HMV 102a buffer pads

[chunnybh]

I finally found an HMV 102a with the original No 5 auto-brake. After a service, it works beautifully and sounds ridiculously loud.
A few questions about the buffer feet pads.
I assume these pads are unique to models without metal corner shields.
What are they made of, and does anyone have a pic of one removed? The ones on the side are hard and the ones on the bottom are soft (rubber?).
I have three on the side that have fallen out. I don't want to damage the last one by trying to remove it.

[epigramophone]

I have always assumed that the "feet" were made of soft rubber which hardened with age, shrank and eventually fell out.
The black 102 had metal case corners throughout it's production life, but the pre-war coloured versions did not.
This made assembly more difficult, as the case covering had to be accurately cut and glued around the corners, which were then more exposed to damage.
Post-war coloured 102's had chrome plated case corners.
New rubber "feet" made in sets of the different catalogued colours would probably enjoy a wide sale among HMV collectors.

[Lah Ca]

I have a very similar machine of the same colour from which a number of the feet have shrunk, hardened and fallen out. My wife found one of them on the floor and assumed it was a piece of dried chewing gum that had finally fallen off the bottom of someone's shoe. She tossed it in the garbage.

In the distant past, a previous owner of the machine shaped a piece of wooden dowelling into a foot which sort of matched the size and shape of the shrunken originals. I removed this carefully. It was not helpful.

I had a project going for a bit trying to make replacement feet with Oogoo, a blend of pure silicon sealer, corn starch, and acrylic paint. I made a mould from blocks of paraffin wax. My first attempt was not successful. I did not then know what the actual shape of the feet had been when new and made some wrong assumptions in my design. Additionally both the texture and colour of my prototype foot were very wrong. I may or may not return to this experiment.

I have also looked at a variety of silicone products that might be adapted. The most promising looking was drain plugs for kayaks. I have not followed up on this. Silicone can be shaped by sanding.

Someone here reported that they have successfully made feet from Sugru, which is a mouldable silicone putty/glue, which can easily be handled. It is not inexpensive. It comes in a variety of stock colours but can be blended to create custom colours. One of their custom colour recipes looks promising for making a blue HMV foot. I may eventually get around to trying this.

https://sugru.com/how-to-use-sugru

https://sugru.com/how-to-use-sugru/how-to-mix-colours

[epigramophone]

I have made replacements using 12mm self adhesive cork pads. Two are needed to achieve the correct depth.
I have also made them from two 12mm silicone rubber cistern washers, but these are only available in black.
Both need to be coloured, and cork takes paint better than silicone rubber.

[chunnybh]

Thanks for the various suggestions. Does anyone have a pic of what an original plug would have looked like?

[Lah Ca]

Another option for feet might be silicone rubber cord cut into foot-sized segments.

The cord comes in a variety of sizes and colours and can be custom made for colour and size. The problem is the size of order required.

The US manufacturer below sells their stock red/orange-ish cord in their retail shop in 100' lengths. That's a lot HMV 102 feet in an inappropriate colour.

https://www.accuraterubber.com/silicone ... ound-cord/

"Made out from finest quality material and craftsmanship, we stock & sale standard size silicone rubber cord and o ring cord in all regular sizes 1/16″, 3/32″, ⅛″, 3/16″, ¼″, 5/16″, ⅜″, 7/16″, ½″, ⅝″, ¾″, 1″ in 100 feet roll which you can buy using our online store. You can avail huge discounts for bulk volume order."

2024-02-04 09.11.29 www.accuraterubber.com cebedf19925c.jpg (14.69 KiB) Viewed 426 times

There are also Indian and Chinese manufacturers.