Victor motors with ball bearings?!?

[Mr Grumpy]

Hello phellow phono phriends,

I have a quick question regarding the ball bearing that is hidden in the bowels of the Victor motors.

I have an early Victor V which I've recently overhauled. During the motor restoration, I didn't find a ball bearing anywhere. Did the Victor 5 have a bearing in the motor?

The machine plays pretty poorly, and I'm wondering if a previous re-builder lost it?
It's definitely been tampered with in the past.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

[VintageTechnologies]

Hello phellow phono phriends,

I have a quick question regarding the ball bearing that is hidden in the bowels of the Victor motors.

I have an early Victor V which I've recently overhauled. During the motor restoration, I didn't find a ball bearing anywhere. Did the Victor 5 have a bearing in the motor?

The machine plays pretty poorly, and I'm wondering if a previous re-builder lost it?
It's definitely been tampered with in the past.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Although I have 3 or 4 early Victors, I am not so familiar with the early Monarch style motors as I am with the later models. Does your motor have the bevel gears or the worm gear? I am pretty sure all the later models used a ball bearing. That is likely true with the early ones as well. What size bearing? Probably the largest bearing that will drop into the hole. Why not try that and see what happens? You will probably have to shift the gear up or down on the spindle shaft when you do that.

[JerryVan]

Dear Mr. Grumpy,

The best indicator of there having been a bearing, is the telltale mark on the end of the spindle shaft where a bearing may have ridden. Look for a small, shiny dot in the middle of the spindle shaft end. Also, if the shaft has a flat, square end, it most likely had a bearing running against it.

[Mr Grumpy]

Although I have 3 or 4 early Victors, I am not so familiar with the early Monarch style motors as I am with the later models. Does your motor have the bevel gears or the worm gear? I am pretty sure all the later models used a ball bearing. That is likely true with the early ones as well. What size bearing? Probably the largest bearing that will drop into the hole. Why not try that and see what happens? You will probably have to shift the gear up or down on the spindle shaft when you do that.

My motor has the worm gear, so I guess not that early.
I tried a few bearings before I put it all back together the last time, but it seemed to bind things up a bit.
I'll have to try it again, but I was hoping someone would have a definite answer so I could just call up Ron Sitko and place an order.

Dear Mr. Grumpy,

Wow, so formal. I laughed out loud when I read that!

I remember the spindle shaft having a point. Not a terribly sharp one, but I'd have
figured it would be flatter if it was riding on a ball bearing.