Spindle hole is too big

[Woody]

I recently bought a Fletcher Henderson 78 that has an unusually large spindle hole. I noticed not long after I popped it on for the first time and saw that it wasn’t rotating in a circle. I immediately stopped playing it, as I didn’t want to wreck it via bad tracking.

Any common ways to fix a 78 like this? I’m wondering if I could plug a small piece of think yarn into the gap.

[Curt A]

Fill the hole with 2 part epoxy putty, like JB Weld. Let it dry 24hrs and re-drill the correct size hole...

[pallophotophone]

I've always been able to center the disc with a fingernail as it rotates. You can get it absolutely perfectly centered with no interference from the spindle. The felt on the turntable will hold it successfully unless the reproducer is too heavy. I doubt the tracking error will be affected because the tonearm to spindle relationship hasn't changed.

Hope this method works for you !

[Woody]

Thanks to you both! and I tried playing it after centering it visually/using a thin object, and there were no issues. It played fine and rotated in a perfect circle.

I’ll make a note about the spindle hole on the (generic) sleeve.

[Dischoard]

My son is currently in a Mechanical Engineering program here in VT and he is making me a set of adapters for Standard, Harmony, and Aretino records. I told him if he made a few of them he might be able to make a little bit of pocket change as others are probably looking for the same. More fun than using a fingernail (though that method IS proven

[Marco Gilardetti]

My son is currently in a Mechanical Engineering program here in VT and he is making me a set of adapters for Standard, Harmony, and Aretino records. I told him if he made a few of them he might be able to make a little bit of pocket change as others are probably looking for the same. More fun than using a fingernail (though that method IS proven

That's very interesting and I would surely purchase a set, if only I lived in the US and there wasn't overseas shipping / import / duties issues and costs.

However, I think the problem was different here. At times (more often that it would make any sense...) I also happen to find records whose central hole happened to be enlarged in past ages. By enlarged I mean "slightly" enlarged (not at all like Harmony or Aretino!), but still enlarged enough for the record to play visibly off-center and with a considerable wow. In most cases the hole seems to have been enlarged very roughly, by using inappropriate tools. It remains a mistery to me, I really can't figure why anyone may have wanted to enlarge the holes of their records back then.

[Orchorsol]

My son is currently in a Mechanical Engineering program here in VT and he is making me a set of adapters for Standard, Harmony, and Aretino records. I told him if he made a few of them he might be able to make a little bit of pocket change as others are probably looking for the same. More fun than using a fingernail (though that method IS proven

That's very interesting and I would surely purchase a set, if only I lived in the US and there wasn't overseas shipping / import / duties issues and costs.

However, I think the problem was different here. At times (more often that it would make any sense...) I also happen to find records whose central hole happened to be enlarged in past ages. By enlarged I mean "slightly" enlarged (not at all like Harmony or Aretino!), but still enlarged enough for the record to play visibly off-center and with a considerable wow. In most cases the hole seems to have been enlarged very roughly, by using inappropriate tools. It remains a mistery to me, I really can't figure why anyone may have wanted to enlarge the holes of their records back then.

Here in the UK we find a surprising number of off-centre pressings which used to be known as 'swingers'. EMG even sold a tiny, slender peg called a centre-lock to insert between the hole and spindle, to hold records in place once manually centred on the turntable - I've never understood how that could work unless the user reamed out the hole to the minimum necessary extent.

[Marco Gilardetti]

I perfectly understand that (and I also agree that the peg is useless unless the listener first reamed the hole in the appropriate direction - which I find very tricky to do) but believe me, these records that are found with an enlarged central hole are usually of genres and subgenres that I can hardly figure ever being played on a EMG gramophone!

[Inigo]

When I was using, years ago, a Dual turntable with removable spindle, it was great for playing swingers; you just removed the spindle and adjusted the record on the thick rubber mat.
Now sometimes I have to ream the holes of too badly miscentered records... What more can I do...

[pallophotophone]

There are 2 conditions you need to understand. Some record changers use a shelf on the long spindle. A finger pushes the record off the shelf for playing. Over time the spindle hole can become worn because of how the record is pushed off the shelf. The other condition is caused by not having the stamper exactly centered in the press. The spindle pin on the press remains in the same position, but the of center stamper is still off center.
I've seen lots of these over the years.