Good vibrations--as in FEW vibrations

[VintageTechnologies]

larryh, I bought a set of quality minature jewelers screwdrives from Sears that included a variety of slot and Phillips tips. Large plastic handles on them give good torque. Craftsman brand, I think.

For larger sizes, look online at supply companies for gunsmiths. No real gunsmith would touch a valuable gun with a tapered slot screwdriver for fear of buggering the screws and being shot by the owner!

[kirtley2012]

No real gunsmith would touch a valuable gun with a tapered slot screwdriver for fear of buggering the screws and being shot by the owner!

yeah that would kind of put them off!

[larryh]

I looked up the Jeweler Screw Drivers on Sears on line and called the nearest store. Naturally they told me they had one set in stock but I called back before I left for there which is a ways and they found it wasn't on the shelf although it was in the computer.. So I order the set on line. They have two kinds. I hope I got the right one. One has the traditional Sears type heads to the screw drivers with three slotted an three phillips. The other set had four slotted an two phillips but the handles were a sort of molded sort of bowling pin looking handle which I didn't think would have the grab it needed. I hope the larger one in the set I got is the right one for those little screws on the governor.

Larry

[OrthoSean]

I'm not sure if they're all the same in the U.S., but Ace Hardware is where I got my set. 5 screwdrivers - 3 flat and 2 Phillips. They were around $6 for the set and they're great. They even come in a nice little box. I bought a couple of sets of them, one for upstairs that I keep handy and another for my workbench in the basement. Well worth it, I use them more than any of my other tools.

Sean

[Damfino59]

I've used the Wiha German made screw drivers. I bought my set at Hobby Town.

They do have a website:

http://www.wihatools.com/pro_Precision.htm

I also still have my Starrett jewelers set from the 1980's.

I learned some time ago to avoid the cheap sets.

[VintageTechnologies]

The Sears Craftsman set I bought has 5 slot, 3 Phillips and 4 Torx screwdrivers. They seem to be made of good steel. I paid $19.99 a few years ago.

[pughphonos]

Well, folks, it being Saturday morning and all, I've had some time to work on my remaining Triumph model D flutter issues. I know I'm being obsessive about them, but what the hey.

One gear seemed to be swaying back and forth ever so slightly (the one immediately left of the governor) so I let the motor run down as much as possible and then loosened the screw that was securing the next "further in" gear to its shaft.

Well, the experienced among you can guess what happened next. Now that the sequence of gears was loose at one point the tension that WAS remaining in the springs let loose with a mighty WHIR and I got sprayed with spring barrel oil. So much for one of my favorite shirts. Well, at least the springs were now TRULY unwound.

I then moved that one gear slightly, tightened it again to its shaft, and then semi-wound up the machine. Result? MORE flutter eliminated, PLUS I find that I now do not have to tighten the springs as much as before to make the motor run smoothly. It must have come back to me from the repair shop last year with some segment of the springs frozen--and now that frozen point is gone. Worth the loss of the shirt.

I probably shouldn't say it, but maybe I finally have gotten the machine running as smoothly as I ever will for a belt-driven phonograph with tons of gears. Otherwise I have to come up with a couple grand more and trade up for an Edison Opera phonograph with a flywheel on the mandrel.

Ralph

[gregbogantz]

I understand your frustration with the flutter in the early Edison cylinder machines. They simply were poorly designed from this standpoint. Even when everything seems in perfect condition, they still have some audible flutter. Flutter has always been a bugaboo with me from my earliest involvement with hifi sound equipment. But there are some pretty good Edison designs out there with very low flutter. The first of the really good ones was the Opera motor which you can find also on the Amberola I-B and the Amberola III. At quite a lot friendlier price, the Amberola V is very stable and is the best sounding tabletop Amberola of them all. But the best motors for the best price is any of the post-fire amberolas, the 30, 50, 75 (or the much harder to find 60 and 80 which were mostly sold in the export markets). These are all direct gear drive mechanisms with no belts to wobble, slip and bump. They also use worm drives and fewer spur gears for quieter operation. And they have specific fixes for the flutter problem. The Opera and V motors incorporate decoupling springs and flywheels on the mandrel shaft and are probably the lowest flutter of all the Edison designs. The 30 and later models use the decoupling filter springs, but they rely on the mandrel mass for flywheel action. Not as much flywheel mass as on the Opera or V, but pretty good and way better than the earlier Edisons.

[pughphonos]

Thanks, Greg re. the inherent flutter issues in the external horn Edison cylinder machines (apart from the Opera). I've put so much work into the Triumph model D as I've wanted to have ONE machine that would play all standard-size cylinders (wax and plastic, 2 and 4 minute) and also have the resonance of a big external horn. I think I'm now satisfied enough with my Triumph to stay as I am, but I also know that I am going to have to check those gears and other sensitive points forever.

If I were rich I'd get an Opera for my 4 minutes and retain the Triumph for the 2 minutes (flutter doesn't come through as much at the higher speed). But, like I say, I'm committed to the "one cylinder phonograph" option and the Triumph seems the most versatile for that, warts and all.

Ralph

[OrthoSean]

Amberola Vs are great! Mine gets played daily while my Triumph D-2 is out for a ground up restoration by an esteemed board member! My 2 minute cylinder playing has been delegated to the Fireside for the time being. I miss the Triumph terribly!

Sean