The exhibition wrench

[snallast]

I´ve got a couple of exhibition reproducers I´d like to finish - but I need a wrench to get to the tiny nuts by the needlebar. I understand I´d also be able to "tune" it - as far as bass and treble are concerned, well a little anyway.

I´ve tried the internet but haven´t come up with anything better than what I sent for (picture) but it´s too big and it was the smallest I could find.

Any tips about, size or wherabouts one could buy a tiny wrench that fits these nuts?

thanks! Snal

[Mr Grumpy]

I normally use a small pair of needle nose pliers.

[Henry]

I normally use a small pair of needle nose pliers.

Ditto. I've had a pair of small needle-nose pliers for years; I use it for model railroad work, and it's proven handy (indeed, indispensable) for other projects as well: like adjusting those nuts on the Exhibition. IIRC, Victor listed a special tool for this job, but I've never seen one. The photo I've seen of the Victor one reminds me of nothing so much as the little wrench that came with my Erector set.

[52089]

APSCO sells wrenches specifically for this purpose. I don't have one myself so I can't tell you if they're any good or not.

[phonojim]

I've been using the APSCO wrenches for over 20 years. They make it so easy to accurately tighten those locknuts that you will wonder how you ever did without them. IIRC, they came in a set - one each for the Exhibition and #2.

[snallast]

Thanks a lot for your tips!!! I tried with the plyers I have - but since the nuts are very stuck they get damaged. I´m sending for the mini wrench. If that doesn´t work out maybe I can find better plyers than the one I have now

Thanks again!! I love this Forum!

Snal

[Retrograde]

... I tried with the plyers I have - but since the nuts are very stuck they get damaged. I´m sending for the mini wrench....

I tried the pliers route and it's less than perfect due to what you say... it burrs the hardware. I bought a set of micro-size open end wrenches but none was an exact fit so I did a little machining with a Dremel tool to make a better fitting wrench. In hind sight I probably should have just bought the tool from APSCO.

The small pliers that I use have been files down to a much finer point so I can get into tight places. You can never have too many tool!

[phonojim]

Here they are. The larger one is for the Exhibition and the smaller for the No. 2. These are made of brass and are not meant to supply much torque as for loosening the nuts during teardown, especially if they are very tight or rusted. These are meant for locking the nuts down after the screws have been adjusted which requires very little torque. Usually when tearing a reproducer down I just back the screws out and the nuts come with them.

Jim

[VintageTechnologies]

I have used needle nose pliers to loosen or lock down those nuts after I have made adjustments to the screws that tighten the needle bar springs. Miniature box wrenches as pictured above would be an improvement. I have some tiny wrenches but they probably don't exactly match the nuts on a Victor Exhibition.

Why not make your own wrenches from a strip of thick metal? I often make my own tools if I can't buy them. For this, you would need a vise, a hack saw and some flat needle files. Clamp a vertical metal strip in the vise with ¼" exposed. Make a cut to the end of the strip with the hack saw to an estimated depth. Use a flat needle file to widen the slot that you just made with the hack saw. Periodically test the width of the slot using one of nuts until you have a perfect fit. You could optionally use a motorized grind stone to shape the outer edges of the metal strip until it more resembles a wrench.