Repair project help.

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Alexander
Victor Jr
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Repair project help.

Post by Alexander »

Good morning, afternoon or evening

I've only recently become seriously interested in gramophones. I have bought my second gramophone, an HMV hornless model with some issues. Motor runs and spring is fine thank God, but the governors are gone,and the gear which connects the turntable to the governor rod is out of alignment so the rod doesn't even rotate when the motor is run. It has a little screw that won't go all the way in after I took it out while trying to remove the seized turntable and presumably making the gear slip downwards. Foolish decision but hindsight is 20/20. So I'm asking for help : how should I get this gear into the right position, and what is the name of this motor? I can take any picture of any part of the disassembled machine for you if it helps.

Thanks in advance
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soundgen
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Re: Repair project help.

Post by soundgen »

it's a G18 :) , where are you ?

Alexander
Victor Jr
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Re: Repair project help.

Post by Alexander »

soundgen wrote:it's a G18 :) , where are you ?
Thank you soundgen, I'm from Northern Ireland. Have you any tips for how to fix this motor? All that needs doing is putting on new governors and fixing that gear. When the motor is upside down gravity pulls the gear's spindle up (compared to how it would normally be) and into contact with the governor rod, but in normal position it sits too low. Should I remove the screw and put wd on the gear to loosen it and then try and slide it back where it should be?

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Inigo
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Re: Repair project help.

Post by Inigo »

It smells as if you've lost the bearing ball at the bottom of the spindle, which goes inside the cup. It's easy to lose this ball, hidden under the grease... Could it be part of the problem? Another cause (additional) could be misadjusted spindle gear. In later hmv models there is an indentation (a round hole) where the set screw of the spindle gear must be placed in the spindle. Watch for it.
Another problem I've found its this: the spindle gear is not symmetric. At one side it has a narrow brass collar, and at the other side it has a wider set screw collar. I believe that in later motors the set screw side goes at the bottom, so you see it when you have the motor upside down for disassembling. In earlier motors, the set screw side went upside, so it was difficult to screw it, as it falls in the narrow space between the spindle gear and the top motor plate. In other motors one never knows.... But if the little indentation on the spindle is there, this will give you the clue. The gear simply cannot go but in one position, to locate the screw in the indentation.
As per your photos, this is a later type, and you see the set screw from below. It has the finer thread in the governor worm, so it's a later type of motor. Just watch for the indentation for setting the gear on the spindle in its correct position, and locate the bearing ball; of there is no ball, you must locate one of the right size.
Inigo

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