Help with my first Grafonola Favorite/50/D

[Psychophonic]

Hello, this is my first post and my first machine. I’m excited to hopefully get it working properly and would be grateful for any helpful advice. I thought it was a Favorite but after browsing the forum I am unsure. The metal plate is stamped No. D92239. The crank works and the platter spins. The tone arm and the reproducer are seized. The tone arm will pivot if forced, which I’m afraid the previous owner did while attempting to test the machine. After browsing the forum, I am a bit worried about the seized parts and how to proceed. Would the first step be to try to disassemble and remove the entire tone arm piece? After that, apply something like Liquid Wrench to the seized joints and try to work them free? I’ve read as much info as I could find here on the forum before posting. Just wanting to know if I am on the right track.

[Jwb88]

I just got a Columbia Granola Model 35 (basically the Jewel, which was a step down/smaller than the Favorite). So far I've completely restored the tonearm and reproducer, and I like how it came out so much that now I'm digging in and restoring the rest of the machine. I didn't expect to like it so much, but even half-finished, it performs really well!

I started with getting the stiff joints working as you suggest because I figured that's the area of greatest concern. I haven't worked on an arm exactly like yours. The one I have is mounted to the wooden motor board using two screws. It looks like yours might be mounted from underneath (?) Hopefully someone will chime in on how to disassemble your particular arm.

I have a feeling the basic construction is the same, though. At the back there should be two screws which hold the joints together and act as movement limit points. Once you have the arm free, you'll want to carefully remove those screws and take apart the arm. I use fine sandpaper (320 to 400 grit) by hand on the swollen parts. Just sand a little around the part that gets inserted as evenly as you can, see if it fits back together easily, etc. When done, use some grease to make them move smoother and seal better.

I will try to make a video or share some photos of the arm I worked on if I get a chance. You and others may find it useful.

On my machine, I wasn't in a hurry at all, and I had low expectations. I think that helped immensely. To loosen all the tiny, delicate reproducer parts, I used penetrating oil and placed the part in the freezer for almost an hour. Using the correct sized screwdrivers and tools, everything loosened up with a little effort. You need to have a LOT of patience. Be okay with the possibility of taking a few weeks if need be to get everything apart, cleaned, fixed, and back together. If you have that attitude, it will almost certainly turn out much better.

Great looking machine. Take it slow and report back if you can!

[Psychophonic]

Hi thanks for your input. For the tonearm parts, are you saying you used penetrating oil to loosen the joints, taking them apart, and then using steel wool on the pivoting/swollen joints?

Will this can of penetrating fluid work?

Update: I was able to safely remove the tone arm and elbow joint, but I broke/destroyed the tone arm base while trying to remove it. So now I’m looking to purchase one of those. I have also had no luck removing the reproducer from the tone arm.

[Psychophonic]

Well it’s been a few months, so I thought I’d check back here for some knowledge. Since my first posts, I was able to find and order the parts I needed and got my machine working. I had never heard one of these machines in person, so this has been exciting!

But I still have questions.

Do I have a model 50? Possibly 1916-18? After reading through various posts, I’m going by the rounded vertical columns on the front corners, and also the 2 small lid hinges rather than the long piano hinge. The serial number has a D prefix, so there’s some confusion there.

When playing a record, the platter speeds and slows down throughout play. Do I need to locate and lube the governor to remedy this? On a related note, I don’t know what or where the governor is.

The brake lever does not fully stop the platter from spinning. It slows it down significantly.