Henry wrote:I once (and ONLY once!) made the mistake of removing the governor from its bearings, for lubrication, while the motor was completely wound up. It didn't stay wound up for long! In an instant the springs released, splattering grease from various gears all over my shirt. Now I don't know whether (a) broken governor spring(s) would have the same effect, but I'm not going to perform the experiment to find out!
Hi Henry:
Something like that happened to me about 25 years ago--or about ten years before the Credenza incident. (I was always having incidents with the Credenza, about two or three per month, but that's a long story, best saved for Phonoland.)
It was my first upright, a Silvertone model. I wanted to clean and re-lubricate the governor spindle because it had a tendency to run sluggish. I thought the motor had unwound, but there was just enough tension in the mainsprings to make the barrel spin wildly when I removed the governor shaft. It sprayed me, as well as the carpeting and part of the wall (painted white, of course). I was able to clean the carpet, but I had to repaint the wall. It took about five coats, but I'm glad to report that my landlady never found out about it.
With the Credenza, if I remember right, what I did was to remove the governor from its shaft while turntable was still "braked." Then, I had to let it unwind slowly by touching the rim with my finger.
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Back on topic, I know that the Victrola owners manuals mention winding the instrument, then releasing the brake, but they don't say it has to be done in this order. Based on previous experience, I'm more comfortable releasing the brake before I wind. Also, I always let my machines wind down after I've played them, regardless of how often I play them, so the brake is normally released before I turn the crank.
OF