Victrola Consolette broken tone arm bracket (hubbys fault)

[greenvillegirl65]

Hello,
I am new to this page. I just bought a working Victrola Consonlette (sp?) VV 4-3. Well it worked till hubby broke the tone arm bracket at the top I took the 4 screws out of the bottom bracket to remove and clean and it was stuck and then he pulled it off but broke the top part of bracket in the process. He slept on the sofa last night. lol Really I was so upset. The two tiny flat head screws that hold that piece on will not budge, well with me trying anyway. I sprayed wd 40 and still no go. I do not wanna strip the screws. Has anyone trying drilling through the screw? I was thinking if that would work then you could get new bracket and use small bolts to go through new holes and attach nut from underneath maybe? Any help appreciated. I do not wanna have to buy an entire new Tone Arm. I am new to this so these words I am using I just learned yesterday so please speak in Victrola for dummies language. lol. I have been battling cancer and this was a bucket list item always wanted one so I would really like it to work. It sounded pretty good when I did try it out before this part broke. anyway now I have a new hobby. I have the 2 pieces that broke off and was gonna try gorilla glueing them to see if that may work before buying new parts. Trying to figure out best glue. DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT THE BRACKET IS MADE FROM? Thanks for any help in advance.
Lori

p.s. please disregard the record, its one that was with it and the records are so dirty.

[alang]

Hi Lori,

welcome to the forum and to the addiction we call our hobby. The tonearm bracket is made from pot metal, which is prone to sewlling and disintegrating after close to 100 years. Fortunately there are exact replacement parts available that will last for a lifetime. I have the exact same model Victrola and also had to replace the bracket. Ron Sitko makes these replacements and they are in the $75-90 range if I remember correctly. The two screws definitely should come out with a correct size screwdriver and some penetrating oil. I would not recommend drilling them out, because you will need the underlying parts for the new bracket. Where are you located? Maybe another forum member lives close by and can help you with that. Another option would be to send the whole tonearm assembly to Ron Sitko and ask him to install the new bracket for you. He does not use email, but is available via phone in the evenings under (518) 371-8549.

Good luck
Andreas

[OrthoFan]

Hi Lori:

Don't be too angry with hubby. As Andreas noted, most of the Orthophonic era (1925-1929) series Victrolas were equipped with pot-metal back brackets, and the pot metal used tends to swell, crack and crumble with age, so the part was probably about due to give way. The Orthophonic reproducers, too, were pot metal, and are prone to the same issues. (SEE: https://www.google.com/search?as_q=site ... as_rights= )

As a quick fix, and I stress a temporary one while waiting for the replacement bracket, you could try gluing the broken off part with JB Weld, or even Krazy Glue (which I've used successfully).

Don't know if you've seen it, but this page contains information about your Consolette -- http://www.victor-victrola.com/4-3.htm -- MAIN PAGE: http://www.victor-victrola.com/ )

OrthoFan

[zenith82]

Lori,

Welcome! It's always good to see a new person interested in our hobby.

As the others have said, don't be too mad at him. The parts were made of pot metal, which was a low cost, die-cast metal which was usually zinc mixed with lead, tin, and God knows what else that was non-ferrous and had a low melting point. This wonderful stuff was used in earnest throughout the first four decades of the 20th Century in everything from phonographs and radios to light fixtures to toys. Over the years, the pot metal tends to warp slightly, swell, and corrode. Sometimes this is evident from the outside and sometimes it's not. But the end result is what you experienced with your tone arm.

I'm not sure when Victor started using pot metal in their castings, but it seemed to be in full swing by 1926 or so. As a result, a lot of the Orthophonic models are prone to this problem. Based on your serial number, yours was built in 1928.

[mattrx]

This may help you: http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... 91#p245291

[GregVTLA]

There are two sizes for the brackets, and I believe the 4-3 uses the larger one, so I'm not sure if the 4-7 arm would work. Your best bet is to call Ron Sitko. I've bought them from him before and was very satisfied.

[Phonofreak]

That's a switch, blaming it on hubby. Usually, it's wifey that breaks these LOL!!!! I have had this problem, before. Here is what I did. Fortunately, only one piece is broken off, an easy fix. I adjust the retaining pin so the arm swivels freely. I use gorilla ACC gel and glue the broken piece on the pin and bracket. The pin repair will be permanent and non adjustable. Hold for 20 seconds or so. Let the glue cure overnight. Fill the cracks with regular ACC glue. Do it carefully so it doesn't run into the swivel joint. After that cures, sand with fine grit sandpaper, say 220 grit. Once it is smooth, then touch up with gloss black paint such as Pactra or Testors you can get at any good hobby shop. The repair will be strong and permanent. The repair will be practically invisible. Keep us posted on your progress. If the back bracket is broken in many pieces, then I would suggest buying a reproduction.
Harvey Kravitz