Edison Home Feed Screw Help

[joepez]

Hello all: I have a couple questions I am hoping someone can help me with. The questions are regarding a Home Model A.
#1 - I have replaced the feed nut and the main shaft due to damage to the main shaft. I adjusted (and adjusted and adjusted and ...etc) the feed nut, however during play -usually near the middle of a cylinder it sticks. If I apply just a minor amount of pressure it finishes playing on it's own. Any idea what I am doing wrong?
#2 - When I wind the spring, typically only when fully wound) the motor makes a bumping sound. Any ideas what this could be? I have inspected it to ensure nothing is hitting but do not see a thing.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

[shellophone]

Is the half-nut aligned with threads of the feedscrew? Lower the carriage to engage the half-nut with the feedscrew, slightly loosen the two machine screws that hold the half-nut to the half-nut bar and jiggle it with slightly with your fingertip while pressing down on the top of the half-nut. Re-tighten the machine screws while pressing down. Also, be sure that the feed screw is completely but lightly lubricated with a light oil such as Singer Sewing Machine Oil. Is it slowing down with no horn in place?

The thumping is caused by dried grease in the main-spring barrel. When your Phonograph left the factory, the barrel contained grease that allowed the coils of the spring to easily slide past one another when unwinding. Winding the spring forces the grease through the spring coils to the barrel end. When the spring unwinds, the grease is forced to the center again, so once charged with fresh grease, the main-spring is self-lubricating for the life of the grease.
When the grease dries out and hardens, the spring coils cannot lay tightly against one another anymore, and they catch against one another when moving. This results in sudden bursts of energy released in the spring rather than one long smoothe consistent release. Some collectors refer to this condition as 'chugging' or 'thumping'. Not only is it distracting, but it is hard on the spring -- which can easily split or break due to the abrupt energy releases the spring is experiencing.

Time to pull the spring barrel, clean all the old grease out (ask a local auto service garage to clean it for you in their parts washer), and relubricate it with a couple of healthy squirts of a modern black molybdenum grease.