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Regina Help!!

Posted: Thu Sep 21, 2017 8:15 am
by Hailey
I have a Regina that evidently needs some governor adjustment. It will not start when the lever is moved to the start position. Once you tap the governor wing to move, it will run. The governor just seems tight. The entire mechanism was restored a few years ago, and everything else seems perfect. It is always quite humid in the house in the summer time, but it does this same thing even in the dry heat of the winter.
Do you have any suggestions??
Thanks so much,

Hailey

Re: Regina Help!!

Posted: Thu Sep 21, 2017 10:55 am
by JerryVan
Hailey,

Unlike phonographs, music boxes don't have a lot of starting torque on their governors, so any little resistance stalls them. Your problem is common. Can be caused by several different things.

- Most common. The end of the governor shaft that runs against the jewel, (or hard piece of steel), is supposed to be spherical in shape. After 100 or more years, the end wears flat, so that there is no longer that tiny, frictionless, point of contact, but instead, a flat end that causes just enough friction to stall the governor. You can CAREFULLY spin the governor shaft in a lathe, while dressing the shaft end back to a spherical shape with a hard oil stone. You want a mirror finish when done.

- Related to the above, the jewel face, (or hard steel face), on the thrust end, can get a small concavity worn into it from the continual rotation of the governor shaft. The result is the same as above. The jewel can sometimes be adjusted to move a new, fresh spot in contact with the shaft. However, redressing the shaft alone, as above, will probably suffice.

- The worm can get worn or scored, due to lack of lubrication. This also produces drag. Short of replacing the governor shaft/worm, about the only thing you can do to it, is to polish the worm surface with jeweler's rouge using a small buffing wheel. Bring the finish to a mirror-like state. Use extreme caution with a buffing wheel, as things can go wrong in a flash!

- The oil you're using is too heavy/viscous, and drags the shaft down. Or, you have no lube at all... Or, the shaft is filthy and gooed up with old oil/gunk.

Re: Regina Help!!

Posted: Thu Sep 21, 2017 3:10 pm
by Curt A
One more thing to add to Jerry's ideas... I had a Regina with this problem and could not find the cause. After checking everything else, I removed the jewel from the end of the governor... someone had installed it upside down. The half round side goes toward the governor shaft...

Re: Regina Help!!

Posted: Thu Sep 21, 2017 4:33 pm
by JerryVan
Curt A wrote:The half round side goes toward the governor shaft...

Curt,

Unless I misunderstand you, then no, it doesn't. The flat side goes against the governor shaft.

Re: Regina Help!!

Posted: Thu Sep 28, 2017 1:19 pm
by JerryVan
Hailey,

Was any of this helpful to you??

Re: Regina Help!!

Posted: Fri Sep 29, 2017 1:49 pm
by phonojim
Jerry, what type of oil do you recommend? I have many different oils, including clock and watch oils. Would the governor worm require a heavier lubricant than the shaft ends? It runs well, but I have had it for 17 years and never done anything with it except to play a couple of discs occasionally.

Thanks, Jim

Re: Regina Help!!

Posted: Fri Sep 29, 2017 3:46 pm
by JerryVan
Hi Jim,

I use some DuPont Krytox synthetic oil, given to me by a fellow forum member many years ago. It's very thin and works very well. I would say that a thin clock or watch oil would be o.k., as you suggest.

Re: Regina Help!!

Posted: Sat Sep 30, 2017 1:03 am
by wjw
I have a cylinder music box with a cracked jeweled governor bearing. Nothing but a drop of automatic transmission fluid will make it go. Gotta call Nancy Fratti one of these days and get a new bearing.
- bill