Reinserting VV-VI mainspring

[jboger]

Just finished cleaning and reinserting mainsprings on two VV-IV's. These are single mainspring motors and their removal and re-installation are straightforward. Now working on a VV-VI, which of course has a two-spring motor (see picture). I've already removed the clip. The first mainspring should be both easy to remove and replace. It's the innermost mainspring that concerns me. If I remove it, can it be re-inserted by hand? Or do I need a mainspring winder, which I don't have. I don't want to get stuck with a mainspring I can't wind back in by hand.

John

[JerryVan]

Yes, it can be inserted by hand. I've always done it that way.

[Inigo]

This video is a good lesson on reinserting the double spring barrel by hand. The spring is large and strong, but easy to hold. You must help it entering the barrel softly,by bending it so it enters without scratching the edge of the barrel. You hold the barrel with one hand, with your fingers inside deeply, holding the part you've already inserted, while you bend and push another half turn of spring inside the barrel using the own stiffness of the spring to push it into the barrel. From time to time hold the spring with one hand and use your fingers of the free hand to put a dab of grease and spread it on the inner side of the spring where it is going to receive another turn.
When you've finished, it's important to force the installed spring completely down in the barrel or you won't be able to install the separator plate not the second spring on top. Use a hammer and a soft metal strut or hard wood stick because the external turns, the ones installed first, tend to remain a bit high, out of its deep barrel location.
https://youtu.be/VIylDYNltpU
This is in the channel of our colleague Gary A. Garso, a well known collector and expert, I don't know if he is in this forum, but I bet he is in APS.

[jboger]

Knowing it can be done by hand, I shall proceed. Thanks to both of you.

John

[jboger]

As for removing the mainsprings, the deed is done. Next, I need to remove all that grease. That'll be later.

John

[jboger]

A kind word about Victor's VV-IV and VV-VI.

Many people look down upon these machines with disdain; they're far too common to attract much interest. I understand. But if you've ever worked on any of them, including the repair of their cases and the complete dismantling and re-assembly of their motors, you will appreciate that these humble machines were very well built, performed well, and were a good buy. These were the workhorses of their day, the machines that many people had in their homes.

Here's a picture of a VV-IV I finished a few days ago. I got the machine at a local auction, same day as I got the other -IV nd the VV-VI, which is the subject of this post. The consignor, who has gotten on in years, was a dealer/hoarder. It was hard to outbid him. He accumulated an enormous amount of, well, stuff. Then some number of years ago his warehouse had a fire. His family has been consigning his hoard to an auction, much of which had been damaged by the fire, covered in soot, paint peeling, or worse, charred. I bought one machine a while back for parts as the case was badly burned. As for this VV-IV, it fortunately wasn't burned, but little of the original shellac remained possibly due to the heat of the fire) and the machine was covered with soot inside and out.

John

[outune]

Hi John-- Your IV looks great. You do good work- I agree with your assessment that these machines were workhorses--especially the VI-- That two spring motor was used in numerous other machines, including the XI which was a major seller.. The VI had same motor, similar size tonearm, same reproducer-- The sound can be wonderful on a machine that is easy to move around.
Hope all is well-

Brad Abell

[jboger]

Hi Brad:

Thanks for the compliment.

For those who primarily want to collect and play the old 78s, a VV-IV or-VI is a good buy. The don't take up a lot of space and they have good sound reproduction. As for the rest of us, I ran out of space a long time ago . . .

I mentioned that I bought three machines that went through a fire. I don't have 'before" pictures of the VV-IV above, but I did take pictures of the other VV-IV before I worked on it. This will give you an idea of what the above machine looked liked when I got it.

The VV-VI, the original subject of this post, was the third machine I bought that day. It's in mahogany and it survived very much intact, so it has its original surface.

John