Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Want To Watch John Put Together An Antique Record Player?

Here's something new and quirky: John decided to film himself re-assembling an antique record player we've had in the garage the last few years. It's part of our "try different video things and see what works" plan for 2018, ha.

I had nothing to do with this, so it was fun to physically see how record players worked before electricity. John did a good job of editing out the boring bits and explaining as he goes, plus hearing those records in the end is just... well... you'll see. :D (Fun Fact: John sang "Baby Face" for about a week afterward. It's surprisingly catchy.)


Assuming you guys like this kind of thing, John and I are kicking around the idea of an "Epbot Garage" series for more construction-related DIYs. We were professional faux finishers and handymen (handypeople?) in our previous life, so we have a lot of experience to pull from that I don't get to mention much here. Plus, personally, I'd love to get even more comfortable with power tools, and maybe inspire others to do the same.

Based on your requests we could do everything from basic home repair tutorials to fixing more antiques, overviews on equipment, painting Q&As, etc. Thoughts? Requests? Hit me up in the comments! (And if there's a deafening silence, then I'll just get back to my usual programming, no worries. ;))


49 comments:

  1. I love it. That cabinet is beautiful, and sounds beautiful. I would love to see more!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AWESOME!!!!
    I’m a long time reader/lurker that created an account to say how much I enjoyed this. I love the project, and John is great!
    I’m not a maker, but I love watching other people do stuff. 😁 I’ll watch any “before and after”, or Bob Ross style blank-canvas-to-beauty project you guys put out. Thank you both for what you do!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love it! And yes to it all! I love pretending I know how to do stuff but house foex painting and building maybe a cabinet or table or deck chair... yes!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love the DIY videos! More please.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yes, please, more. I am particularly fond of projects like this or the ipod, but I'm an omnivore.

    ReplyDelete
  6. MOAR Epbot Garage!! All the videos!

    ReplyDelete
  7. That is so cool! I love old stuff like that, and it's fascinating to see how it works. Which reminds me, I need to show my 10 yr old how a record player works.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I laughed at the same time John did when he was changing the tempo on the music. Comedy gold. 😅

    ReplyDelete
  9. While the open grille is nice, you could probably get away with a sheet of felt or something to help the volume level.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Also I was thinking that having at least some black gauze for a backing on the grate will help keep dust out of the mechanism. But beautiful rebuild! Definitely up for some more of the same!

      Delete
  10. Yes! Thumbs up for an "Epbot Garage" series! :D

    ReplyDelete
  11. Love it! We need these Epbot garage series to inspire us to fix our own stuff! And you guys are charming, as a bonus! -BTW I think you were supposed to change the needles after around 6-10 record playings? You could also get "cactus needles" - (real cactus thorns!) that were supposed to be kinder to the records, but they had to be changed after 2-3 record playings... ;)

    ReplyDelete
  12. In 1970, I bought a wind-up Victrola oak table model at an antique store for $25. (I was 10 - that was 5 weeks allowance!) Fortunately, I didn't have to fix it... didn't come with many records - so I played "I'm looking over a four-leaf clover, that I've over looked before" - a lot ;)

    ReplyDelete
  13. I'd love an Epbot Garage series! It's so PRACTICAL!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Love the idea and the video! Do you guys take commissions?? For example, we’re trying to find a design we like for a kids elevated playhouse/treehouse that’s simple enough for us to build ourselves but is actually engaging for 2 small kids and safe. A lot of the simple ones just look boring for playtime and you guy always have such creative and fun ideas!

    ReplyDelete
  15. I love all of your suggestions but need to think more about any of my own. I just didn't want there to be deafening silence while we all took a moment to think!! I'm all about making things we see here, and plans from ana-white.com but hubs is always a little hesitant that he doesn't have enough skill to do these things so watching you and John would be fantastic and we could MAKE ALL THE THINGS!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I love all your videos and crafting tutorials, even if it's not something I'll be doing it may inspire some other idea for me to try, so please, by all means continue sharing stuff that you guys find fun and informative. I'll be sure to ping you about any ideas I have if I come up with something specific. I'd even love to see some videos of John's sewing skills; I do basics like quilts and curtains, but clothes elude me. I really want to make my own corset (fashion, not restrictive) for cosplay, but some tips on inserting boning, finishing curved edges, trim, and grommets would be awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  17. This is so awesome! John has such a soothing voice, somewhat of a cross between Bob Ross and Mr Rodgers, maybe. My parents used to have a ton of those old records, sadly most were thrown away when their house was sold.

    ReplyDelete
  18. What a cool thing! I suppose it's common knowledge, but how the heck does sound travel through a needle and then come out a speaker as a recognizeable song?
    And I remember Baby Face. It must have had a resurgance somewhere along the line, if your record is from 1910 too.
    After a bit of googling, Baby Face is from 1926, and then Bobby Darin in 1962, which is probably the one I remember.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I love this idea and would like to see more of these, but I think John edited out too much! Just a bit more about putting it back together, a mention of the glue used for the felt pad, and I would have liked to see how the crank works too. I also agree with someone above that some sort of fabric behind the grill would be a good idea to reduce dust getting inside...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Agreed - I would have loved to see how the crank works and the felt pad being glued on to the turn table. I'd even come back to watch it as 2 parts if you wanted to keep the videos themselves short

      Delete
  20. More EPBOT Garage videos! This is awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  21. I would watch you faux finish anything and everything.

