HMV 34 motor, help needed

[soundgen]

By the way what is the gramophone ? A model 31 ?

[Inigo]

I also suffered a lot 18 years ago the first time I overhauled this motor. It was nearly impossible to extract the axis... In the end it came out, after several days trying... I had to buy and use an extraction tool. The axis was badly gripped and I had to polish it with steel wool. The motor was successfully repaired, and works greatly, but the winding train became a bit noisy after all the treatment. I suppose the polishing and gear cleaning created some gaps in between, things went loosened a bit, and noises set in. Fortunately they are only when winding up, and the motor runs smoothly and silently...

[nostalgia]

When I took the photo of the motor inside the wooden cabinet, I was working in the middle of greasing it, and oiling the governor etc. It now has a lot of grease in it, and also the spring barrels are saturated. I brought the wrong winding key today, so I was not able to test it, but will tomorrow, and then also listen to the motor, and see if it runs smoothly. I actually have two 34 motors, and the spare one (still unserviced) was in front of me while I serviced this motor, which also was of help to remember the positions. When working alone in such "greasy environment" it is a challlenge to take as many photos as one really need, and later regret not taking!
I used Moly Grease from Comma by the way. And Steve, I understand your concern about doing this service job, in particular if you so far have only serviced a HMV 102. Myself I serviced 4-5 HMV 101/102s before stepping up to a HMV 32 motor (x2), and then the motor inside the Victrola XI. The double spring barrels are harder to master, and of course also more potentially dangerous, since these barrels are deep and in particular the bottom spring can be a challenge, one for sure does not want to stop halfway in the process of removing or installing this spring. It is very hard to advice you about servicing this HMV 34 motor or not, as a general recommendation though I would probably suggest first try a double spring, like the HMV 32 or a Victrola equivalent, to get the grip, or see if this is something you would want to do, and then step up to the 4 spring HMV 34.
By the way, I am servicing a HMV Model 25. I had two wooden cabinets, where the base was almost destroyed on one of the cabinets, but I was against all odds able to find a wrecked Model 25 for sale, where the base was intact, along with the motor! So, this motor service has only been a small part of this job, I have in addition step by step removed the base from my Model 25, which in itself was a nerve wrecking job, since the nails had rusted and almost dissolved into the sides of the case, while the screws were impossible to get out, so I had to drill beside the screws to get them out, before installing a new wooden base from the donor machine. What is left now is only to add the speed control. I did not remember completely how this was done when working today, so I saved it for tomorrow, or the next few days, wanting to see a video about it. I for sure do not want to ruin anything during the last few steps.;
Nice to see you back again by the way, Inigo !

PS. I also upload some photos of the wooden case I have worked a lot on during the last week. I also was thinking about installing the motorboard from the donor machine, but dropped it when I understood the motorboard was glued to the sides of the case. I did not even think about trying to dismantle something that is glued on a machine like this, also because I have no clue about doing a job like that safely. I also doubt I would have allowed anyone else to try doing it....The wooden base of the original machine was even worse than it appears on the photos, when removing it from the machine it fell to pieces instantly.

[nostalgia]

Thank you for all help and guidance conerrning the HMV 34 motor in this restoration project. The HMV Model 25 gramophone is now up and running, playing beautifully and will now get the position it deserves in my very modest sitting room. The horn will get also get some touch up later in summer, since it has some minor flaws, and since it already is repainted, I consider this only as a win win to touch it up/repaint it.

PS..yes the small Beka horn gramophone (Union motor) on the floor, now has lost it's position, it still has a missing piano wire (anti return function) in the winding shaft area and is next up for service in the garage room. If someone want to read more about this small Beka, it was covered in this thread last autumn, a short time after I joined the forum: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=41212

[JerryVan]

A very handsome machine. I wish they showed up here in the States... So many nice HMV and G&T styles that we rarely see over here.

[SteveM]

Nostalgia, your skills are inspiring. I will, most assuredly, be sending my 34 out! (I do have a 32 motor in my 31a, but it’s already been overhauled, so I cannot practice!)

By the way ... should the 34, ideally, be as easy to crank as a 32?

[nostalgia]

Steve, always nice to hear that my work is inspiring! Concerning your question about if a 34 motor ideally should be as easy to crank as a 32 motor, I hope one of our HMV experts can answer to this question. I have in my sitting room an (yet unserviced) HMV model 250 (or 251 since I do not really understand the difference between these two models)with a 32 motor, but when comparing it with the 34 motor inside the HMV Model 25, I am not really sure what to say about this matter. I also don't wind the 34 motor up completely, since I do not see any reason to do it, since it has so much power inside it without testing the limits.

[soundgen]

Yes it is as easy to wind up , just takes twice as long to wind completely !

[soundgen]

Yes it is as easy to wind up , just takes twice as long to wind completely !

A long time ago I saw an 8 spring version of the 34 motor , it was like two 34 motors side by side . but with one casting , I have never seen another or heard anyone ever mention one and have no idea what machine HMV would have made it for , there are still puzzles out there !

[SteveM]

Thanks for the info!
My particular 34 motor needs a full winding to play just one side, and it's constant resistance the entire way. I keep hoping it will loosen up a bit!