Started on the Roberts Bestone

[alang]

I would not use anything with Philips head in a gramophone or phonograph. For the gaskets, you could try white silicone to create your own?

Thanks a lot for sharing this amazing transformation with us!

Andreas

[JerryVan]

I will perhaps go out on a limb here and say that the Bestone Celebrity is certainly an oddball reproducer, As stated above, the only reason that I can think of for having such a strange back flange assembly (extra fabrication and labour costs as opposed to a single piece/single gasket unit) is if they had been trying to come up with a rotation mechanism but then just abandoned the attempt and made do ...

There is nothing so unusual about the back flange assembly. It was all done to isolate and seal the reproducer from the tone arm. Sonora reproducers used a very similar method. As to rotating the reproducer to ease needle insertion, I see no evidence that that was ever part of this design. In fact, I have never heard of such a feature on any phonograph. I suppose the closest thing to that would be hinging the reproducer back on a Victor.

[Lah Ca]

There is nothing so unusual about the back flange assembly. It was all done to isolate and seal the reproducer from the tone arm. Sonora reproducers used a very similar method.

Thanks.

As willingly and openly confessed above, I do not have any great depth of experience. I have only ever dismantled and rebuilt two reproducers, both identical except for finish. These are from/for the first machine I bought. So to a certain extent they have defined for me in my limited experience what is normal.

As to rotating the reproducer to ease needle insertion, I see no evidence that that was ever part of this design. In fact, I have never heard of such a feature an any phonograph. I suppose the closest thing to that would be hinging the reproducer back on a Victor.

Welcome to my little world of rotating reproducers!

[Lah Ca]

Thanks a lot for sharing this amazing transformation with us!
Andreas

Thanks for the compliment on the "transformation," Andreas. I have hopes to do better, yet. It is a work in progress.

I would not use anything with Philips head in a gramophone or phonograph.
Andreas

The Philips head would be hidden inside the machine, but, yes, I would know it was anachronistically lurking there.

If I were to go the rivet screw route, I would probably replace the screw with something long enough that I could put a rubber or rubberised washer on to protect the aluminium.

For the gaskets, you could try white silicone to create your own?

Yes. I have been considering how best to do this.

There is perhaps another option. HomeDepot in the US stocks sheets (and rolls) of white rubber (nitrile) in ¼" and ⅛" thicknesses, which would seem to be about what the carcasses of my gaskets here might have measured when they were new. The sheets are neither prohibitively expensive nor absolutely inexpensive and are excessively large for my purposes. (If the nitrile is suitable, it might be worth the while of an online vendor/parts fabricator to invest in a set of gasket punches.) Sadly, Home Depot in Canada does not stock this product.

https://www.homedepot.com/b/Building-Ma ... pnZ1z17dzo

The manufacturer, Rubber-Cal, produces a much wider range of sheet rubber in different materials, colours, and thicknesses, materials including silicone and natural gum:

https://www.rubbercal.com/sheet-rubber/

They also do custom fabrication of rubber parts but probably only on a large order industrial scale:

[JerryVan]

There is nothing so unusual about the back flange assembly. It was all done to isolate and seal the reproducer from the tone arm. Sonora reproducers used a very similar method.

Thanks.

As willingly and openly confessed above, I do not have any great depth of experience. I have only ever dismantled and rebuilt two reproducers, both identical except for finish. These are from/for the first machine I bought. So to a certain extent they have defined for me in my limited experience what is normal.

As to rotating the reproducer to ease needle insertion, I see no evidence that that was ever part of this design. In fact, I have never heard of such a feature on any phonograph. I suppose the closest thing to that would be hinging the reproducer back on a Victor.

Welcome to my little world of rotating reproducers!

Screenshot from 2024-01-22 06-18-32.png

Interesting. I have never owned an Aeolian so perhaps that's a new one on me. I'm still left to wonder if that's just the position that allows removal of the reproducer, or if it's truly intended as an easier means to replace the needle. Either way, I see how you came to your conclusions.

[CarlosV]

In fact, I have never heard of such a feature on any phonograph. I suppose the closest thing to that would be hinging the reproducer back on a Victor.

The old Columbia machines like the Eclipse have such feature of allowing the soundbox to rotate to facilitate installing the needle, and also as a rest position that does not punch a hole in the turntable. This is not that obvious today because the soundboxes were made of pot metal and many are swollen and stuck in place, but they have the design of a ridge that ends on a hole on one side and a little bearing on the other side, that clicks in position once it fits in the hole.

[Lah Ca]

I am also looking for a replacement for the big O-ring gasket between the tone arm assembly and the horn.

download/file.php?id=189021&t=1

I had hoped that I might be able to get it off, rejuvenate it, and reinstall it flipped over, but it is too crumbly. It appears to be some sort of rubber coating over a fibre cord ring. Measurements from my caliper suggests that a modern o-ring size might be a -401--not much colour variation available in this size except basic black.

However, I realised while walking down the aisle of a nearby drug store this morning that something serviceable in silicone might be available in a wild rainbow of colours--I might even might find something in vibrant purple to match the velvet or in clear--from shall we say, euphemistically, purveyors of marital aids.

[JerryVan]

In fact, I have never heard of such a feature on any phonograph. I suppose the closest thing to that would be hinging the reproducer back on a Victor.

The old Columbia machines like the Eclipse have such feature of allowing the soundbox to rotate to facilitate installing the needle, and also as a rest position that does not punch a hole in the turntable. This is not that obvious today because the soundboxes were made of pot metal and many are swollen and stuck in place, but they have the design of a ridge that ends on a hole on one side and a little bearing on the other side, that clicks in position once it fits in the hole.

Thanks Carlos & Lah Ca. I guess it never occurred to me that the ability to rotate the Columbia reproducer was intended for needle changing. I'm learning things!

[Lah Ca]

Reshaping the Lid


More work to do yet, but I have the lid flat enough now that it closes without having to push it.

A bit of heat from an iron, followed by time under a box of 12" records. The wood pieces are old Ikea bed slats.

[JerryVan]

You're doing an incredible job with this! Never thought it could look this good.