Help needed to take apart reproducer.

[TheGoldenCrafter]

I recently got a talk-o-phone as a christmas present for $75 and I am stuck on how to take the reproducer apart in order to replace the rubber in it. I could have easily done it if the reproducer was similar to a victor NO.2 but, you have t take it apart from the front.

On a side note: Does anyone have info on what year it came out, how rare is it, and if anyone has any documents to it?

I appreciate your time looking at my topic.

[JerryVan]

That's a VERY cool Talk-O-Phone!

The ring sitting in front of the diaphragm is essentially a spring. It is just a tight fit in the reproducer body. You need to carefully pry it out.

[VanEpsFan1914]

Mercy's sake, for $75! Good thing you know about phonograph repair already. This machine's in good hands.

What a beautiful old machine. This one is different and is one I never saw before (not that that says much, of course.) The horn looks like it came from an old Victor Talking Machine. Does it say VICTOR anywhere on it?

Your machine might have been altered at the dealership to make it into a more modern rear-mount when front-mount machines went obsolete, which isn't a bad thing. Rear-mounts do better on your records. Whatever it is, original or period modifications or whatever, it's still a fine-looking old phonograph.

Maybe someone who knows Talk-O-Phones will drop in.

[TheGoldenCrafter]

Here is the photo of the logo on the horn.

[Lucius1958]

Mercy's sake, for $75! Good thing you know about phonograph repair already. This machine's in good hands.

What a beautiful old machine. This one is different and is one I never saw before (not that that says much, of course.) The horn looks like it came from an old Victor Talking Machine. Does it say VICTOR anywhere on it?

Your machine might have been altered at the dealership to make it into a more modern rear-mount when front-mount machines went obsolete, which isn't a bad thing. Rear-mounts do better on your records. Whatever it is, original or period modifications or whatever, it's still a fine-looking old phonograph.

Maybe someone who knows Talk-O-Phones will drop in.

The fact that the bracket appears to be off-center (plus the location of the decal) suggests it may have been an early modification.

The Victor horn is curious: what is the elbow like? I know that front-mount Talk-O-Phones used a threaded insert to clamp the horn into the elbow: was the Victor stud ground off, or did OTC Co. change their elbow design?

Bill

[TheGoldenCrafter]

That's a VERY cool Talk-O-Phone!

The ring sitting in front of the diaphragm is essentially a spring. It is just a tight fit in the reproducer body. You need to carefully pry it out.

How would I pry it out? Could I use WD-40 to loosen the ring? What is the safest way I can remove the ring without damaging the diaphragm and the reproducer itself.

[JerryVan]

That's a VERY cool Talk-O-Phone!

The ring sitting in front of the diaphragm is essentially a spring. It is just a tight fit in the reproducer body. You need to carefully pry it out.

How would I pry it out? Could I use WD-40 to loosen the ring? What is the safest way I can remove the ring without damaging the diaphragm and the reproducer itself.

Start where the ring gaps at the bottom. There will be a small space between the ring and the diaphragm, where the gasket hose would fit. The hose is either gone or can be picked out to open up the space. I would would put a small screwdriver under the ring, in that space, and while pulling up on the screwdriver with my index finger, also push down on the reproducer body with my thumb. Once you peel out one end of the spring clip, the rest should follow out fairly easily. WD-40 most likely will not help, since the clip is held in by the force it exerts against the reproducer housing. On the other hand, it certainly wouldn't hurt either...

[JerryVan]

I suppose you could also use a needle nose plier. The style with fairly flat jaws that would fit in the gap I mentioned above. With one jaw under the ring, and one jaw resting on the reproducer edge, (protected by perhaps a popsicle stick, or some other thin material), squeezing the plier should move the ring out.

[VanEpsFan1914]

You could also wrap the tips of your pliers in black electrical tape. Sometimes that helps, but be careful so it doesn't cut through and expose the teeth of the plier jaws.

[TheGoldenCrafter]

I have taken the clip off and now I need to clean and polish the reproducer itself and the arm on the phonograph. Any advice is needed.