Disassembly of a Q Graphophone-Governor Question

[howardpgh]

I am going to replace the feedscrew on my Q.
Is there any order of dissassembly or any secrets to make the job easier?
I don't generally like taking things apart, but this motor looks fairly straightforward.

[flashpanblue]

Hello,
If all you are replacing is the feed screw shaft then it should be simple. You only have to removed the four screws that hold the right hand side plate on and the feed screw should lift out.
Pete

[Brad]

I would make 2 suggestions:

1 - Make sure the spring is unwound, and,

2 - TAKE LOTS OF PICTURES!!!

I find pictures to be the only way to insure things go back in the correct place and orientation.

[howardpgh]

Changing the feed screw was easy.

Now I have to replace the governor. Do all the speed regulator and stop have to be totally removed for this operation?

[Curt A]

Are you intending to replace the entire governor - shaft, weights and springs? Or just a portion of it? What is wrong with it, that it requires replacing?

[howardpgh]

Curt-
Spring broke and one of the weights flies free.
I got a new governor. Wasn't too hard to replace the whole thing.
Occasionally the disc hits the mandrel belt drive gear which is warped.
I also got a replacement feedscrew but there seems to be an issue with that.
Were feedscrews and half nuts originally sold as matched pairs. My original feedscrew is good but the little cog on it is split. Is there a way to take the cog off the replacement feedscrew and put it on the old feedscrew? It looks like a slip fit on a splined part of the shaft.
At present the machine plays with an echo and it dies before the end of a tune. It worked better before I made the changes and I think the feedscrew is the culprit. The stylus looks good and round on the end like a bullet rather than a doorknob.

[Curt A]

Pictures would help, but when you say the "disc" is hitting the gear, do you mean the brake disc on the governor? If the gear attached to the belt drive wheel is warped, that could be your entire problem. Any drag in the mechanism will cause it to lose power, since it is not a powerful motor in the first place... Are you able to remove the belt pulley and gear? I rebuilt mine completely several years ago, but I can't remember how that comes apart - it may require disassembly of the two plates that hold the spring barrel. I'm not sure if it had a set screw to hold it on the shaft or whether it was pressed on. If you can remove the gear, you can probably straighten it by one of two methods: lay it on a solid surface like the flat part of a vice and lightly tap it with a ball peen hammer while rotating it in several positions. Or, you could try pressing it between two larger pieces of flat metal in a vice to flatten it - other than that, you might be able to find a replacement for the whole assembly. I'm not sure that feedscrews and halfnuts were sold as a pair, but may have been. Addressing your question about the echo... that usually has something to do with stylus tracking, which may have to do with the feedscrew if your stylus is good. For the most part Qs are cute little display machines, but for playing cylinders, they lack the ability to do that well.