Edison Fireside Model B--How much can you wind the spring?

[lyneisfilm]

After purchasing a new spring, on off brake, governor and a crank, I put the spring motor together and mounted it on the bottom plate.  I know the upper section works because I have tested it by driving it with a small DC motor. The reproducer was rebuilt my Wyatt Marcus and it sounds great.  The good news is without  cranking the spring too much, the mandrel rotates. 

Here is my question, how tight can the spring be wound?  The last thing I want to do is over crank it at this stage.  As I crank it of course I can feel the resistance increase and also the rotation speed of the mandrel increases.  How many rotations of the crank is needed for a 4 min playing time?  This may sound like a trivial question, but I have never cranked a windup phonograph.

Thanks Claude Lyneis aka LyneisFilm

[phonoboy]

You'll get more comfortable cranking with time. If it slows down while playing, give it a few more turns, you'll know you didn't crank enough. Eventually you will just know how much resistance you should feel to play a cylinder all the way through.