Victor Exhibition Spring Lever Needle Bar Repair

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Phono-Phan
Victor V
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Victor Exhibition Spring Lever Needle Bar Repair

Post by Phono-Phan »

Another member of the Forum, Brad Abell, did me a huge favor sending me a gear and mainspring I needed for a Columbia repair. Brad also had a Victor Spring Lever Exhibition reproducer that had some problems. When a needle was inserted, the lever arm would hit the record. It is on the right in the picture of three reproducers. He asked if I would take a look at it to see what could be done. I was able to push out the set pin and remove the lever arm. The internal valley that the needle rests on was badly worn. I was able to make one from an old part from a previous Model A Ford brake job. The old metal is much better to use. It took a while but I was able to make a new lever arm. I thought of building up the old one and file it to fit but this was a better option. The picture with two of these reproducers shows Brad's on the right with the replacement lever arm. It was great to be able to return the favor with the repair of this reproducer for what Brad did for me. This is what makes this Forum and its members great. Thanks Brad for the Columbia parts.
Ken Brekke
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Inigo
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Re: Victor Exhibition Spring Lever Needle Bar Repair

Post by Inigo »

Very nice... to present someone with dedicated time and labour of love like that, is the best of presents, a lesson of good companionship! ;)
Inigo

outune
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Re: Victor Exhibition Spring Lever Needle Bar Repair

Post by outune »

Ken did a masterful job getting this reproducer figured out and making sure it will work again-- It had been on my shelves for 20+ years. Someone had installed a new spring, likely in an attempt to pull the lever further up toward the reproducer housing. That didn't work.
Once Ken tore it apart, it was very apparent that the wear on the internal part of the lever was excessive. It would never work as-is.

Ken has the right tools AND he knows how to use them. We made a bit of a barter deal that worked out for both of us.

Thank you, Ken for a great job. I'm looking forward to getting it back in the mail and putting it on a machine-

Brad Abell

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Roaring20s
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Re: Victor Exhibition Spring Lever Needle Bar Repair

Post by Roaring20s »

Good work and a win for you both. :)

James.

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Phono-Phan
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Re: Victor Exhibition Spring Lever Needle Bar Repair

Post by Phono-Phan »

I just added this mini-mill/drill machine to my arsenal of tools. This should open up new opportunities for repairs.
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