Pathé Phonograph Tonearm Question

[drh]

Well, the good news is, I don't think the arm is broken. It looks to have the crossbar in place and intact. The bad news is that I think it's missing a part. If you look at the tonearm from my machine, it has a collar that goes between the arm and the socket screwed to the motorboard, and I don't see that on the arm in your photo. See the attached picture.

[VictorVV-X]

Well, the good news is, I don't think the arm is broken. It looks to have the crossbar in place and intact. The bad news is that I think it's missing a part. If you look at the tonearm from my machine, it has a collar that goes between the arm and the socket screwed to the motorboard, and I don't see that on the arm in your photo. See the attached picture.

Thank you.

[VictorVV-X]

Just so I understand, how does the tonearm fasten to the base? Does it screw in or is there a bolt from the bottom? Also, how important is the missing collar?

Thanks again.

[52089]

Well, the good news is, I don't think the arm is broken. It looks to have the crossbar in place and intact. The bad news is that I think it's missing a part. If you look at the tonearm from my machine, it has a collar that goes between the arm and the socket screwed to the motorboard, and I don't see that on the arm in your photo. See the attached picture.

It's hard to tell from the photo but the collar may be there. I have a Pathé table model with a "detached" tonearm and collar and it works just fine. I put a little grease around the rim of the collar so that it will rotate freely and I've had no issues.

The other thing to check on these is that the reproducer can be rotated from the vertical position to the lateral position and vice versa. There's usually pot metal on these that has swollen and prevents this rotation. This can be fixed, but it's a pain.

[VictorVV-X]

Thank you all for your help. I’ve decided to pass on the Pathé. I greatly appreciate all your help.

[drh]

Just so I understand, how does the tonearm fasten to the base? Does it screw in or is there a bolt from the bottom? Also, how important is the missing collar?

Thanks again.

Just to close the loop, so to speak, here's how the tonearm attaches. The collar at its base mates it to the diameter of the socket and allows for free rotation around the axis of the threaded shaft. The nut securing the threaded shaft to the socket prevents the arm from falling out and supports it so that the sapphire ball stylus never comes into contact with the cabinet of the machine but instead is held floating free in midair when not in use. I should add that the threaded shaft is free to slide along the bar inside the base of the tonearm, allowing it to center in the socket.