Pot Metal Dilemma on a VV 4-7

[Dave D]

I am sure I can come up with a spring barrel for you, no charge. Send me a PM.
Dave Dazer

[Ortho4-7]

That would be wonderful, thank you! I just sent you a DM.

[AmberolaAndy]

Yes you should order a replacement bracket, I ordered a bracket as a backup JUST in case I need one in the future.

[Ortho4-7]

I decided to pull the reproducer again to try and reseat the bearings, and to my surprise, 3 ball bearings had left the chat! Not only that, but the needlebar was canted to the left and twisted a bit. Yikes! To prevent it from happening again, and to help center the needlebar, I cut some thin (1mm) ”washers” from some neoprene tubing and stuck one on each side of the needlebar. I was able to pile 6-7 bearings in a happy little circle on both sides without any fuss, and I put another washer on top between them and the copper “donuts”. Voila! The needlebar is now perfectly centered, and seems more compliant. Even though there’s only 13 bearings as opposed to 16, there is no rattling or forward/backward motion. The sound is much smoother now, with only a little bit of harshness on the highest notes (which might just be needle chatter). I might still rebuild the reproducer with new castings, but for now I’m quite pleased.

On the motor side of things, I’ve sat down and watched a few how-to videos on how to service these old motors. I’m a little less scared of removing the springs, now that I know what to expect and what precautions to take. Heck, I’m even a little excited, now that I have the reproducer singing again.

[Garret]

If the brake pads on your car were running thin, would you hold on as long as you could, or would replace them? It's the same with pot metal. Seems obvious to say, but replace the bracket.

The spring barrel may also need to be replaced, but no way to know for sure until you have the motor apart.

If the soundbox is giving you trouble, might be best to play it safe and send it to Wyatt.

[JerryVan]

Sounds fantastic! Nice work.

As to the back bracket. It would be good to buy one while you can, but I would not be in a rush to replace yours.

[Dischoard]

If the brake pads on your car were running thin, would you hold on as long as you could, or would replace them? It's the same with pot metal. Seems obvious to say, but replace the bracket.

Ha! That might be a bit drastic of an analogy, the failure of one involves waiting in silence for parts, the failure of the other could mean death!