Before and after restoration

[stetam]

Here is the progress on the VV-300 I saved from the scrap yard. You can see the cabinet was in sad shape, mechanics not much better.



A spring was slipping so I rebuilt the 4 spring motor. The tone arm was loose, bearings were worn and bone dry. I put in new bearings, greased and reassembled.



The No 2 reproducer had cracked gaskets and as you see by the picture a broken spring, so that was rebuilt.



I disassembled the horn, cleaned and sealed with silicone bathroom calking.



Now, the cabinet took a lot more work. I cleaned with Gojo and steelwool and it worked well except for the finish of the top was badly cracked and the feet were bad. Sooooooo…...I wet sanded the top with 800 grit until it was glassy smooth but still kept the original finish and lightly restained with mahogany. When I sanded the domed lid I didn't use a sanding block so it has swirl marks, so need to redo it. After wiping off the excess stain I figured it would be dry in 24 hours but right now we have 90+ temps in PA and near 90% humidity for the next 4 or so days so no chance of that totally drying until next week when I will give it a good coat of wax. Anyway, here's a pic of it at 90% done. I'm quite happy for a machine that was free Thanks to everyone who gave me tips on restoration and especially Walt Sommers of Gettysburg Antique Phonographs who supplied the rebuild parts, as well as sharing his knowledge.



Stetam

[Steve Levi]

Impressive! Keep up the good work. Looks fantastic right now. Thanks for sharing. Steve L.

[barnettrp21122]

What an inspiring project! Good job, and thanks for the update!
Bob