Edison Opera Repair Experience
Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2013 4:06 pm
A friend recently asked if I would repair his buddy's Edison phonograph. It had a broken mainspring. I have hardly the time to repair my own machines much less anyone else's, so I begged off and forgot about it. A month later, he came by and said, “There is a surprise for you in my car”. No kidding, he had an oak Edison Concert (late Opera) machine in the trunk. Sometimes I can't say no to friends and also felt beholden to restore such a rare machine for posterity, so it stayed.
I never had the occasion to repair an Opera even though I have owned one for nearly 30 years, so I welcomed the chance to learn more about the internals. There are so many ways to design a multi-spring motor that I wanted to prepare myself before taking apart an unfamiliar mechanism. I searched the Internet for pictures or repair procedures specific to Operas and found absolutely nothing. This article is my effort to fill that void.
I convinced the owner that I should replace both springs at the same time and ordered them from Ron Sitko (518) 371-8549. They arrived in a few days and looked well made. They were each packaged inside a heavy steel “C” ring. The only disappointment was that the coiled springs were a larger than the Opera's spring cans, so I could not simply drop them in as I have sometimes done before. Each new spring had to be uncoiled by hand from its captive ring. These springs were very stiff and a portent of things to come.
The Opera is large, heavy, fragile and awkward to take apart and service without risking any cosmetic or mechanical damage unless it is properly positioned and supported. I custom built a simple wood box whose internal dimensions are 15” wide x 9.5” deep x 7.25” high. I used a scrap 1x8 board as lumber and nailed a thin plywood bottom to hold the box square. I draped a few cloth hand towels over the edges for cushioning.
I removed the reproducer and two cast iron covers that protect the governor and flywheel assemblies. I flipped the whole machine upside down and set it on top of the open wood box. The cast motor plate snuggled inside the box and wood motor frame rested on the edges of the box. I placed a stack of books behind the box, even with its height, then opened the case, unlatched the support catch and continued opening the case until it rested on the books. Then I had clear access to unscrew the hinges and separate the case and motor frame. Now I had clear access to the motor from any angle.
Removing the spring barrels from the motor plate couldn't be easier, especially compared to other Edison models. That design is similar to many of the Columbia cylinder phonograph models, such as the BK. Loosen one screw, and the arbor rod that runs through the center of the spring cans can be slid out. Then the spring barrels simply lift out. I love it!
Even with the arbor rod removed, the spring cans are still loosely coupled together by a short hollow shaft or hub that has a hook on each end. Every part this shaft passes through is slotted for the hooks to clear. Notice that the spring cans are connected with their end caps face-to-face and have a spacer washer in between. Before attempting to uncouple the springs, twist a flat blade screwdriver gently around the circumference to gradually pry the end caps loose. By twisting the spring cans backward from normal, you should be able to unhook the shaft from one of the springs and separate the two cans. After that, removing the other parts is simple. Under the caps, you will discover a felt washer, then a thin flat metal shield, then the spring itself. Rather than use pliers, I inserted a nail into a small hole in the shaft and used it to twist the shaft and unhook it from the remaining spring. Clean all parts with your preferred solvent.
Notice that due to the spring cans orientation being face-to-face, the spring coils themselves are both installed wound in the same direction. This is distinctively different from some Victor motors that I have worked on. If you drew a spiral on paper to represent the springs in their cans, start at the center and draw a spiral outward clock-wise.
Now a special warning about the new springs I bought from Ron. They are mirror bright, smooth and beautiful with rounded edges, BUT, they are several thousandths of an inch thicker than the originals that I measured. They have less curvature than the originals, particularly toward the outside. I didn't measure, but laying loose on the table, they must have been three feet across. No exaggeration, these were the stiffest and most difficult to feed into a can that I have ever encountered. I have installed lesser springs bare-handed with no other equipment, but not these babies. You will need thin gloves and some kind of vise to firmly hold the can. I recommend you install the springs dry. The first difficulty is fastening the spring to the case hook and then bending the spring enough to follow the curvature of the can. It may be possible to install the spring without fastening to the hook and trust to chance that it will catch when the spring is wound completely. I have done that before, but I prefer fastening the hook if I can. Once you get it started, the first few coils don't seem too bad, but as the can fills, the curve becomes tighter and towards the end it becomes a struggle until the coil finally drops in.
