The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Cody K wrote:

Is that story true about the Nun and children?

When confronted with information that I'm skeptical about, I always ask myself, "Self, where did you get this information?". If the answer is "On the internet", I know it must be true!

I can say with the certainly of "Being There" that an Edison spring DID narrowly miss a 16yr old's face (mine) and violently uninstalled a cellar light fixture in Cheektowaga, NY - some years ago. If I'd held it a little to the Left, I'd be either dead, facially disfigured, and/or without an eye or two. It EXPLODED out of the case, just missed my right ear & actually ripped-out a blob of hair. Yikes.

Yikes indeed! My little hyperbolic joke aside, these springs in particular are famously strong. A Victor (or other) spring is one thing, and even those shouldn't really be released by anyone who hasn't at least seen the procedure done before. But Edison springs are, I believe, best left to those who have the experience to know what to expect from them. This is where the passing-down of experience from one to another becomes so very important. Edisone, I'm certainly glad that spring missed you, leaving you to proceed to further experience and know-how that you're now able to share. As for me, as I said, I'll be sending the C-19's springs out to someone who already knows how to handle them!

Valecnik, thanks so much for bringing that brochure to my attention. It (as does the one Kirkwood posted), makes some very intriguing claims regarding the sound the Jewel can produce (possibly just advertising hype), and I'll be eager to try it out once my machine's up and running. It's odd that they produced it without identifying marks of any kind.

Meanwhile, with the C-19 now back-burnered while I work on the other project, I'm still scratching my head about how a problem with the springs could possibly create a speed fluctuation that has a predictable pattern no matter how tightly or loosely the spring is wound, without regard to whatever point in the spring's unwinding the machine is turned on. But that's a story for another day, I guess.

Good luck with your continuing pursuit of the problem. Makes me realize how fortunate I am that both my DD machines run like champs, even though one of the 2 never had any motor servicing as best I can tell.

Clay

Thanks, Clay. We're always lucky when we find machines in good running condition. But some are like shelter dogs that just need some love and care, and become wonderful friends once they get it.

Cody K, it is unusual that you are having trouble at all. I've seen many of them over the years and almost never encountered one with problems beyond needing an oiling and reproducer rebuild.

The first diamond disc I ever had, an H19, had a gummed up, stuck spring. My late grandfather just about lost a thumb fixing it when I was away at college. More recently I purchased an A250 with a broken spring. With the expert assistance of Phonocookie we replaced it but there were some terror filled moments as we tried to pop that broken one out.

Edison DD springs are among the strongest I have installed quite a few of them and they are tough, you better get plenty of sleep and eat your wheaties the older springs are 18' but very thick, while the later ones are 25' and bears. I usually open springs in a clean, double burlap sack, this usually keeps them from hurting anyone.

I've only ever serviced one DD spring, on my BC-34……….. I think that was enough.

Bill

Actually, the first spring I ever serviced was on my BC-34, so every Victor spring seemed easy afterwards. Maybe I was in better shape back then, but it didn't seem that bad. The worst spring I ever replaced was in my Edison Standard A, that new spring was so strong with sharp edges, it was painful. I was about to give up, but already in the middle of it I couldn't just let it loose. So I worked through it and was completely wiped out afterwards. So while I don't agree with the horror stories, I do agree that it takes quite some strength and even more importantly full concentration on the job. Good preparation, good gloves, a strong grip, and no distractions. Removing an old broken spring can be the most dangerous part of the job, because of the ragged edges. Removing it in a barrel or burlap sack is a good idea.

Andreas

Have you reached in when the horn is in playing position and made sure you are able to lift the feed rake freely off the worm gear at every point on the record and specifically the point where it binds?

Jim

Jim, I haven't done that, but it's an excellent suggestion -- thank you. Something has to be catching somewhere, and to find out where, I'll need to check every possibility. If something's causing a variability in weight/pressure where you suggest, that could well be it. On the other hand, the speed fluctuates whether those two parts are engaged or not, so...? I'm actually starting to wonder if it might be something as simple as one (or both) of the governor weights being loose or imbalanced. I'm still having resistance to the idea that the problem has to do with the spring, because the way the problem manifests itself, that doesn't seem logical.