Coumbia Plano Reflex Arm Pot Metal

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12jslater
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Coumbia Plano Reflex Arm Pot Metal

Post by 12jslater »

I have recently purchased a Columbia 100 gramophone which has the Columbia reflex arm however the arm appears to made out of the dreaded potmetal as chunks are missing from the base of the arm, however I though this only affected the early Columbia arms and the newer reflex type were out of brass or steel.

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Re: Coumbia Plano Ref;ax Arm Pot Metal

Post by CarlosV »

The couple of Columbia 100 I have have steel arms with pot metal cylindrical bases. There are metallic (I think brass) arm bases on other Columbia plano reflex machines, but I never saw anything other than pot metal for the small 100. The plano reflex arms themselves as far as I know are all made of steel.

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Re: Coumbia Plano Ref;ax Arm Pot Metal

Post by Phono48 »

In all my many years of collecting, I've never yet come across a Columbia 100 that didn't have a pot-metal arm. By now, most of the bases have swollen and distorted, so that the arm is not supported properly, in some cases actually dragging on the record. Until recently, I had four of these models, all waiting for decent arms, but they seem to be as rare as the proverbial.

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Re: Coumbia Plano Ref;ax Arm Pot Metal

Post by epigramophone »

This very rare Columbia 2a Horn model, which I deeply regret selling, also had a pot metal Plano-Reflex tonearm, fortunately in good condition :
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Re: Coumbia Plano Ref;ax Arm Pot Metal

Post by CarlosV »

Phono48 wrote:In all my many years of collecting, I've never yet come across a Columbia 100 that didn't have a pot-metal arm. By now, most of the bases have swollen and distorted, so that the arm is not supported properly, in some cases actually dragging on the record. Until recently, I had four of these models, all waiting for decent arms, but they seem to be as rare as the proverbial.
I have two of these machines with nice and shiny fully operational arms, with no sign of the deformations typical of pot metal, which made me think they were steel. The black cylindrical base is definitely pot metal, as its screw bed was cracked in one of them, even though the arm fits and swings properly in it.

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Re: Coumbia Plano Reflex Arm Pot Metal

Post by epigramophone »

I have also been fortunate. My Columbia 100, purchased in the CLPGS Members Auction at Malvern in October, has no damage to the tonearm or it's base. These little machines have often had a hard life. In the days when car ownership was confined to the better off, they would have been taken on picnics strapped onto bikes or on public transport.

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Re: Coumbia Plano Reflex Arm Pot Metal

Post by 12jslater »

Can another Columbia portable arm be used as a replacement such as an arm from a 202?

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Re: Coumbia Plano Reflex Arm Pot Metal

Post by epigramophone »

12jslater wrote:Can another Columbia portable arm be used as a replacement such as an arm from a 202?
Finding an alternative may not be straightforward, as the Plano-Reflex tonearm was made in more than one size and with differing bases. The 109a, 112a, 201 and 202 all have the longer size, but the big 220 overseas model and the table models have the shorter one. My 220 has a badly pitted steel tonearm, and after much searching I have yet to find a better replacement.

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