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Post by lucius1958 on Mar 13, 2013 2:32:42 GMT -5
Congratulations! I've recently restored a C-250, and it's my favorite DD machine!
As for reproducers: It would be best to check with some reputable dealers: George Vollema, of 'Great Lakes Antique Phonograph' is one, and I'm sure other members will give their own recommendations. Ask to see if they have any with good original styli; new diaphragms and gaskets are more easily available.
I would advise giving the whole motor a good cleaning, just on principle; anything that's been hanging around for nearly a century could use it...
BillS
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Post by lucius1958 on Mar 10, 2013 0:05:17 GMT -5
I can't get my turn table to sit low enough so the diamond arm will play. Is there a trick to seating the tunrtable? What model do you have? (I assume it's an Edison).... And do you mean adjusting the horn height so that the reproducer is at the right level? BillS
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Post by lucius1958 on Mar 10, 2013 0:00:33 GMT -5
A 290? Does it have the fancy inlay on it?
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Post by lucius1958 on Mar 9, 2013 1:05:55 GMT -5
Unless I am greatly mistaken, this is part of a Duncan automatic stop: the wire to the reproducer formed part of a circuit, which tripped the brake through a solenoid when the stylus reached the last groove of a record. It was powered by a dry cell battery, and was offered on the C-250 and higher models from around April 1917.
BillS
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Post by lucius1958 on Mar 8, 2013 1:53:47 GMT -5
Well, it seems as if this problem is the opposite of the previous one. Does your machine have 2/4 minute gearing? It might be that the gearing is out of adjustment..
Of course, you should check the cylinder you're trying to play: if it's an Indestructible, the celluloid may have shrunk, causing the grooves to get out of alignment. Typically, these may play fine for a while; then they start getting out of phase, until the stylus jumps to the next groove...
BillS
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Post by lucius1958 on Mar 4, 2013 3:25:38 GMT -5
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Post by lucius1958 on Feb 25, 2013 3:00:37 GMT -5
Have you cleaned the motor? Nearly a century of gunk can slow the motor down.........
And you might check the oiling tubes, to make sure the lubrication is getting through to where it's needed....
BillS
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Post by lucius1958 on Feb 24, 2013 1:22:37 GMT -5
In mine I have 3 (1 metal and 2 rubber) there's a gasket on each side of the diaphragm and the metal gasket is between the round nut holding it all up and the rubber gasket. could you post pictures? The metal piece is not really a 'gasket', but a washer, meant to keep the compression ring from deforming the gaskets. Incidentally, there were originally also thin paper washers in between the gaskets and the diaphragm, meant to keep the copper and rubber from reacting chemically. I don't know whether the modern gaskets need these, though.... Unfortunately, I don't know which gasket goes where, either.... BillS
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Post by lucius1958 on Feb 5, 2013 0:07:12 GMT -5
The Feltoid casters were introduced in June 1916: they were made of highly compressed felt, as opposed to the previous metal casters. (I suppose they were considered less damaging to floors).
In my humble opinion, unless you're dead set on 100% historical authenticity, you can replace them with modern furniture gliders: just fit wooden plugs into the holes (friction fit), and fix the gliders on those. That way, if you change your mind, you can easily remove them.
BillS
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Post by lucius1958 on Feb 4, 2013 23:43:45 GMT -5
I recently bought a Standard Phongraph, Model B, and had to get parts that were missing. I now have everything, including a crank, but now that I have a crank to turn, I am noticing that something is not right. When I turn the crank, the mainspring starts to turn, I can see the gear turn a bit, but then it just releases, and all the tension goes out of it, and it starts again as I keep cranking. Basically it starts to turn but then its like it does not catch. Don't know if I am explaining it well enough, but I don't know if the mainspring is no good, or what. Any advice would be welcome, PLEASE!! I'd really love to get this thing working. That means your mainspring is either unhooked at the outer end (best case scenario) or broken at the outer end (worst case scenario). Open up the barrel and find out which: if it's just unhooked, you can reattach it (after cleaning). If it's broken, you'll have to replace it: APSCO and other suppliers can do that for you. BillS
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Post by lucius1958 on Jan 29, 2013 0:15:36 GMT -5
You may wish to hold off a bit on a new stylus as it may be possible that a new source will be coming about in the near future. Larry I hope there will be! (after the questions about Expert Stylus's recent output)...
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Post by lucius1958 on Jan 29, 2013 0:01:55 GMT -5
As for the gaskets: they should be rubber, about .031" thickness. You can get these from suppliers such as APSCO, or find some rubber sheeting of the right thickness and punch them out. (There were originally a pair of thin paper washers between the gaskets and the diaphragm, to prevent the rubber from reacting with the copper).
As for the hinge block screw: from the example of my Model K, it appears to be a headless screw with a slot. I should imagine there would be threads in the weight or the hinge block to hold it...?
It may be that the previous "repairer" had obliterated them; in which case, bushing and re-tapping might be in order....
BillS
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Post by lucius1958 on Jan 28, 2013 1:16:19 GMT -5
When you say "tapping", do you mean a slower paced noise, or a very rapid, machine-gun noise? If it's the latter, it means the governor weights are hitting something. If it's a slower noise, it may be that the governor bearings are out of adjustment.
Anyway, the best thing to do is to disassemble the motor and thoroughly clean it (ALWAYS make sure the springs are completely wound down beforehand!). I've used a product called "Krud Kutter", which does a great job on old grease and dirt. (I'd use GoJo or Goop on the motor plate, though, to preserve the finish, striping, decals etc.).
Make sure the mainsprings are intact - if you hear any 'thumps' from the barrels, that means the old grease has solidified, and they'll have to be cleaned and regreased (a tough job, which you might want to have done professionally). If they seem OK, you can get away with adding some extra grease (there's a plug in the barrel you can unscrew for this).
For general lubrication, you should probably put some Vaseline on the winding gears, and the spiral gears on the spindle and governor; for the rest, a light machine oil, such as sewing machine oil, will suffice. (Be sure the oiling tubes are clear, and their wicks are in the right positions).
As mentioned, you should check the reproducer and stylus; at the very least, you'll have to replace the old gaskets on the diaphragm for good performance.
Generally, the motor should be running at 80 rpm when the speed control is adjusted to maximum; if it's off one way or other, you can loosen the set screws on the knob, position the lever under the motor plate until it's right, then reset the knob and tighten the screws.
Good luck with your C-250!
BillS
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Post by lucius1958 on Jan 28, 2013 0:39:28 GMT -5
Actually, the last wax Amberols were recorded in 1912, with #1157 being the last release. So it was only issued on Blue Amberol.... Good luck on your search!
BillS
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Post by lucius1958 on Jan 28, 2013 0:30:15 GMT -5
The screw should definitely be "head/thread/pin", as you describe it.
As for the fit: I examined my Model K, and the original screw on the 4 minute stylus seems to fit rather loosely in the pin hole. The 2 minute screw seems to have a larger pin - but that's a recent replacement.
BillS
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