Columbia Spring Barrel Cover Plates

Share your phonograph repair & restoration techniques here
Post Reply
Dave D
Victor IV
Posts: 1222
Joined: Wed Aug 01, 2012 8:43 pm
Location: Port Huron, MI

Columbia Spring Barrel Cover Plates

Post by Dave D »

How do you guys manage to get those tabs lined up with the holes? I mark the plates and the barrels and still have alignment issues! Any tricks to that?

This one is especially bad, A previous repairer drilled and tapped new and bigger holes in the spring barrels. Instead of using the old screw holes, the guy shifted the cover a bit and made new holes.
Dave D

User avatar
phonogfp
Victor Monarch Special
Posts: 7384
Joined: Wed Jan 07, 2009 5:08 pm
Personal Text: "If you look for the bad in people expecting to find it, you surely will." - A. Lincoln
Location: New York's Finger Lakes

Re: Columbia Spring Barrel Cover Plates

Post by phonogfp »

I'm usually a big fan of Columbia products in general, but those cursed tabbed (or secured with separate plates) spring barrels are awful. I've had much better luck since carefully marking them (A=A, B=B, etc.) but they're still no fun. You have my sympathy!

George P.

VanEpsFan1914
Victor VI
Posts: 3165
Joined: Fri Oct 06, 2017 11:39 am
Personal Text: I've got both kinds of music--classical & rag-time.
Location: South Carolina

Re: Columbia Spring Barrel Cover Plates

Post by VanEpsFan1914 »

I just reloaded the barrels on a BN. Stick the thing together, find a tiny ice pick or a nail or something, and work it around where the holes line up. Put in a screw loosely. Then try a few more screws, alternating sides of the barrel. Know how, when you change a car tire, you use a pattern instead of just tightening them in a circle? That's what I did.

Now mine might have been made differently. Columbias are super cool but weird. Hope it works for you.

User avatar
phonogfp
Victor Monarch Special
Posts: 7384
Joined: Wed Jan 07, 2009 5:08 pm
Personal Text: "If you look for the bad in people expecting to find it, you surely will." - A. Lincoln
Location: New York's Finger Lakes

Re: Columbia Spring Barrel Cover Plates

Post by phonogfp »

VanEpsFan1914 wrote:I just reloaded the barrels on a BN. Stick the thing together, find a tiny ice pick or a nail or something, and work it around where the holes line up. Put in a screw loosely. Then try a few more screws, alternating sides of the barrel. Know how, when you change a car tire, you use a pattern instead of just tightening them in a circle? That's what I did.

Now mine might have been made differently. Columbias are super cool but weird. Hope it works for you.
That's good advice, and I second the "ice pick" technique. Also, I don't tighten the screws until they're all in place.

Good luck, Dave!

George P.

Dave D
Victor IV
Posts: 1222
Joined: Wed Aug 01, 2012 8:43 pm
Location: Port Huron, MI

Re: Columbia Spring Barrel Cover Plates

Post by Dave D »

Thanks for the great tip. I can't wait to try it.
I usually dread these style of motors and end up spending way too much time on them!
Dave

JerryVan
Victor Monarch Special
Posts: 5282
Joined: Mon Aug 24, 2009 3:08 pm
Location: Southeast MI

Re: Columbia Spring Barrel Cover Plates

Post by JerryVan »

I have found that when a particular tab, or two, will not cooperate in being aligned, that a grab & twist with a plier can bring them into alignment.

Post Reply