The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

CDBPDX wrote:My next project - an Edison A100 with a broken spring. This spring is 1.5 in wide and 25 ft long but much thinner material. Shouldn't be nearly as difficult.

This is fun, especially the part where the motor works when reassembled!

CDB

So I finally figured out how to install a new spring with the steel rod wrapped around it. I pulled the end out for 1 revolution and connected it to the catch inside the barrel and the rest popped right in. Man, what a time saver!

Now it runs almost as smoothly as the A250 motor, but all the reproducers are off to Mr Medved for repair, so it will be a while until I get to hear the A250 and the A100.

Just located a C250 with 109 DDs. Maybe it needs a spring..

CDB

I did acquire a new C250. The motor appears to be playing well, though the springs do chunk a bit while unwinding. It has 2 springs similar to the one in my A100, I suspect they will be somewhat easier to deal with than the A250 springs.

Anyway, this new C250 came with 109 Diamond Discs. I didn't expect much from this group, but I was very surprised to find it heavily laden with hot jazz with groups like the Georgia Melodians, Harry Raderman, Frisco "Jass" Band, two different versions of Auntie Skinner's Chicken Dinner, and more. Even found a copy of 50509 which has Edison actually speaking, apprently his only commecially produced recording. I'm loading a few of these to YouTube, recorded with my rebuilt A250. It works great and the music is superb! Example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vR2iRZ5-7QI

This is fun!

CDB

I watched the video of you wresting that spring into the barrel. You are a brave man!

How do you grease them once you get them in by the way?

Valecnik wrote:I watched the video of you wresting that spring into the barrel. You are a brave man!

Amazing what you can accomplish with strong hands and a weak mind.

Valecnik wrote:How do you grease them once you get them in by the way?

The Edison manual suggests you wind the spring all the way up then remove the screw on the spring barrel and load in a container of Edison grease, replace the screw, then let it wind back down, then wind up and down a few more times to distribute the grease.

I take a putty knife and load big gobs of grease to the center of the springs then install and wind/unwund several times. Seems to work OK. As the spring winds and unwinds, the grease is squish-distributed throughout.

CDB

After reviewing this thread my sympathy for poor George Vollema, who overhauled the motor on my A250, has gone way up. And the icing on the cake is that mine had been sitting in an unair-conditioned storage space in the Florida sun for decades, resulting in the grease in the springs turning to something like tar. He earned every penny.

Clay