Frustrated With My Lack of Knowledge

[cweastlick]

I have an early Columbia AH. It is the one with the peculiar motor that was made for the first version only. Anyhow, parts of the speed control are broken but surely there is a way to repair or replicate or reproduce the broken part(s). I have attached a picture of what is missing circled in yellow. I've always heard that pot metal cannot be repaired in any way. Unless I can find the spare parts, this machine is completely useless except for parts. I remember seeing posts from a man in South America that reproduces parts for machines. Does anyone know who this might be? Does anyone know what might be done to save my AH from the parts pile? This is the only thing wrong with it. Surely someone with much greater knowledge than myself has a solution. This frustrates the heck out of me. I sit and look at it for hours trying to figure out what can be done. Either someone has the parts out there or a solution for fixing this. I am greatly looking forward to hearing from you.

[gramophone78]

I would recommend placing a wanted ad on our Yankee Trader section along with this pic. A lot of collectors and dealers alike check that section daily. Also, do the same on other Phono forums.

[cweastlick]

Thanks for the feedback. I have done that already with no response.

[JerryVan]

Maybe show a photo of your damaged part, instead of a poor photo of an undamaged example. BTW, that part is cast aluminum, not pot metal.

[AZ*]

I remember seeing posts from a man in South America that reproduces parts for machines. Does anyone know who this might be?

Are you perhaps thinking of Pedro Martinez from Spain?

He did this marvelous work earlier this year:

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=50437

According to his website, he reproduces parts:

https://www.pedrofono.es/en/

[cweastlick]

Maybe show a photo of your damaged part, instead of a poor photo of an undamaged example. BTW, that part is cast aluminum, not pot metal.

Jerry,
Good idea. Below are my broken parts. I hope this gives you all a better idea of what I have. Also, therefore, since it is cast aluminum does that open up other possibilities for repairs?

[Technomaniac]

Hi. I have a friend who bought a vintage AEC Regal Passenger Bus. There was an inspection plate on the side of the engine. He found that the bolts had grown in, and on removing them the threads in the cast part were destroyed, and also the remaining metal around the big hole was either broken away or crumbly. One of the suggestions I put forth was to make an intermediate insert a bit longer than the inspection plate, so that the original plate could be offset to the right or left. Countersunk head screws as well as the glue, holding the intermediate gadget firmly to the block. His suggestion was to glue the insert permanently to the main part with DEVCON. I had suggested gaskets, as I was unfamiliar with the product. Apparently that product is in common use by motor engineers to fill cracks in blocks and similar things. More recently, I have bought some "Devcon Home Plastic Steel Epoxy" 2500 psi strength, and have used it successfully repairing diecast pickup arms. If you have all of the bits, you might want to give it a try, if only as a temporary cure, until you can source the parts at a sensible price. It comes in small tubes, Resin and Hardener, and is used as you would, Araldite. Of course the mating surfaces would need to be cleaned thoroughly, any small missing fragments can be replaced by extra Devcon. I don't disturb the glued item for several days, just to be sure.