The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

"I have spent 2 hours trying to adust the governor, the main drive spins on top of the governor worm gear, it was like this when I started to service it. Paillard has this special way of adjusting the governor bushing ( if that is what it is called), a pin hole where the governor shaft is fastened, and they can be adjusted at both ends while turning the bushing 24 hour clockwise ( or anti clockwise), that will change the angle of the worm gear. I remember having some small problems with this on my Paillard portable, but nothing like this, so probably the main drive gear are somewhat destroyed.
Right now, there there seems to be only two different results.
1. The main gear spins on the worm gear
2. The governor halts completely."

That may be some critical info I was lacking in working with my little single spring Paillard motor!

I had no idea the governor could be adjusted this way and experienced the 'spinning on worm and halting completely' with my homemade fiber gears ... one or both may actually work with this new info. Thanks for this!

Your fiber gear looks somewhat chewed as well at the top. Mine had some non chewed sections and I tried to 'adjust' where the worm engaged the gear with a washer between the spindle and the plate .. but not enough decent teeth left .. yours however looks to have a good lower section and a washer might raise it up enough to catch the good real estate.

"burke", I will be very happy if you will be able to make your Paillard running from the information given about the governor positioning adjustments.
I was able to make the motor run yesterday evening, after winding it up, but don't know yet if it will keep the correct speed when playing a record.
Adding an optional washer was an excellent idea, I will keep that in mind, if I get problems after re installing the motor in the cabinet.

I have worked on the off brand cabinet yesterday, after acknowledging and having confirmed that this was not a Paillard cabinet, the decision was even easier. For sure I did not want this cabinet as it was looking when I received it, as you said Inigo..it looked like one of the hundreds of off brand cabinets found regularly on Ebay etc. It also feels better to know Paillard never made this cabinet, since their other machines are of so high quality. I still have not seen a Paillard table top though...

I just upload some photos of the process of this unimperssive tabletop, with a good ( but right now a bit troublesome) motor. Maybe you will not be so angry after all, when we now know this is an off brand cabinet. The other option was the fireplace, and well...this solution is hopefully a bit better. As we can see the motor board is not good at all...

I also upload two photos of the spring barrell interior, so we can see how it looks inside. There was no spring issues here, I removed and cleaned one of them, but it was absolutely unneccessary, so I just added grease to the second one. The problem with this machine, were not the springs. This machine is maybe not the most exciting one to show here, but if it can help someone now or in the future to repair a similar machine, it is well worth the effort as I see it.

So, here is the end result! Let me present, not the Pink Panther, but the Pink Tabletop Project
I was able to make the motor run, and now it runs without any problems really. After sanding the cabinet down totally, two layers of "old pink" wood stain, and three layers of shellac politure were added during the last two days. Hate it or love it, it really doesn't matter to me, so feel free to bash or smash it if you want.

I kinda like it myself, for sure it looks different, and well and to me it looks far better now than on the photos taken of the machine at the start of this thread. If a machine like this had been made today, I believe pink versions would be found. Maybe...it also can bring someone new to the hobby too, who knows, because it will be sold, when a suitable owner sooner or later is found.

AND, to calm down any bad nerves..I have not started looking at my newly restored HMV 109 etc. to give it a similar treatment !

I received a record in the post some days ago, and really, I think it fits the machine perfectly, without saying more here, you can go here and listen, if you want:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-A4uYF_qGw

The record is not perfect, but it is quite expensive to buy, if one finds it..and I feel I was rather lucky two weeks ago on Ebay when I won an auction and was able to finally get the record for a not too horrible price, taking into consideration postage and import fees. When this very cheap machine came my way about a week ago, an idea started to appear in my head, to apply some artistry to make it ready for the record that was to arrive soon.

(And... Inigo, here is also a chance to hear what these horns sounds like, not too impressive of course, but well, they work...)

PS. The soundbox used in the video is by the way an Odeon 5301

PS2. My mobile camera really had problems cathing the details and color etc, and also the evening light conditions were not the best.

Nostalgia.... Great! You've made this machines come to life again, and works well, and looks nice and happy! A lesson learned herein. No gramophone looks bad once a little love and care have been put on it.
Even the motorboats is better than I expected... I own a portable with a much thinner and feeble one!.
And the sound is good, better than I expected. Clearly these machines were built for intimate listening in a small room. Same size of machines using orthophonic horns sounds incredibly loud, and certainly not for intimate listening. So these small horned machines were clearly addressed to a certain taste that was popular in Germany in the era, for they sold by the thrillions!
Nice labour...

Oh. That is a 78 record which costs a lot of money I think.

Judy Garland .......................

Thank you Inigo, it has returned to life, and yes..it looks happy, fos reu more happy than it would have looked if it was chopped like wood...even if the photos not really are good. Somehow the camera are not able to separate the colors well, so it looks like it is painted wildly on the photos, while it is not painted at all, but varnished, so the darker and ligter parts of the wood shines through.
The record is far from perfect, and maybe not the soundbox too, but as you say, it gives an intimate sound. I have tested some other records, and it sounds good in a small room really.

Poodlingaround....the record..yes it cost € 85, including shipping and import tax ( £ 38 without shipping).

With the horn sized for a small room combined with the new finish and small size I think this machine would work great in an urban apartment. You might have good luck selling it to students.

Certainly looks & sounds MUCH nicer than it would as firewood; congratulations on a very creative way to keep from having to junk it!

"VanEpsFan", you here touch the exact idea I had in mind when saving this cabinet from the fireplace. Instead of scrapping an off brand cabinet, I thought why not make something different, that maybe can ignite the interest in a student etc, and that also can be kept in a small urban apartment etc. Not everyone today are attracted to dark cabinets, and making it with a more modern look felt okay, particularly since the cabinet was not original Paiilard, and also not really good looking. We need new people into our hobby/passion, and if this is a way to do it, I will not exclude this possibility, not as long as it was this kind of cabinet.
Thanks for all comments !
Mission accomplished