The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

DO NOT TRY TO BEND THE HALF NUT BAR. It will break. Ask me how I know. You will need to shim it with paper. Loosen the 2 larger screws on the half nut bar and slip pieces of paper under it until the half nut engages the lead screw without flexing or leaving a gap between the carriage handle and rest like you have now. Might take as much as a business card or more. Hits hit or miss. If it plays but skips every now and then, loosen the 2 smaller screws that hold the half nut juts enough to be able to move it but to where it will stay in place. Drop the carriage on to the lead screw and , with your finger, wiggle the half nut to make sure it is completely engaged in the long threaded screw. Tighten the 2 smaller screws and try it play it again. If it still skips, take out one of the shims and try again. I just went through this on mine. Just take your time, you will get it.
The half nut bar is made of spring steel and gets tired with age. Thats why it drags the motor down when you drop the reproducer onto the record. The bar is flexing too much. Shims will make it work again.

In this case, this Standard has been fitted with a later carriage and half nut. The height of this half nut is adjustable by the small single adjusting screw on the end of the bar.

No need for shims or bending.

Just lower the carriage into the playing position, and than turn the adjusting screw until the carriage sits down onto the slide.

Larry Crandell

Well that makes it super simple!

Phonolair wrote:In this case, this Standard has been fitted with a later carriage and half nut. The height of this half nut is adjustable by the small single adjusting screw on the end of the bar.

No need for shims or bending.

Just lower the carriage into the playing position, and than turn the adjusting screw until the carriage sits down onto the slide.

Larry Crandell

Small single adjusting screw on the end of the bar? Describe please. I yam feeling dumber by the minute.

bangster1 wrote:

Phonolair wrote:In this case, this Standard has been fitted with a later carriage and half nut. The height of this half nut is adjustable by the small single adjusting screw on the end of the bar.

No need for shims or bending.

Just lower the carriage into the playing position, and than turn the adjusting screw until the carriage sits down onto the slide.

Larry Crandell

Small single adjusting screw on the end of the bar? Describe please. I yam feeling dumber by the minute.

See arrow pointing to the adjuster screw....

Okay, yeah, I know about that adjusting screw. At max adjustment, it doesn't provide quite enough clearance to allow the carriage to rest on the slide.
What next? Spacers? Bending something?

SHIM HERE. DO NOT BEND ANYTHING.

It looks like there's enough difference between the original carriage and this later carriage that the adjustment can not be made.
As mentioned earlier you can start shimming to get close enough, than start using the adjusting screw for the final adjustment.

Also on this later half nut setup, instead of shimming, you can carefully bend the nickel plated bar that has the adjusting screw in it.
Not the spring steel bar that the half nut is attached to. Only the nickel plated bar with the adjusting screw. I would guess the bend would be very minor.

Larry Crandell

Thanks y'all brothers & sisters you have saved my bacon once again. A thin cardboard shim solved the problem.
I sort of knew that the half-nut shouldn't be supporting the carriage; but I couldn't figure out what else should be doing it until Jerry pointed me to the obvious.
This is a great message board, and y'all are great people, and please keep on truckin'...I'll be back some day.

bangster
(bangster1, since I had to start a new account because of a password loop I found myself in.)