New to the forum. Need upright sanora phonograph help!

[Iantsimpson]

I bought a sanora upright phonograph today in hopes of refurbishing it! (For the first time). The issue is that the crank is free flowing (which I saw online meant probably mainspring issue)I spent my night researching, and then removed the platter and crank, flipped the base over to reveal the motor.... which was absolutely encased in hard grime and grease. I spent a long while cleaning the motor, gears, etc. everything looks fine really. No loose screws. Nothing missing. And the governor looks fine. I was going to check the mainsprings (there are 2 and they are somewhat connected) but the lid seems to be sealed. I have no idea how to open it. Any thoughts? Any help is appreciated! I’d really like to get this thing running!

This seems to be the same model.. https://www.ebay.com/i/264078405597

I’m sure I forgot to add certain things and will edit when I remember!

[drh]

Congratulations on your first phonograph! Sonora made very nice machines, and when fully up and running yours should give you lots of fun for years to come.

I can't help with changing a mainspring beyond this word of caution: the springs are very powerful, and if one gets loose it can cause serious physical injury. Don't just go and open up the spring barrel without knowing exactly what you're doing. Others here will be able to offer better guidance on just how to proceed.

[Phono-Phan]

Welcome to this great Forum!! Where are you located? Maybe someone on this Forum is close to you and can assist.
Ken

[audiophile102]

Welcome and congratulations for saving an interesting and fun machine. Here are some links you might find interesting.
http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... =2&t=33220
http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... f=2&t=5089
http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... =2&t=33120

Sonora motors are precision made devices and they were not designed to be serviced so proceed with caution and if you do decide to go forward with spring replacement, study the motor and take lots of pictures. Take your time so you can put it back together. As mentioned opening any phonograph spring barrel is dangerous, because an uncontrolled release can cause great injury. There are You Tube videos you can learn from, but even skilled repairman don't have an easy time of it. There are individuals who service motors on the forum depending what part of the country you live, you might want to make contact with them first.
http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... ?f=8&t=195

[Iantsimpson]

Welcome to this great Forum!! Where are you located? Maybe someone on this Forum is close to you and can assist.
Ken

I’m in Charlotte, NC!

[Iantsimpson]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I appreciate the safety disclaimers and will be sure to take caution if I can ever get inside the mainspring barrel. Here are some pictures of the barrel I’m trying to get inside!

[Phonolair]

Think of the large gears as covers to your spring barrels. You will need to remove the large gears to get inside the spring barrels.
One gear has screws holding it in place.
Although its hard to tell from the picture, it looks like the other gear has a bent tabs and slots holding the gear on.

Larry Crandell

[Iantsimpson]

Think of the large gears as covers to your spring barrels. You will need to remove the large gears to get inside the spring barrels.
One gear has screws holding it in place.
Although its hard to tell from the picture, it looks like the other gear has a bent tabs and slots holding the gear on.

Larry Crandell

Hey Larry, thanks for the help. You made things make a lot more sense for me. How do I deal with the bent tab/slots side?

[burke]

I'm no expert, but I have 4 rebuilds under my belt [cleaning and regressing main springs included].

It all started with hands down best series of videos put together by a phonograph saint who goes by
chilldude2007 on youtube. It is for a victor, but the principal is the same for them all ... how to get in to get at the spring is another matter. Besides two victors I've opened up a thorens and a Paillard and they are not obvious [audiophile102 posted a link to how I got the Paillard] ... as mentioned those screws seem like good place to start ... perhaps followed by some gentle tapping with a punch to see if the lid pops off ... the bottom one with the slots ... not sure.

Anyway here is the link to the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6R9i7zp-v9s

[Iantsimpson]

Update!! 2 screws off and the other 2 soon to come, I’ll post an update with how the mainsprings look.