Newbie here - first wind-up machine

[RichK]

Hello, all. I enjoy old records (my collection spans from about 1910 to the early 1980's, in all three standard speeds). I have always wanted a wind-up machine to play my oldest records on, but the only ones I have found in my price range have been the dreaded "crap-o-phones". Then, I found this one . Price seemed reasonable even if it ends up needing repairs besides the stuck-in crank:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/161031416871?ss ... 1439.l2649

I know Grinnell Brothers was a sales outlet. Can anybody tell me who the actual manufacturer likely was, and when it was more than likely made?

Also, can anybody tell me which needles would be best for use in this machine?

Anything else I should be aware of?

[estott]

That looks to be either a Waters-Conley or a Birch. They both made huge numbers of portables in the 40's and can be hard to tell apart since they sometimes used the same parts. Just use regular steel needles, medium to soft tone, one needle per record.

[RichK]

Any particular brand of needles recommended, and/or any particular vendor?

[Retrograde]

Any particular brand of needles recommended, and/or any particular vendor?

That's a pretty broad topic subject to debate and opinion.

lots of needle talk, and here too

[EdiBrunsVic]

The above advice is good.

Welcome to the forum.

Where are you located?

[RichK]

It looks like I may have a Birch Model 30 or a very closely related model. There is a model 30 for sale on Etsy and the resemblance is very striking:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/105651805/v ... k-portable

[RichK]

The player arrived in today's mail. It had four unused needles with it, so I tried it out with a couple of my pre-1920's records. It sounds pretty good! The crank wasn't stuck at all; the seller just didn't know it had to be unscrewed rather than pulled straight out. It's definitely a Birch player - the reproducer has a big letter "B" on it. It has some sort of automatic shut off on it combined with the brake lever, so that (when properly adjusted) it shuts off when the tone arm gets to the end of the record. Everything moves freely, though I suspect the motor needs some lubrication. I want to experiment with bamboo needles so I can use it with my post-acoustic records without wrecking them.

What sort of lube should I use on the motor, anyway?

[estott]

For the bearings you can use any sort of decent household oil. For the gears some people use an automotive lubricant, but in a pinch a bit of petroleum jelly works - Victor used a mixture of Vaseline and graphite, good but it tends to get thick with age.

[RichK]

A couple more questions on the motor, now:

First, I just took the motor out of the case so I can clean and lubricate it (the grease is FOSSILIZED! ), and found that the motor was made by the General Industries Co. of Elyria, Ohio, and is a "Junior" model. Can this information help to date when my machine was made?

Second, for cleaning, can I just soak the whole motor in paint thinner without dis-assembly to dissolve the old grease, then brush on new grease with a (clean) flux brush? Or do I need to disassemble the whole motor? I am not sure if the spring drum can be opened or if it is riveted shut. Do the springs generally need to be lubricated? The motor looks "clean", as far as absence of rust goes, the old grease is just well hardened, for the most part. Also, it looks like there is a felt pad (still intact)on the speed control that contacts a disc on the governor. What lube, if any, should I use on that?

[Lucius1958]

A couple more questions on the motor, now:

First, I just took the motor out of the case so I can clean and lubricate it (the grease is FOSSILIZED! ), and found that the motor was made by the General Industries Co. of Elyria, Ohio, and is a "Junior" model. Can this information help to date when my machine was made?

Second, for cleaning, can I just soak the whole motor in paint thinner without dis-assembly to dissolve the old grease, then brush on new grease with a (clean) flux brush? Or do I need to disassemble the whole motor? I am not sure if the spring drum can be opened or if it is riveted shut. Do the springs generally need to be lubricated? The motor looks "clean", as far as absence of rust goes, the old grease is just well hardened, for the most part. Also, it looks like there is a felt pad (still intact)on the speed control that contacts a disc on the governor. What lube, if any, should I use on that?

For cleaning, any serious collector will tell you that the best course is to disassemble the motor, clean the parts individually, then re-lubricate them.

Spring barrels usually have some way of opening, whether by unscrewing, removing spring clamps or prying off a lid. If there is no noise ('thumping') from the mainspring, it may not be imperative to regrease it….

For general lubrication, a light machine oil should suffice. Singer Sewing Machine oil has often been recommended for this purpose.

Bill