    ReplyDelete
  22. OK, you guys seriously have to find room for that thing -- sooooo cool!!! :) I'd love to see anything you guys decide to do. Even basic home repair stuff and painting (like how to fix a "flat over latex" error that "professional" painters did) would be great. I'd be especially interested in a tutorial for your kitchen backsplash.

    Either that, or you and John could record bedtime stories -- I could listen to both your voices for hours. :)

    -Zippy

    ReplyDelete
  23. I'd love some videos of panting how-tos for stuff beyond "this is how you paint a room neatly" (which I can do). Most of my painting experience beyond that is for the theater, so it'd be nice to know some techniques that don't require the viewer to be yards away ;-).

    ReplyDelete
  24. Excellent video! Are you gonna redecorate it (and make a video of that too) now that it works?
    Pinkie Welborne, 17
    Indiana

    ReplyDelete
  25. How to use power tools would be awesome. Most scare me (looking at you circular saw and saws all)

    ReplyDelete
  26. We're "we have no idea what we're doing, but we're sure as sugar going to try to figure it out" diy-ers, and have, honestly, used a lot of Epbot tutorials to troubleshoot. Anything you guys want to put up, the hubs and I would greatly appreciate. You guys have helped us out tremendously, and we both sincerely thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  27. I love the idea of Epbot Garage and household project videos <3

    ReplyDelete
  28. I love the garage series idea! So does Rob.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Go John!!!!

    --AwesomeAud

    ReplyDelete
  30. I am honestly blown away by John's mellifluous voice - so calming! He could make a mint doing voice work!

    Really enjoyed this, as I do everything from my favorite creative couple.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Great idea! Yes please! I still remember your barn door and ceiling tile posts from several years ago...

    ReplyDelete
  32. I would certainly enjoy more! We just bought our first house,and it's a blank canvas waiting to be filled with EPBOT inspired awesomeness!

    ReplyDelete
  33. I loved the video. I love watching woodworking and crafty videos. Jon did a great job with the commentary. I find these kinds of videos so relaxing. Also, he should sing in the videos! I watch Peter Brown's Shop Time and he sings all the time and I love it! I can't wait to see more from both of you!

    ReplyDelete
  34. IMHO the only way John's voice could be better is if he had an Irish accent!

    Those large-hole disks were attempts to get around the patents by Berliner, Columbia, and Victor Talking Machine and other large companies, around the turn of the 20th century. They were often part of a "premium" scheme, where the custom-made phonograph was given away so the company could make money on the non-standard disks! Aretino (the label on your disks) apparently was formed around 1907 and went bankrupt in 1915. Adapters were made to allow their use on regular record players, so they may be available from antique phonograph collectors.

    ReplyDelete
  35. This would have been awesome at your fantastic beasts party! More garage and John, yes please!!

    ReplyDelete
  36. Spindex WalderdashMarch 17, 2018 at 9:51 PM

    This is cool! I vote you keep going in this direction

    ReplyDelete
  37. We will watch whatever you make! You tend to have good taste. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  38. I loved the video! It was great to hear John's voice and I enjoyed watching the record player come back to life!

    ReplyDelete
  39. That was really cool! I would love to see more of that, and "how to adult in your house" stuff! The record player made me think of Bioshock SO MUCH.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Oh my goodness! This was a GREAT video! My husband has a literal ton of records, but never gets around o fixing the stereo system and wiring the whole thing together.... Now I want to go find a phonograph and set it up so I can enjoy the music without all the wiring. PLEASE do more of these videos. (Only critique: I agree with some of the above commentors about the crank, that looked really interesting, I would like to see more about it even if it is just a bunch of gears.) :-D

    ReplyDelete
  41. I definitely would LOVE tutorials. You guys are awesome and SO knowledgeable. I have already requested an epoxy tutorial, but would love more on power tools, materials you use, resin, LED lights, etc. Thanks for inspiring so many crafts!

    ReplyDelete
  42. *swoons* That video makes me SO happy, thanks to John for making it and Jen for sharing it!! (I have a semi-related hobby -- I'm into antique sewing machines of a similar age.)

    I would LOVE to see more!

    ReplyDelete
  43. Anything you choose to post, I'm here for.

    ReplyDelete
  44. LOVE everything about this! Really cool and interesting, I learned something, and John's got a great voice! Love that you guys are doing videos now - even as a non-crafter I enjoy watching them, and would absolutely also watch any "Epbot Garage" videos! Love you guys!

    ReplyDelete

Please be respectful when commenting; dissenting opinions are great, but personal attacks or hateful remarks will be removed. Also, including a link? Then here's your html cheat sheet: <a href="LINK ADDRESS">YOUR TEXT</a>