Consolette orthophonic soundbox

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burke
Victor I
Posts: 140
Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2017 11:00 am
Location: Nova Scotia

Re: Consolette orthophonic soundbox

Post by burke »

Thanks JerryVan,

I think your observations about glue and the needlebar are spot on. I felt it was likely a very poor idea. ... so solder it is.

"Just be sure that the new back plate allows enough room for the phase plug to be there without hitting the diaphragm. Chances are, it wont make a terribly noticeable difference either way."

It actually is a tad further away from the diaphragm than the original. I think you are correct about the lack of noticeable difference and I will just build it without the phase plug. Maybe later I will add it with a temporary adhesive just to see if I can hear anything worth going further with. That is nice thing about a new case, ring and back ... I know opening it up will not be difficult.

Cheers

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

Re: Consolette orthophonic soundbox

Post by JerryVan »

"Maybe later I will add it with a temporary adhesive just to see if I can hear anything worth going further with."


If you do that, let us know what you find.

burke
Victor I
Posts: 140
Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2017 11:00 am
Location: Nova Scotia

Re: Consolette orthophonic soundbox

Post by burke »

I will certainly do so.

I will also continue to post pictures and notes about how I'm doing. I know this is old hat for many, but it may come in handy for someone else down the road. There are great resources here and one the web [like Wyatt Markus's instructions], but I finding lots of finicky little details [like removing the pivot bar] and puzzles that pop up.

Cheers

burke
Victor I
Posts: 140
Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2017 11:00 am
Location: Nova Scotia

Re: Consolette orthophonic soundbox

Post by burke »

As someone posted a while back its frustrating when folks don't show how their projects end up after asking questions. So here is the penultimate report [warts and all] with a few pictures. The final report will come when the weather warms up and I can work on the consolette motor in my unheated garage without fear of eminent hypothermia.

So to summarize:
Bought the consolette with badly cracked potmetal reproducer.

Frozen solid and no amount penetrating oil [long soaking and even using the magic homemade formula with ATF and acetone everyone swears by] and freezing broke its willpower.

Bought another one but it too was impervious to all forms of persuasion.

Found out from you folks - [bless you all] about Ron Sitko and his repro cases … and bought one.
Dissembled the two frozen soundboxes by ungentle means to get the parts.

Decided the aluminum diaphragms were a bit too far gone and ordered a new one.

Got as far as removing the removing the shaft from the needlebar [one of the details that no one ever mentions in any post or online instruction I have found] and re-installing same in the new case.

Attached the spider to the diaphragm.

Took a long break and put it all aside.

Got back to it this Sunday.

Here is my confession and where you may well and justifiably chastise me.
I can’t solder. I really, really, really suck at it. I especially can’t do it through tiny holes in soundboxes … I swear I tried really hard but I am utterly incompetent.
So I epoxied the needlebar to the spider … shame on me!

Then the ball bearings … so many opinions and techniques!
Rubber gasket, bearings, rubber gasket.
Magnetize bearings grease and no gaskets at all.
Paper gasket, bearings, rubber gasket … and so on.

I opted for magnetizing the bearings.

I had the same problem another member had and the bearings were slipping through.

I cut slivers foil tape and placed them so there was less area for the bearing to fall through. I also realized that the placement of the needlebar cross shaft has to very precise!

Managed to get a nice ring on one side … then realized that the hole in the body casting was just a smidge too small for the gasket material Ron sent [not sure if he knows this] but with some ugly trimming I got it to fit and installed the cap.

I don’t think the foil would interfere with the movement of the bearings, but to be sure I put a drop of oil in to unsticky the tape … and oil is never bad me thinks.

Turned it over and repeated … no tape … once one side was done the second went much smoother and without any bearings dropping through.

I obviously won’t know if it’s an absolute disaster until it’s tested. I expect many will read this and say all that time and effort why didn’t he just send the dam thing off to someone who knows how to do this?

My response would be that it seems like there are collectors who just enjoy the machines in and of themselves and some who really enjoy tinkering and learning about the innards. Both are equally valid viewpoints. I like the challenge and failure is always an option :)

And the No. 4 I’m working on now seems like making a paper airplane in comparison.

PS - decided not to put the phase plug in for now ... maybe later
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JerryVan
Victor Monarch Special
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Location: Southeast MI

Re: Consolette orthophonic soundbox

Post by JerryVan »

Thanks for the update! Sounds like you did everything well. Don't apologize for not soldering the needle arm. It will be o.k. I don't know if you read any of my postings a month or so back, but I stated there that I believe the gaskets are way too thick as well. A good test at this point is to blow, gently, into the back of the reproducer to test for air leaks. As for the ball bearings, I bed them in grease to keep them in place. It seems to work best for me if I place consecutive bearings across from each other. Say for instance, putting one at the 12 o'clock position, then at 6, then 9, then 3, etc. It keeps things centered. They're fun to work on aren't they? :)

burke
Victor I
Posts: 140
Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2017 11:00 am
Location: Nova Scotia

Re: Consolette orthophonic soundbox

Post by burke »

Hey there ... so much great feedback JerryVan... almost like you've been rebuilding this thing beside me! I had read your post about the gaskets and also used your round the clock method for bearings. I just finished blowing my reproducer as per your suggestion and its sure seems airtight to me.

The gaskets came with the casing from Ron [as did the bearings and hose to cut needlebar gaskets] and although I didn't measure them there were quite thin and the ring sits well below top [bottom?] of the case ... so no issues there I think.

Once I finish the rest of the work and actually place this reproducer on a record and hear a joyful noise ... the I will declare it officially 'fun' :)


Darrell

burke
Victor I
Posts: 140
Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2017 11:00 am
Location: Nova Scotia

Re: Consolette orthophonic soundbox

Post by burke »

Hi folks,

Long time since I posted about this but after a busy time, I just wrapped this up last week.

Basically some work on the cabinet [some Howard's Restore a finish and some hardware work] and I was done.

I wasn't sure I'd hear a big difference between my 'new' Consolette orthophonic and my old VV-80 with a rebuilt No 4 on it ...

Boy howdy was I wrong!

So I made a little video ... the VV-80 is first [about 54 seconds] followed by the Consolette.

Same mic [a blue snowball], same distance, same settings each with a fresh tunstone needle from the same package.
No 4 vs Orthophonic.wmv
(1.74 MiB) Downloaded 1465 times

JerryVan
Victor Monarch Special
Posts: 5279
Joined: Mon Aug 24, 2009 3:08 pm
Location: Southeast MI

Re: Consolette orthophonic soundbox

Post by JerryVan »

Wow! Great job. Good on you for seeing this through and showing us the results. Very rewarding isn't it?

burke
Victor I
Posts: 140
Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2017 11:00 am
Location: Nova Scotia

Re: Consolette orthophonic soundbox

Post by burke »

Extremely rewarding indeed ... although I will be in no rush to tackle another orthophonic soundbox anytime soon :)

And many thanks for the help along the way!

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