millenial angst and the decline of everything once great !

show us more of your BAKELITE objects ! why am i shouting ? i don't know !

here's a couple of mine, both fully working....

(turn BBC radio 3 on NOW to hear some more about bakelite on 'night waves')

 

[Marc Chevalier]

.



My favorite bakelite bauble of the moment: a man's National Recovery Administration (NRA) ring from 1933-'35, made of black bakelite:

 

[herringbonekid]

wow, that's great Marc !

 

[Pilgrim]

I have some Bakelite radios and a 1937 Philco floor radio in my office - all part of my broadcasting background. (A few old mikes, too.)

 

[herringbonekid]

i want one of these. the Argus A. the first mass-produced 35mm camera....

 

[Fletch]

I own several Conn clarinets made around 1920 that I believe are bakelite. They have a nice uniform deep brown color and a slight gloss that is not characteristic of hard rubber, the typical material for a nonwood clarinet at the time. Conn made bakelite clarinet and sax mouthpieces as well in the 20s, and these bear a striking resemblance to the clarinet bodies.

BTW, Bake'-a-lite is the way to say it. Its inventor was Dr. Leo Hendrik Baekeland, a Belgian chemist, for whom it was named. That the name recalls the light weight of the material, and the "baking" (thermosetting) process used to mold it, is just a felicitous happenstance.