Removing tone arm base from Aeolian Vocalion Graduola

[apruizii]

I just picked up a Type G Aeolian Vocalion with Graduola phonograph. I got the Graduola volume control cord to slide in and out and verified the rod is going up and down inside of the horn throat. However, the volume does not change. I removed the four screws from the base to try and take it off and see if the plunger is going up and down but I cannot remove the base. It is really stuck! Is this a common problem? What is the best way to remove the base?

I would appreciate any help with this.

AR

[OrthoSean]

It's been a long time since I've had one of these, but I'm pretty sure it's a rubber gasket under that base and it likely has fused itself to the metal base. Be careful, some of those are pot metal, I know the one I have is and I took my time and applied lots of liquid wrench to get it loose. This was 20 years ago, so I'm going from what I recall....I seem to remember also that the volume part that moves is also rubber of some sort.

Sean

[apruizii]

Sean,

Thanks for the tip. I'll try using the liquid wrench. After further tinkering, I saw that the metal rod that is attached to the rubber plunger was not going through the center hole of the base. I managed to get the rod through the base but now can't get the cord to work properly. It hardly moves. There's too much friction when trying to push/pull the cord. I'll probably have to take the horn off to get to the rod and the back of the Graduola mechanism to verify where the friction is coming from.

AR