HMV back bracket issue

[Codex78]

Hi. I recently bought an external horn gramophone, and I noticed that the tonearm is not fitted correctly into the back bracket (it's too low, as shown in the first picture). The back bracket is an HMV one, though it's not mounted on an HMV machine. I tried to put it back in place, but I didn't succeed and don't want to break something by accident. It seems like it's an horizontal bar that prevents the tonearm to go up (second photo). Does anyone knows how to fix this?
Thank you in advance.

(Sorry if my explanation is unclear or just bad, English is not my first language and my knowledge regarding gramophones is a bit limited)

[jamiegramo]

Welcome to the forum.

There should be a sprung rod, underneath the tonearm, that pushes the tonearm up into place. If this is missing you will see a hole in the back bracket underneath the base of the tonearm.

Jamie

See black arrow:

[Codex78]

Thank you for your reply! I think I see the spring bar. So is the spring broken or too rusty then, or can the issue be something else?
Also, won't that horizontal bar still be in the tonearm's way anyway?

[JerryVan]

Try loosening this screw, then slide the tonearm upwards on the shaft until it is at the correct height, then tighten the screw. You may need some penetrating oil. Yes, the cross bar will limit its travel but not until the arm has moved up too far anyway.

So is the spring broken or too rusty then,

Yes, this can also be the case, and something to investigate.

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[Codex78]

Alright, I'll need to find a small enough screwdriver first though. Thank you again, I'll see if this helps!

[Codex78]

Alright, I found an adequate screwdriver and did as you said. However, that horizontal bar is still preventing me from pushing the tonearm higher and putting it back into place. It also just slides back down, even when the screw is tightened again. Is this bar even supposed to be here? Maybe it must be higher too?

[jamiegramo]

Alright, I found an adequate screwdriver and did as you said. However, that horizontal bar is still preventing me from pushing the tonearm higher and putting it back into place. It also just slides back down, even when the screw is tightened again. Is this bar even supposed to be here? Maybe it must be higher too?

I don’t have access to this type of bracket at the moment so I can’t compare how it should look.

Have you tried to move the horizontal bar upwards? Can you remove this part? Has this part been inserted upside down? Is the spring working on the rod?

[Codex78]

I can't tell if the spring is working properly, the rid is not moving at all. I'm going to disassemble it to check. Though when I push the tonearm back up myself, something's blocking it. I was wrong, it's not the cross bar that's blocking it, I don't know what it is.
How do I know if the horizontal bar is upside down?

[jamiegramo]

The rod should be pushing up. Can you put some penetrating oil on it and see if you can remove it? It may be rusted in and not moving freely.

[Inigo]

That part seems not right. The pin at its center makes it seem that as if the tonearm was made for installing it in reverse... Maybe some of these parts don't belong there.