My Newest Victor

[ejackett]

I've been eyeing a Victor Model E on ebay for quite awhile and I finally decided to put and offer in on it
after it had been relisted for the third time. My offer was accepted and it turned out to be the best ebay
experience I've had in awhile. Turns out the guy I got it from is cleaning out his collection of horned
victrola's which he said amounted to about 100. I'm attaching a few pics along with a few questions and I
will appreciate any and all answers.
1. Is the horn supposed to have the dog decal on it or not? There is none on this horn
2. Is this the correct clamp for the horn? It holds fine until you try and turn the horn then it slips out.
3. The 8" turntable has Brown felt is this correct for when it was new?
4. Now for the big question....How do you get the dang turntable off?? I can't seem to and don't want to
ruin it in the process.
I looked this model up in the Victor Data Book and this model E is pre Vic II and uses some of the same
parts as the early Victor E, as you can see by the data plate it has a low number for the Vic II in the
Data book.
All the best
Gene

[gramophone78]

Nice little machine. To answer your questions in order...
#1 Some horns did and some did not. I don't think there is a right or wrong. If you think the horn has been repainted...well, that's a different issue.
#2 The elbow clamp appears to be upside down. The pin should be in the bracket.
#3 As far as I know....All Victor tables from this era had green felt.
#4 Very carefully. I would tap the spindle it with a rubber or plastic hammer while another is lifting with a hand on either side. You could try a drop of penetrating oil. However, this may bleed into the felt. No big deal if you are planing to change back to green.

[Jerry B.]

Congratulations on your first Victor horn machines. The E has tons of style. The clip holding the horn looks original. Early rear mount Victor elbows had pins that limited the rotation of the horn. Later elbows had a raised area which was more robust. I don't know, without looking, why the elbow (you say horn) comes out of the back bracket. Most of the very small brass & black horns did not have decals. I question the brown turntable felt although it looks like it has been there for a long time. If you choose to replace the felt, I'd rob some original felt off a spare turntable and trim to the correct size. The turntable should lift straight up and off the machine. You might try sneaking some penetrating oil down the spindle. It might be a two person job. While one person gently lifts with hands 180 degrees apart, the second person gently taps with a rubber mallet. I should come off. I am curious... your speed control is attached a quarter turn different than most Victors I have seen. I there evidence of other screw holes? Best wishes, Jerry Blais

[ejackett]

Gramophone, thanks for the info, the horn may have been repainted at
some point in time, but I don't think by the guy I got it from I
would like to get a replacement decal if I do find it has been
repainted. The clamp has two holes in it one for thescrew and one for
point that sticks up from the bracket. I'll give it a try lightly with
a plastic mallet to get the turn table loose I will put some oil on
it to sit overnight first.
Thanks
Gene

[ejackett]

Jerry I questioned the speed control also, it's in the orginal position screw wise,
see my reply to Gramophones answer also.
thanks
Gene

[gramophone78]

Gramophone, thanks for the info, the horn may have been repainted at
some point in time, but I don't think by the guy I got it from I
would like to get a replacement decal if I do find it has been
repainted. The clamp has two holes in it one for thescrew and one for
point that sticks up from the bracket. I'll give it a try lightly with
a plastic mallet to get the turn table loose I will put some oil on
it to sit overnight first.
Thanks
Gene

Gene, either Gregg Cline or Eduardo in Peru make great horn decals. Both early & late style. Early in your case is needed. Again, as Jerry has stated...better to use two people (one tapping) when lifting the table would be best to get it free the first time.
Best of luck

[penman]

As Gramophone78 points out the horn clamp is in upside-down. There should be a small hole in the bracket corresponding to the location of the pin. This prevents the triangular clamp from rotating with the horn when screwed down. If you turn the clamp the right way, that should prevent the horn from slipping out. A motor picture would be helpful, the speed control seems to be positioned sideways. If you have any wooden wedges, I've found that if you carefully wedge them under the turntable against the motor board, which should lift the turntable about ⅛", then give the spindle a careful whack that might loosen it after some penetrating oil.

[phonogal]

As for your brown felt on the turntable. It may be original. I recently purchased a Vic V and from the looks of it, it sat for many years on display with a 10" record on the 12" turntable. Under the record the felt is green but the felt has turned brown where it wasn't covered. The metal parts on this machine were also brownish color and were covered with what I'm assuming were layers of grease dust and cigarette smoke. The tonearm was filled with mud dobber nests. It did clean up nicely though and I think all the dust etc. was a sort of protection for the nickel plating.

[mattrx]

If you have any wooden wedges, I've found that if you carefully wedge them under the turntable against the motor board, which should lift the turntable about ⅛", then give the spindle a careful whack that might loosen it after some penetrating oil.

This has worked for me also. Wooden shims for installing windows and doors worked well. They're cheap, too.

Matt

[ejackett]

Thanks to Matt & Penman for giving me the shim idea for getting the
turntable off. After a little penetrating oil ad sitting overnite
I put 4 shims underneath it and gently tapped them in as far as I
could and gave a couple of taps on the spindle shaft and it popped
right off. So while it was off I changed the felt from the shabby
brown that was on it to green, I like green better anyway, hey I'm
Irish and French.
Gene