The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

You have received good advice on how to repair the spring. I too would repair it. This sort of problem is also encountered by the watchmaker. If you can drill a hole, then do so. Or you can take a punch, hit it with your hammer, and form a raised dimple on the opposite side of the spring. That is, the punch doesn't make a hole, which can be difficult to make on tempered steel. You then take a file and file down the dimple. That's how you make the hole. Once the hole is formed, you then use other files to shape the hole. This way you don't need to un-temper then re-temper the steel. A nice piece of work.

Thanks everybody for the advice. I figured I would try to drill a hole and if it didn't work, then buy another. It was not difficult to make it through the spring using a regular drill bit. But, apparently my hole was too small because it is not catching once rewound (I can hear it spinning, which is the reason I took the thing apart in the first place). I'll try again....