Record stops playing midway

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Dtrinlaw
Victor Jr
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Jul 25, 2018 9:21 pm
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Record stops playing midway

Post by Dtrinlaw »

I have a Brunswick Model 207, No. 411571 which my father-in-law gave me. It used to play the records completely, but now it just stops after several rotations. What am I doing wrong? My father-in-law passed away recently (at 95),so I can’t ask him. I’m not sure if I’m winding it up too much or too little. Do you wind it toward the back (clockwise, if I’m standing alongside it)? There are so many controls I don’t understand. I’m sorry I’m such a novice among a group of collectors, but I have tried making random adjustments to no avail. Thanks!

52089
Victor VI
Posts: 3745
Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2011 7:54 pm

Re: Record stops playing midway

Post by 52089 »

There are many potential causes for this:

1) Under winding - you can wind the machine (yes, clockwise) until it stops. There's really no such thing as "over winding".

2) Insufficient lubrication - machines that are 90-100 years old have dried up and/or missing lubrication on bearings, springs, etc.

3) Old needles - needles are meant to be used only one, then discarded. Old needles will dig into your records and damage them.

4) Records - some brands of records offer more resistance than others. Records made post-1940 or so were designed to be played with electrically amplified equipment which used lighter tracking, so the heavy acoustic sound boxes may be too heavy for the record. Worn out records also will not play properly.

There are probably more, and the board has a good search system. Good luck and feel free to ask questions!

Phono48
Victor IV
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Joined: Sun May 27, 2012 2:38 pm
Location: United Kingdom

Re: Record stops playing midway

Post by Phono48 »

Does the record stop suddenly, or slow down until stopped? If it's suddenly, then if there is an automatic brake fitted, it may be kicking in early.

Herman
Victor II
Posts: 243
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Location: Deltona FL / Brampton ON

Re: Record stops playing midway

Post by Herman »

Dtrinlaw wrote:I have a Brunswick Model 207, No. 411571 which my father-in-law gave me. It used to play the records completely, but now it just stops after several rotations. What am I doing wrong? My father-in-law passed away recently (at 95),so I can’t ask him. I’m not sure if I’m winding it up too much or too little. Do you wind it toward the back (clockwise, if I’m standing alongside it)? There are so many controls I don’t understand. I’m sorry I’m such a novice among a group of collectors, but I have tried making random adjustments to no avail. Thanks!
Too many possibilities to explain to a novice. It is like saying my car stopped after moving a few feet, what is wrong?

Your best bet is to post your location and you may find someone on this forum that is close by to have a look or recommend someone.
Collectors are always eager to help out a newbie hoping to get them addicted to this disease of collecting phonographs.

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Lucius1958
Victor VI
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Location: Where there's "hamburger ALL OVER the highway"...

Re: Record stops playing midway

Post by Lucius1958 »

One detail is easily answered. Yes, winding should be clockwise, as viewed from the crank side. Keep winding until you feel significant resistance: the number of turns depends upon the size and number of the springs.

As with any old machine, it is best to clean and re-lubricate the motor thoroughly for best performance. Mainsprings are daunting to the beginner; so it may be best to send them to an experienced repairer.

There are generally few controls to worry about on a spring motor: just the brake and the speed control. Some may have a mute that functions as a volume control, but those are generally fairly simple in operation. Automatic brakes may be tricky sometimes, though.

Follow the advice you find here, and you can get this Brunswick back into fine playing condition again. An invaluable resource is Eric Reiss's The Compleat Talking Machine, which covers nearly every area of restoration.

Bill

JerryVan
Victor Monarch Special
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Joined: Mon Aug 24, 2009 3:08 pm
Location: Southeast MI

Re: Record stops playing midway

Post by JerryVan »

I'm willing to bet that you're just not winding far enough.

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