Hardened grease in mainsprings

[JayL]

I recently got a Victor II. It is a very nice machine, but it makes loud "thumping" noise and jumps a bit or bangs occasionally during operation. I'm guessing that there is a hardened grease in the mainsprings and it needs to be cleaned and disassembled.
Is this something that I would be able to do, or should I seek for a professional help ?
Regards,
Jay

[Henry]

If it were mine, before I did anything involving a tear-down, I would spritz the spring case perimeter at the flange (where the cover meets the shell) thoroughly with Power Lube (formerly CRC-556, available at hardware stores), and no other product, in hopes that it would penetrate into the case and loosen up the gunk in there. You'll find that the Power Lube will be readily sucked into crevices by capillary action; just keep spritzing it until it doesn't take up any more. Exercise the spring motor by fully winding, fully running down, fully winding, etc., and observe the results. With luck, this may do the trick. How long it lasts is anybody's guess, but if it does work you will have saved yourself much grief and po$$ibly you know what.

[pughphonos]

VERY good advice from Henry. I've never heard that approach before; do give it a try. Otherwise, I would recommend sending off the spring barrel and having the springs cleaned by a professional antique phonograph shop. Springs are dangerous to unload and hard as hell to re-load.

[Jerry B.]

Previous posters have given good advice. Most of us have heard this before but be sure the spring is all the way unwound before attempting any work or disassembly on the motor. Jerry

[JayL]

Thank you very much for your advice.
I snapped some pictures of my motor, I'm a bit confused , where exactly should I spray it ?
Thanks again, I aprecciate all the help.
Regards,
Jay

[Henry]

The end of the canister opposite the geared end, IOW the end nearest the bottom of the second photo, looks to be the removable end of the canister. If it's like my XI, the lid is held in place by a piece of spring wire, about the diameter of coat-hanger wire, all around the perimeter of the canister. With the red sprayer tube supplied with the Power Lube attached to the valve of the spray can, aim the tube at this retainer wire and spritz all around the perimeter of the canister (i.e., between the wire and the rim). Hold the tube close to the canister rim, even touching it is better. If the liquid is being drawn in it will be evident in a few (2-3) seconds. Make 2-3 passes around the perimeter, wind up and run down motor, repeat.

[scooter]

Jay,
If you are reasonably handy with mechanical things you might want to try cleaning and re-greasing the spring yourself. I've only done a VV-IV single spring and a VV-IX double spring but both were not as bad as I thought they would be. I don't know how your spring compares to the IV and IX but they look similar.

Taking the motor apart and putting it back together is pretty easy too if you take it slow. You don't need to remove the governor if you think that is aligned and working properly.

Definitely leverage the info on this site as well as youtube etc. for the wealth of tutorials that exist for this task. Heed the advice for wearing leather gloves, using a bucket and wearing eye protection. And, prepare to get dirty!!! I used gasoline for solvent which is a little old fashioned but works well. Get some rubber gloves and an old toothbrush for that job.

Below are some pictures of my first job on an IV. The spring ring that retains the end of the barrel is the hardest part to get off and on. Remember which way the spring came out and get it back in the same way. Having to take it all apart after learning of this mistake is a bit frustrating. I did that with a two spring motor rebuild and it was not nearly as fun the second time wrestling the springs back in.

Too bad Victor didn't follow the Edison approach by putting a threaded plug in the side of the barrel. I've been able to add grease to my Diamond Disc motors using a syringe.

Good luck,
Scott

[JayL]

Thank you guys.
Scott,I do not think I'm that handy to attempt to clean it myself after looking at some of the tutorial on youtube.
Henry, they did not have power lube at my local store, but I have purchased ultra lube, hopefully I can use it.
http://www.lowes.com/pd_36318-75041-104 ... facetInfo=
So, I have to spray at the opposite canister end. Do I need to spray any gears ?
Please, take a look at the picture.
Regards,
Jay

[VintageTechnologies]

I have a Victor III, which has two spring barrels instead of just one like your Victor II. The spring barrel on your II not surprisingly appears to be the same type, and if so, does not have a snap ring to retain the cover. Instead, the cover is a flat disk press-fitted into the flared rim of the barrel. As such, there is nothing to pry loose. In fact, the cover is fitted so tight that nothing short of dunking the whole barrel into a bucket of oil is likely to penetrate. I think at the very least you would have to pop the cover off to introduce any kind of lubricant. I have been advised by a veteran phonograph repairman that sometimes you can get by, just by packing the coils with Vaseline instead of removing and cleaning the spring. If it still bumps afterward, then a complete job would be necessary. I personally opt for the whole job of removing, cleaning and repacking the spring so that I won't have to go in a second time. In another 50 years, somebody else can worry about it.

To open that type of cover, let the phonograph run completely down, then remove the spring barrel. Hold the barrel between both hands with the shaft oriented vertically, with the gear on the bottom and the cover on the top. Keep your thumbs over the cover. You are going to pop the cover loose by bringing the spring down a few inches with a rap on a small block of wood. Start gently and slam the spring down progressively harder until the cover pops loose within your hands. A few tries ought to do it. The shaft inside pushes against the cover to pop it loose.

After you have applied some type of lubrication, the next trick is pressing the cover back into the barrel. I discovered that mere human hands can't do it, so I used a HUGE vise to carefully squeeze the spring between two blocks of wood to distribute the pressure evenly so as not to bend or damage the brass gear. Once the disk was pressed in flush, I tapped it gently with a nylon hammer to assure that it was completely seated.

[Henry]

Wow, this sounds like the last word on the topic. I'd sure try the oil soak he suggests before getting into anything major! Very interesting read....thanks!