Victor Victrola VV 4-7

[Dischoard]

I picked up this VV 4-7 about a month ago and it's been waiting patiently for me to get to it. I had a chance today to strip the motor apart and clean the springs, refresh the grease, reset the speed and get her spinning properly. I gotta say, I'm really surprised by how good this little thing sounds. It certainly rivals my Credenza though perhaps it's the Columbia Viva-tonal record? Right now my Credenza stores all my Victor Scrolls and my 4-7 is storing all my Viva-tonals until I can get hold of an actual Viva-tonal machine. Maybe it's a Vermont thing but the Columbia electric stuff doesn't come up NEARLY as much as the Victor stuff.

I gotta say, I've done a few of these motors and this one, by far, had the hardest, most packed in grease around the edges that I've seen yet. I actually dumped a bunch of WD-40 in first to soften everything up a bit before pulling it apart. The results were night and day. When I first got this it would hardly move and I thought I had a broken spring as it would just slip over and over while winding. I didn't realize that it wasn't slipping, it was the hardened grease.

I do have two questions. 1: what is that little coiled spring on the shaft of the speed indicator? 2: what would you do about this top? it's by far the weakest part of the machine, I think they must have had a bunch of cats that liked being up higher but couldn't quite make it

This is the first record I played, it's a fun little number! Party like it's 1929...

https://youtu.be/5oqGxHvdHPU


A quick shot of the motor, nothing out of the ordinary here

Here's a shot of that spring... what is it and what is it supposed to do?

I love finding local bits of talking machine history like this personalized record cleaning brush from an old store in Manchester, NH

What would YOU do with this top?

[52089]

I would hit the top with Howard Restor-a-Finish and Howard Feed-n-wax and call it a day.

[Dischoard]

Really? That simple? It works on scratches pretty well? I LOVE my feed-n-wax but I've never given it a job like this before

[pallophotophone]

The tiny coil spring is what provides a very small amount of tension to the lever that indicates the speed. You ought to be able to lift the friction shoe and it ought to go back to rest on the movable governor plate with no external help. Motor not running while you try it.If it is gummed up and does not fall back to the rest position, it will limit the speed the motor runs- no matter where the speed control screw is set.


Nice Machine !! Hope it sounds as good as it looks !!

[Dischoard]

Ah... I don't think it's connected to anything else which is why the lever doesn't move when the speed is adjusted I assume. Anybody have a photo of how this is supposed to look?

[52089]

Really? That simple? It works on scratches pretty well? I LOVE my feed-n-wax but I've never given it a job like this before

Restor-a-finish will hide most of the imperfections. Just follow the directions - wipe on, immediately wipe off. The wax will be a good finishing touch.

[AmberolaAndy]

I haven’t done really anything big to cabinets other than rub that Kramer’s antique improver you see for sale in antique malls on the cabinets. It does a decent job masking scratches.

[Inigo]

The tiny cool spring is attached to a fixed point in the frame on the outside, and at the indicating lever axis in the center. You should oil the bearings of this axis and the little felt pad on its secondary lever, so it touches very slightly the governor brass disc. When you put apart this lever with your finger, it should move away with no effort, returning back into contact with the disc when you release it, thanks to that small coil spring. The lever axis is very long and goes through the motorboard up to the center of the speed indicating arrow. The arrow is fixed to the end of the axis (threaded) with a tiny washer and nut. You must release the arrow to let the small lever move and the axis turn freely. When it is working properly, you set the speed at 78 and carefully tight the small nut on top while retaining the arrow at 78 mark. It is a bit tricky to get it right... You'll need to work with the nut loose, and adjust the arrow with care, usually it takes several attempts to get it right.
If your arrow is fixed, and the small lever and coil spring don't work, it could be the position of the arrow who prevents the free movement of the assembly... The arrow has limits in its movement because you'll see that is enclosed in a sector box cutout on the motorboard.
The speed lever, axis and coil spring, all the speed indicator mechanism is assembled in its own small frame that can be detached from the motor with two tiny screws. But you must remove first the speed plate, speed adjusting screw, arrow and all to free the vertical axis completely at the top of the motorboard. Then you can go down and extract the small frame with the speed indicator works, to examine the axis and coil spring. It's a clever but somewhat complex arrangement.
You'd better examine it carefully to understand how it works before touching it...

[JerryVan]

I agree with suggestions for the finish. I'll also suggest getting some fine tipped artist markers from your local art supply store. They are available dozens of slightly varying shades. Pick one that matches the color of your cabinet and use it to color the deeper scratches that go down to the wood. I usually fill the scratch, then quickly wipe the finish with my finger, to blend and wipe away anything that overflows borders of the scratch. I've done this with my Credenza lid prior to the other treatments mentioned above. It can take some time to get all the scratches neatly colored...

[AZ*]

My VV 4-7 is one of the first machines I acquired while in high school over 50 years ago. I still have it. They play well despite their compact size, although larger Orthophonics and re-entrants provide more bass. Enjoy your machine.