Auction find: portable by Caswell of Wisconsin

[jboger]

I've mentioned before that I live in an area that has all sorts of auctions. So today I got back with this oddball machine. (Oddball to me, I should add.)Yes, not nearly as well made as the Victors and Edisons and Columbias, but I have a soft spot for these sort of things. A mess, I know. It wasn't running, but now that I've loosened things up abit, the turntable goes. I see that one of the governor springs is loose. But the screw and washer were at the bottom of the case. Note the wooden horn. I hope people find it interesting. Here are some pics.

[Curt A]

That is a strange, but interesting machine...

[jboger]

Yeah. The tonearm is quite heavy. I don't think I want to put a good record on this machine. No mica diaphragm, but aluminum. Seems to be OK. The turntable has a spiral clip to secure it on; you can see it in one of the photos. It was not easy to get off. But finally did get it off. The motor is now disassembled. I may try to clean it tomorrow. The mainspring seems OK. There doesn't seem to be a ratchet or pawl to let the spring down. So I let it wind down, took the motor plates apart, and, no, it did not go flying apart. Not sure yet how the barrel is put together. Will need to study that as I want to take the mainspring out and clean it.

[Lucius1958]

Instead of a ratchet and pawl, looks like you have the coiled spring arrangement on the winding shaft: fairly typical for portables...

Bill

[FloridaClay]

I like the graphics embossed into the cover of the record storage compartment.

Clay

[dutchman]

Should be a fun project. Cheers

Bill K

[jboger]

I will upload a photo of the barrel tomorrow. I hope someone may be familiar with how it is assembled. I think I know how to take it apart, but wouldn't mind hearing from someone who has dealt with this sort of barrel. Different from your typical Victor with it's retaining spring. Also the material that was used to cover the case has come loose in some spots. I think just to use some white glue. But again, if someone has done this sort of thing . . .

[jboger]

And here are two photos: one of the barrel and another of the tone arm. The tone are separates into several piece. But please look at the barrel. I think the lid just "snaps on and off". I tried some mild force; the lid did not budge. At that point I stopped. Maybe there's something I don't know.

[jboger]

I've put the Caswell back together after cleaning the motor and repairing some of the cloth. There's an old saying about a silk purse and a sow's ear. I think that applies here. Used and a bit abused. After disassembling the motor and putting it back together, I of course forgot a small spacer ring that fits over the mainspring arbor. So apart it came again. And of course when I put it back together the second time, the speed control didn't function properly. This meant the position of the governor had to be changed by adjusting the sliding pivots. And of course one of the pivots wouldn't budge. (I gave up and left it where it was after cleaning and reassembling the motor the first time.) Application of some heat loosened the old dried-out grease. The speed control now works fine.

I've now had it running (see photo) and the reproducer is working fine. Still I haven't given the thing a full wind. One part is broken. It's sort of a star-shaped spring, not flat, but the arms are slightly bent. It supplies pressure and is meant to keep the great wheel that winds the mainspring arbor in place. Two of the arms are broken off. This becomes more of a problem the more fully wound the mainspring is. There is a danger that the barrel might slip.

Anyway, I gave it a go. It seems ok. I haven't solved the problem with the record holder. That why you see the rubber band. The case is quite worn, but I've reattached the loose cloth covering.

[MicaMonster]

Rotate the reproducer to the left to play lateral discs!!! It rotates on the tone arm. There should be a knurled securing screw on the mount.