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SUCCESS!!!

I figured it out by myself. I noticed that there was a bearing inside the stationary pillar casting but I could not get it to budge. I knew that if I could remove that blasted bearing then it would allow enough room within the stationary pillar to remove the mainspring assembly.

But, I could not get that bearing to budge. So, I grabbed a hammer and gently tapped on the opposite end of the shaft (the end that held the removable pillar that I removed thanks to Vince's advice).

After tapping on the opposite end of the shaft a few times I noticed the bearing on the other end was moving!! When the bearing was sticking out of the stationary pillar enough so that I could grab onto it with a pair of vice grips I twisted and pulled it out!

After the bearing was out, the main spring assembly fell into my hands. Voila! What a relief.

Now that I have the mainspring assembly out I will need to remove the old mainspring shaft and replace it with a new one or a good original one.

Once I have that in place I can put everything back together and this little VV-XII should be able to sing again!

I'll post a Want ad soon in the Yankee Trader but in the meantime if anyone has a good mainspring shaft for this spring barrel assembly please let me know.

I'm guessing this mainspring shaft is the same as the one used in the earlier Victrola XVI motors.

Thank you sincerely to everyone who shared their advice on this and for any future help in locating a good shaft for this or a working nickel plated spring barrel assembly that will slide in.

Doug

Nicely done!

I was going to tackle mine when I got home from work to see if I could figure it out, you just saved me a
gigantic mess (my motor is nowhere NEAR as clean as yours)! My motor is still in the 'waiting a rebuild' pile, so
Thank YOU for posting the images and the final solution, it will help when I finally get to this one.

Mr Grumpy wrote:Nicely done!

I was going to tackle mine when I got home from work to see if I could figure it out, you just saved me a
gigantic mess (my motor is nowhere NEAR as clean as yours)! My motor is still in the 'waiting a rebuild' pile, so
Thank YOU for posting the images and the final solution, it will help when I finally get to this one.

Thanks Vince. It's great to hear that I was able to help someone else for a change!

And now for me, it's onward to tackle the mainspring shaft. It's a shame that there's not a way to permanently attach a small extension (only about ¾ inch is all that is broken off!) onto the current shaft and then thread the new end at the same pitch as the old one was because the mainsprings are just fine. I can tell that the springs are still hooked onto the current shaft and ready to use!

Doug

FellowCollector wrote: And now for me, it's onward to tackle the mainspring shaft. It's a shame that there's not a way to permanently attach a small extension (only about ¾ inch is all that is broken off!) onto the current shaft and then thread the new end at the same pitch as the old one was because the mainsprings are just fine. I can tell that the springs are still hooked onto the current shaft and ready to use!

Doug

I'd call a couple of machine shops and see what they tell you. I'm sure this would be an easy job with the right equipment. Even an auto mechanic might be able to help, it can't hurt to ask around. Years ago, I had to get a cracked motor frame repaired and the machine shop did it for me for practically nothing. Good luck!

Sean

OrthoSean wrote:

FellowCollector wrote: And now for me, it's onward to tackle the mainspring shaft. It's a shame that there's not a way to permanently attach a small extension (only about ¾ inch is all that is broken off!) onto the current shaft and then thread the new end at the same pitch as the old one was because the mainsprings are just fine. I can tell that the springs are still hooked onto the current shaft and ready to use!

Doug

I'd call a couple of machine shops and see what they tell you. I'm sure this would be an easy job with the right equipment. Even an auto mechanic might be able to help, it can't hurt to ask around. Years ago, I had to get a cracked motor frame repaired and the machine shop did it for me for practically nothing. Good luck!

Sean

Thanks for your advice and suggestions, Sean! I'm going to first see if anyone here on the Forum has the same size mainspring shaft that I need to replace mine or better yet a working spring barrel assembly (with shaft) that will slide in place. One way or another I'm hoping to get this little guy playing again! It's a real shame that someone would put that much pressure on the crank to snap off the end of that shaft.

Thanks again for your helpful input and advice. It's duly noted and sincerely appreciated!

Doug

Doug,

Are you able to remove the winding shaft from the spring barrels?

I've never had one of these motors apart before, but the spring barrel assembly looks similar to that of the earlier XVI, possibly even the first post-L-door models. If that is the case, it would seem like some standard steel stock could be used, which is what made me think of a machine shop. An alternative could be giving Ron Sitko a call. He may very well have a spare barrel assembly on hand, I know at times he does have original parts around and as I'm sure you know already, he's very fair.

Anyone have an XII and and XVI with three springs like this could easily provide the answer, which might save you some time also.

Sean

I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong, but I think the end could be repaired. I think it could be faced off in the lathe, drilled out, tapped and a threaded piece inserted into it. This would require the shaft to be removed from the spring barrel to allow that work to be done.

Dave D