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Victor Orthophonic reproducer disassembly.

Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2016 1:31 pm
by MisterTalkingMachine
The attached picture is pretty self explanatory of my issue. Don't know if there is an exact technical name for the parts in question.

Re: Victor Orthophonic reproducer disassembly.

Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2016 1:40 pm
by PeterF
At risk of sounding a little snarky, if you can't figure that out on your own, perhaps you shouldn't be attempting it.

Re: Victor Orthophonic reproducer disassembly.

Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2016 1:55 pm
by MisterTalkingMachine
I heavily suspect it has some tabs or grooves that engage with the rest of it, cannot see any other way it would come apart. Asking to see if anyone knows for certain, just to be sure.

Re: Victor Orthophonic reproducer disassembly.

Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2016 2:19 pm
by martinola
That is a pot metal soundbox. It may very well crumble if you attempt to open it. In your photo, you can see that part of the outer shell has already chipped away on the lower right side. The part might be salvageable, but I would recommend sending it off to one of the people who regularly deal with Orthophonic sound boxes. It may still crumble on them, but they likely will have the spare parts and resources to get you up and running. Good luck.
Regards,
Martin

Re: Victor Orthophonic reproducer disassembly.

Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2016 2:41 pm
by MisterTalkingMachine
Hardly anyone fixes phonographs within the country. Doubt any profesional restoration is affordable. This reproducer doesn't belong to any machine, by the way. I just picked it for almost nothing on a flea market. The metal looks horrible, but appears to hold it's shape. The plate is not even stuck. A screw appears to have prevented it from rotating it in place on it's day, but it's gone. The plate rotates in place with little effort. Want to know how it comes apart as to not force it and cracking it. So far couldn't find any pictures of one of these dismantled.

No way to tell how long ago was it removed from it's machine. The broken bit on the border well may be due to it falling from somewhere, or the crappy way the antiques dealer had it in storage.

Re: Victor Orthophonic reproducer disassembly.

Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2016 2:42 pm
by Oceangoer1
The ring should screw out (like if you turn it counter clockwise). It does have threads and removing it should leave you with the inner part with the words on it.

That being said, it may be really difficult to remove without breaking the whole thing as pot metal tends to swell, freezing the parts in place, and then crumble when it is forced to move.

Here is a picture from one of Walt Sommers reproducers that he rebuilt. It is currently listed on eBay. Note the back plate at the bottom of the picture, and the retainer ring to the left of it.

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTE4MlgxNjAw/ ... 880000500F

Re: Victor Orthophonic reproducer disassembly.

Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2016 2:47 pm
by MisterTalkingMachine
Well, it's not frozen, but it's very dirty.

Re: Victor Orthophonic reproducer disassembly.

Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2016 3:01 pm
by MisterTalkingMachine
For whatever reason it looks like somebody painted it black, didn't even notice the back plate and the retaining ring were separate parts. Think I'll let it soak in WD-40 for a week before trying to take it apart. With the felt removed, of course.

See, this is why one has to ask. Should I have not, would have shredded it already.

Thanks everyone.

Re: Victor Orthophonic reproducer disassembly.

Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2016 4:30 pm
by alang
Here you can find very detailed instructions about rebuilding an Orthophonic soundbox: http://www.lagparty.org/~wyatt/rebuild-orthophonic.html

Good luck!
Andreas

Re: Victor Orthophonic reproducer disassembly.

Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2016 11:06 am
by De Soto Frank
If the back-plate is turning WITH the spanner-ring ( bit with the two slots ), STOP !

Make sure that the diaphragm is not turning with it. If it is, the thin metal "legs" that connect the needle bar with the center of the diaphragm will twist-off, ruining the needle bar. :shock: :cry:

There was not a screw that went in that hole in the rim of the case, but an index pin on the perimeter of the back-plate, whose purpose is to prevent the back-plate from spinning.

The needle-bar "legs" are soldered to a collar in the center of the diaphragm spider: you can unsolder it and swing it out of the way, using a small soldering iron through the half-moon shaped slot in the front of the reproducer.

Once the needle-bar is disconnected from the diaphragm, you can go back to trying to remove that spanner-ring & back plate.


As the other folk have said, these are very fragile, and tend to crack / crumble with little warning.

Do not use any heat as from a torch or other flame: pot-metal melts with little warning.


The link to "lagparty's" site is a very good tutorial.

Good luck !