I have a suitcase Home machine and the motor has been disassembled, cleaned and oiled, as well as the top works. The spring has not been inspect it but it does seem to run pretty strong and will allow me to play almost two cylinders. The issue I'm having is when I play a cylinder, the speed seems to vary throughout the 2-minute duration. It may be slow for about 30 seconds then speed up for 30 seconds then slow down a little bit, Etc...
I have inspected the governor and no springs or weights are loose and everything seems to be intact with the governor, including the screw on the opposite side of the disc that fastens the springs and weights to the shaft.
Even as I watch with the yolk and governor as the machine runs and the speeds seem to switch up, I do not see anything drastically moving or happening to cause the varying speeds.
Any help on some things I may consider would be appreciated..
Thanks!
Home Suitcase machine- cylinder speeds up and slows down
-
- Victor Jr
- Posts: 9
- Joined: Sat Oct 22, 2016 2:52 pm
- phonogfp
- Victor Monarch Special
- Posts: 7403
- Joined: Wed Jan 07, 2009 5:08 pm
- Personal Text: "If you look for the bad in people expecting to find it, you surely will." - A. Lincoln
- Location: New York's Finger Lakes
Re: Home Suitcase machine- cylinder speeds up and slows down
This sounds like a sluggish mainspring. Remove, clean, regrease, and reinstall.
Good luck - -
George P.
Good luck - -
George P.
-
- Victor Jr
- Posts: 9
- Joined: Sat Oct 22, 2016 2:52 pm
Re: Home Suitcase machine- cylinder speeds up and slows down
Got it.. thank you.. that would be the only thing i have not done as of yet..
-
- Victor Monarch Special
- Posts: 8516
- Joined: Tue Feb 10, 2009 11:25 am
- Personal Text: Stop for a visit when in Oregon.
- Location: Albany, Oregon
Re: Home Suitcase machine- cylinder speeds up and slows down
If you've checked everything, I assume you've got a good belt. Jerry
- MicaMonster
- Victor III
- Posts: 845
- Joined: Sat Feb 28, 2009 12:52 pm
- Personal Text: Never Settled
- Location: Rochester, NY
- Contact:
Re: Home Suitcase machine- cylinder speeds up and slows down
I’m with George on te mainspring. Sometimes the grease turns to tar. ALSO: you should have a new drive belt (i sell them!), and also check to make sure your friction leathers are hard, and not spongy! Spongy leather compresses under full spring tension, then relaxes, which slows down the cylinder slowly as you play.
-Antique Phonograph Reproducer Restorer-
http://www.EdisonDiamondDisc.com
Taming Orthophonics Daily!
http://www.EdisonDiamondDisc.com
Taming Orthophonics Daily!
-
- Victor VI
- Posts: 3719
- Joined: Tue Mar 23, 2010 7:00 pm
- Location: Western, WA State
Re: Home Suitcase machine- cylinder speeds up and slows down
Another thing to check is the governor. Make sure it spins freely. Also, check the bearings and end play.
Harvey Kravitz
Harvey Kravitz
-
- Victor Jr
- Posts: 25
- Joined: Mon Sep 24, 2018 3:08 pm
Re: Home Suitcase machine- cylinder speeds up and slows down
Just recently, I had a similar problem regarding my own "Suitcase Home" project. In my case, the speeding up / slowing down of the cylinder turned out to be caused by the tonearm carriage rod being slightly bent. Because of this, the pressure of the half nut to the feed screw increased towards the middle of its travel so much that it slowed down the spindle, gaining speed again while travelling further. Rotating the carriage rod by 90 degrees more or less solved the problem.
- rgordon939
- Victor V
- Posts: 2577
- Joined: Tue Jan 10, 2012 2:41 pm
- Location: Linden, NJ 07036
- Contact:
Re: Home Suitcase machine- cylinder speeds up and slows down
I’ve seen speed issues due to a damaged or broken speed control yoke or one that was stuck in place.
Rich Gordon
Rich Gordon