VV-50 (Portable Victor) mainspring question

[jboger]

Jim: you are 100% correct. I opened up my spare barrel, and not only is the VI mainspring wider, it is also longer. I will buy a mainspring. Thanks to everyone for the help. John

[jboger]

I have now successfully put in a new mainspring and greased it up. The motor is reassembled and oiled/greased. I put everything back together into the case and wound the mainspring fully. It holds and everything works: the speed control works; the brake works, and the turntable spins. Don't have any 78s unfortunately to test the sound reproduction. But that's not my question--yet.

As the turntable spins, I hear a thump-thump-thump as if something off center is rotating. Is this normal for these old machines, that is, for this antiquated technology? Or do I have more troubleshooting to do?

As I cleaned the motor, I noted that there was an old repair on the governor. There are three weights; all are original. However, the flexible ribbon used to secure the weight to the governor's shaft was a homemade replacement. Nice job, but I had a spare ribbon and installed it using the original weight. Is the governor something that requires adjustment?

[clevelander]

The condition of the governor springs is vitally important to the smooth running of any phonograph.
If there is any discrepancy in the gauge of the metal used to mount the weights, the governor will not run true.
You need to replace ALL springs so that they all have the same strength and will therefore move outwards the same distance due to centrifugal force.
These are easily obtained at reasonable cost.

[alang]

There should not be a regular thumping sound. This "antiquated" technology is actually very sophisticated and well adjusted Victor motors run very smoothly and silent. Your guess with the governor is probably dead on. Not only do all three weights have to be identical, but the governor springs (the ribbons as you called them) also have to be correct and identical. They should always be replaced as a set, because even if you replace one with the correct size, it will have a different flexibility from the other older springs. They are readily available from Ron Sitko and other parts dealers for little money. Well worth the investment. When you replace them make sure you put them all in the same way. Some of these springs have elongated screw holes on one side and those all most be installed on the same side. In order to adjust them all exactly the same way you would fully tighten the screws on the regular holes, but only tighten the screws in the elongated holes with a little bit of play. Then you run the motor for a couple minutes, so the governor adjust the same on all springs. Then fully tighten all screws.

Good luck
Andreas

[jboger]

Thanks to both of you. Am somehow not surprised that the governor is the source of my problem. However, I will check everything over again--oiling, endshake, grease. I do have a spare governor with all parts looking original to each other. Failing that, I will order the three springs. I'm also thinking about the case. It's mahogany. It's scuffed a bit and the shellac is alligatored and thus masks the grain. I may try to redisolve the shellac (not remove it) with ethanol. Other than that I'm inclined to let it be. Good honest wear on this portable machine.

[alang]

Before trying to dissolve the shellac I would simply give it a good cleaning or two with something like GooP or GoJo, the non-pumice type. If it still looks bad afterwards your can try Howard's Restore-a-Finish to even out some of the scuffs. At the end Howard's Clean-n-Wax or similar should make it look presentable. Dissolving the shellac, also called re-amalgamating is quite difficult and can often make things look worse rather than better. Without a good cleaning before it will also lock the dirt into the shellac. This would be a last resort for me, short before a complete refinish.

Good luck
Andreas

[jboger]

Andreas: Very good advice. In the case of this VV-50, after reading what you wrote, I'm inclined to leave it alone. I think that's always a safe course of action. The interior has not deteriorated, although it has aged. If I were to re-do the outside, then it might not look consistent with the interior, although the grain would be restored. That's where I do a flip-flop: preserve the original surface even if it has deteriorated or restore it to something like what the original manufacturer intended. Two schools of thought there, and maybe neither one is wrong.

Well, I'm not going to do anything until I get that motor running quietly.