Laquer on Victrola Turntable Necessary?

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steambc
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Laquer on Victrola Turntable Necessary?

Post by steambc »

Hey Guys, new kid on the block here. My lady gave me a VV-IX for Christmas, plays great but has a bit of thump here and there as the springs unwind. I'm planning on doing a motor cleanup and lube in the near future. I've restored lots of vintage machines, never a Victrola before.

While playing it, she mistakenly put the needle down on the felt resulting in the dreaded felt scoring. I have received a new felt, and notice that the directions say I should spray the turntable top with lacquer before applying adhesive "for a better adhesion".

Do you consider the lacquer to be necessary if I properly clean the platter before adhering the felt?

Thanks for any insight.



VV-IX

52089
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Re: Laquer on Victrola Turntable Necessary?

Post by 52089 »

I've never used lacquer. White Elmer's glue or similar works fine for me.

Jerry B.
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Re: Laquer on Victrola Turntable Necessary?

Post by Jerry B. »

If possible post a photo of your turntable. Many collectors prefer original turntable felt even with some typical damage.

If you replace the felt you just need a reasonably clean surface for your Elmer's or spray glue. If your new turntable felt needs to be trimmed use a wet stone and you'll have a perfect edge. A wet stone can only be used with a turntable that has a sharp edge like your Victrola turntable. The process literally sounds awful but I've never done any damage to the nickeled edge to the dozens of turntables I've trimmed. Just come down across the edge of the felt at about a 45 degree angle. It takes only a minute or two and it will be perfect.

Jerry Blais

martinola
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Re: Laquer on Victrola Turntable Necessary?

Post by martinola »

I agree with what the previous responses. If somehow you're into spending more time for saving the original, here's what I did for a couple of my machines that needed felt TLC:

http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... ble#p17288

Good luck!

Martin

steambc
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Re: Laquer on Victrola Turntable Necessary?

Post by steambc »

Thanks very much, guys. I get it regarding original felt, but my soon-to-be fiance gave me this for Christmas, and she is the one who scored the felt by misplacing the needle. I don't want her to be reminded about it so I decided to replace it. I realize that is less than ideal in terms of maintaining authenticity, but I made that decision so she doesn't have to look at the scoring. This girl is a real keeper even though she's a Mrs. Magoo.

I certainly have no plans or desire to ever sell the Victrola, as it has sentimental value as a gift. The scoring would bother me more than a new felt. The new felt seems very well made, color is pretty close, and it fits absolutely perfectly.

I peeled off the old, and was surprised to see lots of brown, extremely hard, glue left on the platter. Do you guys know what kind of glue this is, and what I should use to get it off? I'm going to take a picture of it now and try to post it here. I'm wondering about acetone or perhaps mineral spirits.

Picture to follow. Thanks again. Martin, great job!

steambc
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Re: Laquer on Victrola Turntable Necessary?

Post by steambc »

Not sure how this will work. Two shots of the platter with old glue
Platter closeup.JPG
Platter wide.JPG

JerryVan
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Re: Laquer on Victrola Turntable Necessary?

Post by JerryVan »

Use "Eileen's Tack Glue", available at craft stores. It will not soak into & penetrate the new felt, as white glue can do. Apply glue only to the flat, outer area of the turn table, not the "waffled" center area. You don;t want that pattern to show through the felt. Distribute the glue thinly and evenly by spreading with a wide putty knife.

Markola
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Re: Laquer on Victrola Turntable Necessary?

Post by Markola »

First off, how cool that your lady gave you a phonograph… and a VV-IX at that, one of my faves! I think your choice to recover the turntable in order for her to not be constantly reminded of it is a really good decision - her “lack of feeling bad” is way more important than the provenance of a piece of felt on a machine they literally made over half a million of.

There are different ways to re-do a turntable felt, and the suggestions so far are all good. I’ve done a bunch of them (including two VV-IX’s recently) and I’ve hit on a method which works well for me. (Just want to make clear that I’m not saying my way is the only way, or even the best way. It just works well for me, and is easy and repeatable. See pics.)

I usually take off the old felt with acetone – dissolves the old glue pretty well. After pulling the old felt up, I use more acetone and a putty knife or chisel or scraper to remove most of the remaining gunk. Then, if it’s still rusty or crusty (usually is) I spin it up on a drill press and use sandpaper and steel wool to clean it up. (Don’t need it shiny – except the edge, of course – but smooth enough that the finished surface will appear smooth and level after felting.)

Then I mask the edge and – if there are center ridges that I don’t want to felt adhered to – the center section of the TT. Then I spray with spray adhesive. (I use “Loctite Spray Adhesive,” but they all seem pretty similar.) I let it sit for a minute to get tacky, then I center the felt and roll it out with a hard brayer (art roller). Then I flip it upside-down on a hard surface (scrap melamine or similar) and trim with an exacto knife, but I really like Jerry B’s suggestion about the wet stone – I’ll definitely try that next time! Then I let it sit with a weight on it to make sure it's flat and really well adhered.

Good luck with the TT re-felt project, and I’d agree with the other guys – your girlfriend sounds like a keeper! :D
Attachments
01 Turntable cleaning.JPG
02 Machining turntable.JPG
03 Turntable after.JPG
04 Turntable mask.JPG
05 Turntable glue.JPG
06 New Felt.JPG
07 Pressing Felt.JPG
08 TT close.JPG

JohnM
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Re: Laquer on Victrola Turntable Necessary?

Post by JohnM »

The old glue is hide glue and it will come off with very hot water. My technique is to find center and cut a small X there with a razor knife. Spray the clean turntable (‘platter’ is colorful slang but is a much later 1940’s term) and one side of the felt with an aerosol contact adhesive like 3M Super 77. Put the turntable back onto the machine. While it is still wet and slightly repositionsble, apply the felt to the turntable. Press the spindle through the X first and position the rest of the felt accordingly. When set-up, cut the excess felt around the spindle with a razor knife, and do a final trim around the turntable rim with a pair of sharp scissors. The edge cut does not have to be a single continuous cut, but rather a series of short trimming snips.
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JerryVan
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Re: Laquer on Victrola Turntable Necessary?

Post by JerryVan »

Steambc,

Have you got this light bulb screwed in yet? How did it go? Got any pics?

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