How many plays on a winding - Early VV-VI

[Victrolacollector]

How many plays should I get from a early VV-VI tabletop machine? So far I can play one 10” or 12” record per winding.

[Jerry B.]

Is this a different machine than the one on page 3 in "Machines?"

Jerry

[Phonofreak]

With any machine, I wind it up as soon as I feel tension, then stop. I don't mind winding during play. It's cheaper than having to replace a broken spring.
Harvey Kravitz

[AZ*]

Unfortunately, my Victor Data Book (VDB) is packed away and inaccessible, so I am not sure which exact motor was used in your model. My 2 VV VI's dated from around 1918-1920 and had the later "2 springs in a single barrel" motor (aka Burton 32).

However, as a "rule of thumb" on my Victor and HMV machines, I generally equate number of records capacity to number of springs. So 1 spring = 1 record, 2 springs = 2 records and so on. I put a new spring in a single-spring HMV 103 a few years ago, and it ran for over 6 minutes on a full wind. A lot depends on the condition of the motor. I have cleaned, oiled and regreased old motors and discovered they could make it through more records than when they were dirty, sluggish and out of adjustment.

Most 10 inch records last from 2 and half to three minutes; 12 inch records vary but can last to over 4 minutes.

When I play my HMV and Victor machines, I generally wind the machine between 15 and 20 windings for 10 inch records, and between 20 and 25 windings for 12 inch. I almost never have a machine slow down while the record plays.

When I was a neophyte collector, I used to run my machine down at the end of a playing session. I no longer bother. I have too many machines now. I do not keep the machines wound at full tension, but after nearly 50 years of collecting I have never broken a spring or had to replace a spring that had gone bad after I had initially overhauled the motor.

I hope this helps.

[Django]

It seems like you should be able to get more play time than that out of a two spring motor. Does it unwind to the point where there is very little resistance when you begin to crank? If not, you probably have something binding.

[alang]

My experience has been more like one and a half 10” side per spring, but of course original springs may have lost a lot of their power. With two new springs I just timed a VV-VI motor to nearly 12 minutes without a record. With original, cleaned and unshortened springs I would expect a VV-VI to play at least two sides.

Andreas