Victor / Victrola Tone Arm - Need help filling holes

[Jerry B.]

I have an early Victrola tone arm that I would like to use on a Vic III. It is the exact tone arm but is currently gold. I plan to have it nickel plated but first I must fill two little holes in the main body of the arm. Is there a way to successfully fill the holes and have the filling survive the plating process? Thanks, Jerry Blais

[gramophoneshane]

I think brazing & filing back would be the best way, but you'd have to be careful filing & sanding it back so as not to interfer with the original surface/shape of the tonearm. At least with brazing, there's no chance it will later move through expansion etc, and leave a tell tale sign in the plating.
Soldering should also work, & would be easier to control & cut back, but sometimes the plating can look a different colour on two different base metals. This might depend on the thickness & quality of the plating though and with solder there's more chance that in years to come, the spots of solder could be noticable from shrinkage & expansion..
If you did choose solder, it might be a good idea to enquire at an electroplates as to what type of solder would take the plating process best. Soft electrical solder probably wouldn't cut it. I would think the higher the tin ratio to lead, the better. Hard silver solder seems to take silver plating without any colour change, so it could be the way to go too, but again, the harder the metal used to fill the holes, the more work it's going to be, and the higher the risk of deforming the tonearm surface.

[Jerry B.]

Shane, Thanks for your suggestions. Jerry B.