I packed the cans completely full with black lithium/moly grease that I buy in 1-pound cans at the auto parts shop. I inserted the hollow shaft with hooks into one of the coils and gave it a twist to try and hook it into place. It had a tendency to slip out of place, so I decided to also insert the arbor rod through the first spring can and hollow shaft to keep the wobbly parts in better alignment. After stringing everything back together, I carried the assemblage back to the motor plate and carefully held the two springs tightly together with one hand as I removed the arbor rod. I set the springs in place and re-inserted the arbor rod through the arbor supports and spring assemblage. At this point, I had no idea if the shaft hooks were engaged with the springs. As I turned the crank to wind, I heard a click, click, click. Darn, they weren't catching! Something was not aligning. I inserted a flat screwdriver between the spring cans to separate them as much as possible and turn the crank again. Success, they caught! I held my breathe as I slowly wound up a bit, let it run down some, wound up a bit tighter, and so on, until the springs were nearly fully wound. That distributed the grease between the dry coils and boosted my confidence nothing would cut loose. I have played a number of records now and never heard a single bump. That motor has torque you wouldn't believe.
With the motor running, I found two problems topside that required attention. There is a thin, straight wire spring that couples the flywheel and mandrel shaft as some kind of shock buffer when starting and stopping the machine – it was broken in three places. It measured 0.022 inch thick. I found a close replacement measuring 0.205 inch at a RC model airplane hobby shop. It comes in 3 foot lengths, used for control lines from servos to flaps. I had to crimp the wire at each end to prevent it falling from the flywheel. I probably could have bent the wire sightly in the center where it passed through the shaft to hold it tight.
The governor was also unstable and pulsated with loud noise very dramatically under florescent lights. There was gummy oil and grime caught between the governor flange and the shaft it spins on. I also polished all gunk from the flange where the yoke pads ride, and trimmed a bit of excess from the edges of the pads that had mushroomed until possibly rubbing against the flat springs. I also put lithium grease on the worm gear. That cured everything to run steady and quiet.
I won't say there aren't other methods of repair, but everything described worked nicely for me.
I never had the occasion to repair an Opera even though I have owned one for nearly 30 years, so I welcomed the chance to learn more about the internals. There are so many ways to design a multi-spring motor that I wanted to prepare myself before taking apart an unfamiliar mechanism. I searched the Internet for pictures or repair procedures specific to Operas and found absolutely nothing. This article is my effort to fill that void.
I convinced the owner that I should replace both springs at the same time and ordered them from Ron Sitko (518) 371-8549. They arrived in a few days and looked well made. They were each packaged inside a heavy steel “C” ring. The only disappointment was that the coiled springs were a larger than the Opera's spring cans, so I could not simply drop them in as I have sometimes done before. Each new spring had to be uncoiled by hand from its captive ring. These springs were very stiff and a portent of things to come.
The Opera is large, heavy, fragile and awkward to take apart and service without risking any cosmetic or mechanical damage unless it is properly positioned and supported. I custom built a simple wood box whose internal dimensions are 15” wide x 9.5” deep x 7.25” high. I used a scrap 1x8 board as lumber and nailed a thin plywood bottom to hold the box square. I draped a few cloth hand towels over the edges for cushioning.
I removed the reproducer and two cast iron covers that protect the governor and flywheel assemblies. I flipped the whole machine upside down and set it on top of the open wood box. The cast motor plate snuggled inside the box and wood motor frame rested on the edges of the box. I placed a stack of books behind the box, even with its height, then opened the case, unlatched the support catch and continued opening the case until it rested on the books. Then I had clear access to unscrew the hinges and separate the case and motor frame. Now I had clear access to the motor from any angle.
Removing the spring barrels from the motor plate couldn't be easier, especially compared to other Edison models. That design is similar to many of the Columbia cylinder phonograph models, such as the BK. Loosen one screw, and the arbor rod that runs through the center of the spring cans can be slid out. Then the spring barrels simply lift out. I love it!
