Strange clamp on an early 1911 Victrola 2 spring motor

[Jonsheff]

Here is a Victrola 1911 2 spring motor i just rebuilt as part of a VV-IX restoration i will be shipping to my oldest son in Chicago. I have rebuilt lots of these first generation Victrola motors but dont think i have seen the metal strap and adjustable clamp that came with this one when it was made. The metal pin was sheared off on the motor so i dont think it has worked for a very long time and had little use, all nickel plating is in extrordinary condition. unfortunately due to storage, the original wood finish was shot.

This motor rebuild included:
New chrome steel ball bearings in governor and spindle worm gear
Ground and polished to remove indentations from old bearings on governor ends and spindle worm gear end.
New leather on speed control and brake
Governor full tear down, clean, lubricate and new flat springs
Replaced sheared off pin under winding gear with special order high grade 304 stainless steel 2mm x 25mm pin
Sand blasted chassis
Cleaned and polished all gears and parts
Cleaned springs, wiped with mobile 1 full synthetic oil and installed with Valvoline full synthetic grease
Applied Mobile 1 full synthetic grease to all gears, bearings etc. Added mobile 1 synthetic oil to bearings and other high friction areas.

Here is a video of the motor running for the first time: https://youtu.be/hlLDfHBNQe8

I will post more pictures once the case is reassembled, i think its going to be stunning. I mixed mohawk dyes (medium mahogany and light red mahogany) to get a better color match to the original finish.

[Jonsheff]

Here is a picture after only the sealer coats that shows the mahogany color better. Perhaps a little darker would have been more accurate to the original finish but wanter to show grain contrast to show off the beautiful veneer Victor used. I also restored the black unreadable serial number plate by light yentle rubbing with 0000 steel wool and dawn soap. After dry sprayed light coat of lacquer.

[gramophone78]

Yes, these spring barrel shipping clamps turn up from time to time. All motors were initially shipped to dealers with it in place and wooden support blocks were also used on earlier Victor's as a way to support the heavy spring barrels from splitting the motor board if dropped during shipping.
This practice was also done by other manufactures.

[AmberolaAndy]

Nice piece of Ephemera Jon.

[Phonolair]

As mentioned earlier these shipping clamps are seldom seen now a days. But they make for a interesting addition to the machine or a display.
Here's a pic of the string tag that would have been tied to that clamp for shipping.
Also nice job on the machine as usual.

Larry Crandell

[Jonsheff]

Thanks everyone, that's a huge help. learn something new every day. it seems to run fine with the clamp in place and has been for many years before I got it, I think I will leave it. plus, i will be shipping it from CT to Chicago so perhaps it might help with that.

[gramophone78]

Thanks everyone, that's a huge help. learn something new every day. it seems to run fine with the clamp in place and has been for many years before I got it, I think I will leave it. plus, i will be shipping it from CT to Chicago so perhaps it might help with that.

To avoid any binding or added pressure on the support castings and barrels, I would recommend following Victor's advice.

PXL_20220113_110228784.jpg (179.39 KiB) Viewed 751 times

[Jonsheff]

I did decide to remove the clamp, thanks for the advice.