How to get Columbia 161 portable out of its case?

[F_R_Parker1]

Thank you kindly for the well wishes. I think the saving grace for the spring is that the crank folds into the machine for storage, so in a sense it has a secondary “no return” system. Now the crank is threaded further up the line from the spring itself- I don’t think this will be an issue since the threading simply tightens into the crank if any rotational torque is applied counter clockwise, which would be the direction of any torque applied while the motor unwinds.

In short, as long as I fold the crank into the holder for it in the front of the case, the no return spring weakness will not be an issue.

I also measured the dimensions of the rivet. They are:

¼ inch diameter head
½ inch long shaft
⅛ inch diameter shaft

As long as I mushroom the bottom to make it wider than the diameter of the hole milled out of the arbor, I should be good to go, right?

And to touch on the difficulty of this restoration again, I swear this has been a battle of the wills. I my Victor VV-90 was a battle of strength, this one is a battle of the mind. I am curious to see what my Edison Cylinder Player brings me... but that’s for another time