The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Lucius1958 wrote: Mon Sep 06, 2021 9:40 pm

zhenya01 wrote: Mon Sep 06, 2021 8:24 pm Correct me if I am wrong, but the smaller wheel that provides pressure against the belt (on the left in photo) should be rotating freely? Mine is not moving at all.

20210906_202021.jpg

The tension idler wheel should indeed move freely: try some penetrating oil in there.

- Bill

Thank you for confirming, Bill. I put the mech vertically, cleaned all the residue on both sides of the wheel, and put a few drops of pb blaster to sip in there. Will see if it worked tomorrow. If not, I guess the heat gun is the next step?

Next dumb question - is the idler wheel rotating on a shaft - the dimple in the center of the roller, or is the whole thing rotating together? I got it moving (took the bracket off), but I can see the shaft rotating inside the bracket, not inside the roller... Thank you

Well, the belt just snapped, looks like it was rotted in one spot for some reason... Ordering a new one.

The idler roller - its shaft moves a little in the bracket. When the flattened piece moves just a slight bit into the bracket, it gets stuck in the hole. Do I just flatten it more with some hammer tapping??

https://photos.app.goo.gl/WCk9YjuMC9bk22iL7

zhenya01 wrote: Wed Sep 08, 2021 10:28 am Well, the belt just snapped, looks like it was rotted in one spot for some reason... Ordering a new one.

The idler roller - its shaft moves a little in the bracket. When the flattened piece moves just a slight bit into the bracket, it gets stuck in the hole. Do I just flatten it more with some hammer tapping??

https://photos.app.goo.gl/WCk9YjuMC9bk22iL7

Please post your photos directly to the board using the attachments tab on your message. Not everyone has a Google login (required to see the photos). Also, by posting them directly, if you ever close your Google account, the photos will remain here for use by future readers.

52089 wrote: Wed Sep 08, 2021 10:32 am

zhenya01 wrote: Wed Sep 08, 2021 10:28 am Well, the belt just snapped, looks like it was rotted in one spot for some reason... Ordering a new one.

The idler roller - its shaft moves a little in the bracket. When the flattened piece moves just a slight bit into the bracket, it gets stuck in the hole. Do I just flatten it more with some hammer tapping??

https://photos.app.goo.gl/WCk9YjuMC9bk22iL7

Please post your photos directly to the board using the attachments tab on your message. Not everyone has a Google login (required to see the photos). Also, by posting them directly, if you ever close your Google account, the photos will remain here for use by future readers.

Hi, it is a video, so I am not sure if I can post a video on the forum. I made it public on my account, so anyone should be able to see it?

Trying to attach to this post.

Can someone confirm that the shaft is indeed broken, and should not be rotating inside the bracket?

Well, it finally broke

Nonsense to have an axis and not rotate on it... I'd try to make the pulley unfreeze, maybe with penetrating oil, and free its rotation on the axis. Then, try to fix the axis to the lever again, maybe with a bit of soldering...

Inigo wrote: Wed Sep 08, 2021 5:35 pm Nonsense to have an axis and not rotate on it... I'd try to make the pulley unfreeze, maybe with penetrating oil, and free its rotation on the axis. Then, try to fix the axis to the lever again, maybe with a bit of soldering...

As I already said, I have tried two different penetrating oils, I tried soaking it in strong degreaser, and I also tried heating with heat gun. All I did was break that poor shaft off the bracket.
I am ordering new bracket and pulley, along with new belt.

What a pity....

zhenya01 wrote: Wed Sep 08, 2021 12:38 pm Can someone confirm that the shaft is indeed broken, and should not be rotating inside the bracket?

Well, it finally broke

20210908_124146.jpg

Good thing there’s still plenty of parts out there. I’ve had these incidents where I ended up spending more than I planned when I attempt to fix something so I definitely know how you feel. (Try to find a new tonearm bracket for a VV 2-60 I’m STILL looking for one of those) Trying to make a bump free belt is a bit tricky, which is why I use a GE water filter O-ring on a couple of my Standard machines and I’ve had 0 issues so far with those. I’ve also seen folks make belts out of duct tape but that’s never worked out for me…