Orthophonic Reproducer needle bar bearings

[JerryVan]

I usually put a bit of grease in each bearing pocket before inserting the balls. The balls stick in the grease and don't fall out. I push them around with a toothpick to get them arranged nicely, then insert the rubber. I use small O-rings for the rubber.

Hopefully u use oring grease. Petroleum based grease will swell the oring.

No, it won't. O-Rings are made to run in grease/oil all day long. That's what they're for. Now, using the short piece of white rubber hose, as someone else mentioned above, probably would be a problem with grease.

[novascotia victrola]

I usually put a bit of grease in each bearing pocket before inserting the balls. The balls stick in the grease and don't fall out. I push them around with a toothpick to get them arranged nicely, then insert the rubber. I use small O-rings for the rubber.

Hopefully u use oring grease. Petroleum based grease will swell the oring.

No, it won't. O-Rings are made to run in grease/oil all day long. That's what they're for. Now, using the short piece of white rubber hose, as someone else mentioned above, probably would be a problem with grease.

You are partially correct. It depends on the material the oring is made of. Viton orings are the best oil resistance. Nitrile or Buna N are middle. Silicone based orings will swell when in contact with petroleum distillates.

[De Soto Frank]

I usually put a bit of grease in each bearing pocket before inserting the balls. The balls stick in the grease and don't fall out. I push them around with a toothpick to get them arranged nicely, then insert the rubber. I use small O-rings for the rubber.

I did try the grease-trick Jerry, but the balls dropped through a center a couple of times before I got everything together... made for a frustrating morning !


Next time I am going to put a thin rubber ring in first, and save myself some grief !

I used a bearing kit that I had gotten from APSCO some 10 years ago, which had the balls in a gelatin capsule, and a couple pieces of black rubber tubing, which looked a lot like automotive vacuum line. I cut rings off the hose for the outer cushions, having to shave them down a time or two to get the height to an acceptable point.

While I had the reproducer apart, the bearing sleeves came out. I just put them back in place, not thinking anything of it, but the reproducer now buzzes a bit on loud passages, so I might take it apart again, and set the races with Loctite.



Frank

[Cody K]

A separate question, but still on topic I think: I'm replacing the ball bearings in a 1928 OSB, but they won't seem to fit neatly at the bottom of the race. The new balls are the same size as the old ones (1/16") but only about five will seat into the bottom of the race and the rest pile up. I tried to re-insert the old ones just to see if there was any difference, but they behave the same way. Do these normally need to be pushed down with some force into the bottom? Has the metal swelled just enough to make a tight fit? Perplexed.

[winsleydale]

Maybe just don't push them all the way to the bottom? The pivot pins are tapered, so the farther up you place the bearings, the more will fit.

[novascotia victrola]

Maybe just don't push them all the way to the bottom? The pivot pins are tapered, so the farther up you place the bearings, the more will fit.

I second this. Drop them around the pivot pin close to the top where the taper is smallest diameter. Should get 8 balls in. I have read sometimes only 7 balls fit.

[De Soto Frank]

So far I have found 8 bearing-balls per side.

They should ride about ⅓ to ½ way down the tapered pin.

[Cody K]

Hmmm...am I wrong in thinking that the balls are meant to sit in a perfect ring? So far I haven't been able to get them to do that anywhere along the width of the bar. A few fall to the bottom, the rest don't. This is, obviously, the first time I've changed bearings in one of these. It's a reproducer that's in fairly poor shape, so I figured it couldn't hurt to switch out the bearings. The pot-metal back is cracked (of course) so it can't be taken apart and this is about the best thing I can do at this point to get it playing well. It's coming along, though. When I got it the needle bar had come unsoldered and was floating loose, no volume. That being fixed, it's louder now and has potential. I just need to get these bearings in, and I'm not sure what I'm not doing, or doing wrong.

[phonojim]

I make wood shims to hold the crossbar tightly in position. Toothpicks whittled down to fit work quite well. I place them around the needle chuck, between it and the reproducer body in order to hold the pivot bar centered in the outer races and centered end to end. This will help keep the balls from dropping through. Then I clamp the reproducer in a soft jawed vise so I can concentrate on installing the bearings. Look For The Dog contains the original service literature for Orthos. Note: if the balls stick together, that means they are magnetized and demagnetizing them it makes them easier to handle. I put them in a plastic medicine bottle and set them on my bulk tape eraser for a few seconds. Also, use good tweezers. I use the kind where the tips are normally closed and open when you squeeze them. That makes it a lot easier to hang onto them.
The last Ortho I rebuilt needed the balls, crosspin and both sleeves replaced because of rust pitting. Normally I reuse the balls if there are no signs of corrosion anywhere.
If you do need ball bearings, you can go to your local ball bearing supplier and buy them in bulk. That way, if you do drop a couple you have extras. They are 1/16 inch in diameter.

Jim

[Cody K]

Thanks, gents, for your help figuring this out. Much better now. I'm just working on some little adjustment to the limit screw at this point.