Even with the arbor rod removed, the spring cans are still loosely coupled together by a short hollow shaft or hub that has a hook on each end. Every part this shaft passes through is slotted for the hooks to clear. Notice that the spring cans are connected with their end caps face-to-face and have a spacer washer in between. Before attempting to uncouple the springs, twist a flat blade screwdriver gently around the circumference to gradually pry the end caps loose. By twisting the spring cans backward from normal, you should be able to unhook the shaft from one of the springs and separate the two cans. After that, removing the other parts is simple. Under the caps, you will discover a felt washer, then a thin flat metal shield, then the spring itself. Rather than use pliers, I inserted a nail into a small hole in the shaft and used it to twist the shaft and unhook it from the remaining spring. Clean all parts with your preferred solvent.
Notice that due to the spring cans orientation being face-to-face, the spring coils themselves are both installed wound in the same direction. This is distinctively different from some Victor motors that I have worked on. If you drew a spiral on paper to represent the springs in their cans, start at the center and draw a spiral outward clock-wise.
Now a special warning about the new springs I bought from Ron. They are mirror bright, smooth and beautiful with rounded edges, BUT, they are several thousandths of an inch thicker than the originals that I measured. They have less curvature than the originals, particularly toward the outside. I didn't measure, but laying loose on the table, they must have been three feet across. No exaggeration, these were the stiffest and most difficult to feed into a can that I have ever encountered. I have installed lesser springs bare-handed with no other equipment, but not these babies. You will need thin gloves and some kind of vise to firmly hold the can. I recommend you install the springs dry. The first difficulty is fastening the spring to the case hook and then bending the spring enough to follow the curvature of the can. It may be possible to install the spring without fastening to the hook and trust to chance that it will catch when the spring is wound completely. I have done that before, but I prefer fastening the hook if I can. Once you get it started, the first few coils don't seem too bad, but as the can fills, the curve becomes tighter and towards the end it becomes a struggle until the coil finally drops in.
I packed the cans completely full with black lithium/moly grease that I buy in 1-pound cans at the auto parts shop. I inserted the hollow shaft with hooks into one of the coils and gave it a twist to try and hook it into place. It had a tendency to slip out of place, so I decided to also insert the arbor rod through the first spring can and hollow shaft to keep the wobbly parts in better alignment. After stringing everything back together, I carried the assemblage back to the motor plate and carefully held the two springs tightly together with one hand as I removed the arbor rod. I set the springs in place and re-inserted the arbor rod through the arbor supports and spring assemblage. At this point, I had no idea if the shaft hooks were engaged with the springs. As I turned the crank to wind, I heard a click, click, click. Darn, they weren't catching! Something was not aligning. I inserted a flat screwdriver between the spring cans to separate them as much as possible and turn the crank again. Success, they caught! I held my breathe as I slowly wound up a bit, let it run down some, wound up a bit tighter, and so on, until the springs were nearly fully wound. That distributed the grease between the dry coils and boosted my confidence nothing would cut loose. I have played a number of records now and never heard a single bump. That motor has torque you wouldn't believe.
With the motor running, I found two problems topside that required attention. There is a thin, straight wire spring that couples the flywheel and mandrel shaft as some kind of shock buffer when starting and stopping the machine – it was broken in three places. It measured 0.022 inch thick. I found a close replacement measuring 0.205 inch at a RC model airplane hobby shop. It comes in 3 foot lengths, used for control lines from servos to flaps. I had to crimp the wire at each end to prevent it falling from the flywheel. I probably could have bent the wire sightly in the center where it passed through the shaft to hold it tight.
The governor was also unstable and pulsated with loud noise very dramatically under florescent lights. There was gummy oil and grime caught between the governor flange and the shaft it spins on. I also polished all gunk from the flange where the yoke pads ride, and trimmed a bit of excess from the edges of the pads that had mushroomed until possibly rubbing against the flat springs. I also put lithium grease on the worm gear. That cured everything to run steady and quiet.
I won't say there aren't other methods of repair, but everything described worked nicely for me.
