The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Thanks everyone for all of the information about this problem! I'm learning more and more about these fascinating machines.

AR

Don't oil the hairspring as this will cause the coils to stick together.
Dave

I looked closer at the hair spring and noticed it's not broken. It had oil on it, so I took a Q-tip and cleaned around the top and bottom edges the best I could, and poked at it with the tip to free it up and voila the speed adjustment needle now works properly! These are very rugged machines. I learned something new.

Thanks again everyone for the help. I appreciate it.

AR

Here is a picture of the mechanism. The wire spring "A" may be broken or incorrectly adjusted. If it is broken, best to get another speed needle unit, they are not too expensive and it is a lot easier to replace the entire unit than to replace the spring. If it needs adjustment to be a bit tighter, loosen screw "B" and turn shaft "C" a little to tighten the spring, then tighten the screw "B". Make the spring just tight enough to consistently move the shaft lever back to rest position.

Or you could just check for oil on the spring...

I'm not having the same issues, but I'm having an issue with only being able to play 10 inch records on my victrola. 12 Inch records move slow and the sound is in slo-mo.

Don't mean to high jack the thread though.

CDBPDX,

The hair spring is working fine now after I cleaned off some oil on it. But thanks for the explanation of the mechanism and instructions for adjusting the hair spring. It's good reference information to have. I appreciate it!

AR

travisgreyfox wrote:I'm not having the same issues, but I'm having an issue with only being able to play 10 inch records on my victrola. 12 Inch records move slow and the sound is in slo-mo.

Don't mean to high jack the thread though.

Lubricate the springs !