Zonophone governor springs

[MikeB]

Thanks very much. I will pass on this helpful information on to whoever ends up repairing this. It won't be me!

Mike

[Inigo]

COULDN'T IT BE... that the helicoidal spring around the governor's axis is too short, or tired? If that spring would be tighter, it would push the governor disc to its seemingly right location at the end of the axis... And it looks simple to repair: extract the governor, disengage the top end (screwed) of the leaf springs, extract the helicoidal spring and insert a new one, suitable size, more powerful or slightly longer, reassemble all back and give a try... To find the right length and power of that helicoidal spring could be a matter of trial and error, but not too difficult to do.... If the spring too weak, the governor disc is retained by the speed regulation pad, no problem. If it is too strong, the governor will run faster. It seems easy to try...
The right helicoidal spring would love the disc to the end of the axis, and bring the counterweights near the axis. Currently this governor looks simply tired of forced, as if it had been run at an excessive speed for some time...
Just my two cents!

[Curt A]

Why do you say that repairing this is beyond your skill level? You aren't disassembling and repairing your 27" iMac, which quit working... (I just repaired mine and had never worked on a Mac before, which was quite satisfying)

If you can operate a screwdriver, it's not beyond your capabilities. If you are going to enjoy your machine, you should become familiar with its workings and disassembly... This is not rocket science, believe me... These are just simple mechanical machines and all you will be doing is swapping out a few small parts.

It's a simple process to remove the springs, the weights and the entire governor - mostly held together with small screws. Take pictures before disassembly and put it back together like it originally was, only with new correct parts. My thought has always been - "If it's already broken, then you can't break it..., so at least try to repair it yourself". You will be surprised at the confidence, bragging rights and pride it will give you to repair it yourself...

It's actually harder and more risky to correctly pack up phonograph parts and send them by your "favorite" carrier to someone for repair. If you do send it off, don't let the "professional packer" guy/girl in the UPS store, etc. - who knows nothing about these, pack up your parts. You need to do that yourself, bulletproof packing, with worse case handling in mind.

How many machines have been damaged beyond repair by careless movers, packers and shippers? Parts get lost or destroyed in shipping... and if they do, then good luck trying to find replacements, especially for a Zonophone.

PLEASE try the repair yourself, before sending it off... Nothing ventured... nothing gained...

[Curt A]

One more thought... I had a Zonophone Concert, like yours, and could never get it to run correctly. As soon as the tonearm/reproducer was lowered onto a record, the machine played erratically or slowed to a stop. It took years to discover the problem... The mainspring was fine (appearance wise) and had been replaced at one time or another with a similar new Victor spring, so it appeared that couldn't be the problem.

I took it to a collector friend, who is also a clock repairman, told him I was discouraged with it and sold it to him. He was initially puzzled by its performance, as well. After I sold it to him, he called to tell me that he fixed it... He replaced the Victor spring with an Edison spring that was much stronger and it worked perfectly...

[gramophone-georg]

Why do you say that repairing this is beyond your skill level? You aren't disassembling and repairing your 27" iMac, which quit working... (I just repaired mine and had never worked on a Mac before, which was quite satisfying)

If you can operate a screwdriver, it's not beyond your capabilities. If you are going to enjoy your machine, you should become familiar with its workings and disassembly... This is not rocket science, believe me... These are just simple mechanical machines and all you will be doing is swapping out a few small parts.

It's a simple process to remove the springs, the weights and the entire governor - mostly held together with small screws. Take pictures before disassembly and put it back together like it originally was, only with new correct parts. My thought has always been - "If it's already broken, then you can't break it..., so at least try to repair it yourself". You will be surprised at the confidence, bragging rights and pride it will give you to repair it yourself...

It's actually harder and more risky to correctly pack up phonograph parts and send them by your "favorite" carrier to someone for repair. If you do send it off, don't let the "professional packer" guy/girl in the UPS store, etc. - who knows nothing about these, pack up your parts. You need to do that yourself, bulletproof packing, with worse case handling in mind.

How many machines have been damaged beyond repair by careless movers, packers and shippers? Parts get lost or destroyed in shipping... and if they do, then good luck trying to find replacements, especially for a Zonophone.

PLEASE try the repair yourself, before sending it off... Nothing ventured... nothing gained...

Completely agree in theory, but in practice, there are folks out there that have different skill sets that I am incapable of mastering that simply should never touch a tool, and I think knowing and accepting one's limitations is quite important in life at times. I have a "frequent flyer" Mercedes collector client that once appeared troubled that he was doing none of his own work, and he said he felt he was "cheating" restoring cars by checkbook... I responded that I practice law by checkbook (his profession).

[gramophone-georg]

Here's a bullet proof way to pack things like a Zono motor to arrive damage- free:

Wrap the piece securely in a plastic bag, and take your box and spray a layer of expanding foam in a can (think Home Despot)... put your piece in the box, then completely cover it with the foam, let it set up overnight, trim the excess so the box can be sealed, then put this box in a bigger box protected by bubble wrap or plastic peanuts all around.

The recipient razor blades the box, then can razor blade the foam "shell" away (preferably gingerly cutting it in half) so that the foam shell can be reused for the return trip.

[Curt A]

I guess I agree, but most of this stuff is not complicated... however, complete restorations are another thing. I wouldn't even try to restore a Mercedes... too complicated.

Good idea on packing valuable parts, especially motors...