The LC-38 as it stands now

[tarheeltinkerer]

Here are the before and after pictures. The reproducer is being rebuilt for me and I am still working on the top lid (shellacing...bleh).

The darn silk I got just won't stay tight and flat. I'm going to try and tinker some more on it, but as of now am tempted to say fark it lest I change it out ANOTHER time.

[larryh]

Looking good!..

I had similar issues with the grill cloths. I don't know what method your using to put it on, but I had trouble when I tried to glue it and stretch it to fit the back tightly. It seems to cause those drawn looking places which are nearly impossible to remove completely. I hit on just ironing the material flat and then applying a coat of spray glue to the back of the edges of the grill and finally just placing it down on the flat material and letting it dry. I got to realizing the the original cloths were always flat and didn't suffer from the drawn effects and realized they in doing lots of them quickly must have been just placing the material down and setting the grill in place then trimming around the product when done. So far so good.

[tarheeltinkerer]

I got the other lid finished and reattached. Once the reproducer arrives back I can hopefully adjust her and start playing.

The motor, based on timing with paper, my finger, and a wrist watch, is running 78 RPMs. The only info I can find via Edison's original manuals is to make sure everything is well oiled. Any other advice on where to squeeze an extra 2 RPM out of her?

[matty]

It looks fantastic!

Here's a link to the original Mechanical Service & Repair Manual

forum.talkingmachine.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=476

And this is the original instruction manual that came with the machines

nipperhead.com/old/ddisc.htm

*Actually, after reading thru the repair manual quickly, I dont think it tells you about speed adjustment other than using the knob.
I had the same problem many years ago, and to be honest I cant remember exactly what I did. I think (?) I made an adjustment to the underside of the speed control knob. I dont think there was an adjustment along the linkage or at the governor felts from memory.
If I'm wrong & I didn't do it from the speed control, I must have just moved the governor along.

Hopefully someone else can be more specific!
There's been a lot of water under the bridge since I did it over 15 yrs ago.

[maroongem]

Frank,

I'm assuming that yours has the later motor without the speed control knob in the upper right corner of the bed plate. IIRC, the adjustment is made underneath via a spring loaded set screw that adjusts the governor pad yolk against the disc. These were set from the factory and I can't imagine why he did away with the knob above unless it was another cost saving measure, but it sure made it inconvenient for the owner to play 78s with an adapter!!!

[tarheeltinkerer]

Thanks guys, and aww fark to the adjustment. I think I'll test the speed again, but I'm pretty sure it's still at 78 RPMs. I know the screw in question, but it's not spring loaded if memory serves me right. Hmmm...

Okay, I just figured it out. The device that holds the friction pads is VERY stiff, stiff enough that if I move it one way or another, it adjusts the speed several RPMs. Now I just went from 78 RPMs to around 84 RPMs. It looks like this is going to be a very delicate situation of adjusting the pads until the timing is just right. Ugh.

[maroongem]

Frank,

The yolk shouldn't bind at all, but free float so as to let the pads adjust equally against the governor disc. I imagine that the 80+ yr lubrication at that point has hardened enough to prevent this. I have used carburetor cleaner with the pinpoint tube that comes with it to get up there and blast the area to clean out the old crud that's hardened there. I also put down rags right below to catch what drips down.
Also lubricate the pads with a light oil after.

[unclevanya]

Here's an old radio collector's trick for getting taut grillecloth:

cut the cloth an inch or inch-and-a-half ovrsized, and tack it down, right-side up to a flat table top or plywood board.

Duck tape will do a satisfactory job of this, as the edges where the tape has touched will eventually be cut off.

Make certain that the fabric is taut, and THEN spritz it with water or spray starch, which will cause it to tighten like a drum head.

Lightly iron the fabric, and then put glue on the edge of the grille. TACKY GLUE (a thick white glue available in most craft shops, hobby stores, and in the crafts department at Wal-Mart) works well in this application, although I prefer the traditional hide glue due to its reversability.

Position the grill over the taut fabric, press down and weight the grille. After the stipulated curing time of whichever glue that you are using, just trim the edges of the cloth with a razor balde and instll the grill in your machine.

The fabric will be as tight as a drum-head, and will remain so for the life of the machine.

[larryh]

Very interesting way of getting that material tight, thanks for the instructions.