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I am committing recently to completing started projects that have been sitting for some time. I acquired this HMV portable 3 years ago after the passing of my neighbor. Her husband was in the war and I believe this came from overseas. I believe I shared pictures when I first acquired it years ago, but who remembers. It has Polydor inner workings and it feels when cranked as if the spring has unhitched itself from the side of the barrel. It snaps back after attempting to wind, releasing any tension. Problem being I can't figure out how to get to the darn thing. The platter was attached to the spindle by a screw which I removed (what a pain in the a**). The platter still wont budge and from the underside it looks as though there are screws holding the workings in place that are underneath the platter (!!!). Is there something that I'm missing holding this on? I have attached photos.

Now, did the turntable have a set screw underneath, or was the top of the spindle itself threaded into the shaft?

It may be that the turntable is simply stuck, after 70 years or more; have you tried penetrating oil on it?

When you do get it off, you'll definitely find the heads of the mounting screws on the motor board....

Bill

The turntable had a set screw underneath. It was quite the pain trying to slide a screwdriver shaft under the platter and align with the head of the screw.

Interesting to see that your portable is badged as a Gramola, a name which The Gramophone Company (HMV) used in various guises.

It was used in Germany up to 1914, but was replaced by the Electrola name when operations in Germany were resumed in the mid-1920's.

It continued to be used in Austria and Czechoslovakia, and an example of the record label is pictured below.

Judging by the rust on the soundbox,I reckon this machine has been in damp conditions for years, and the turntable has rusted on to the spindle. Grip the turntable on both sides, lift the motor about an inch off the bench, then get someone else to give the spindle a whack with a wooden mallet. Should free it.

What a great machine, by the way. I have a German-made HMV, badged "Polyfar", which uses the same arm, soundbox, and autobrake, but the motor is only a single spring, and the turntable is a taper fit, with no set-screw.

Phono48 wrote:Judging by the rust on the soundbox,I reckon this machine has been in damp conditions for years, and the turntable has rusted on to the spindle. Grip the turntable on both sides, lift the motor about an inch off the bench, then get someone else to give the spindle a whack with a wooden mallet. Should free it.

What a great machine, by the way. I have a German-made HMV, badged "Polyfar", which uses the same arm, soundbox, and autobrake, but the motor is only a single spring, and the turntable is a taper fit, with no set-screw.

I have used this method and it does work.

I also have a German portable badged "Electrola 106R". It must have been a transitional model, as it has the "works" of an HMV101 housed in a 102 style case. The soundbox is an Electrola No.4a, which in all other respects appears identical to a late HMV No.4.

It was probably brought from Germany to the UK by a returning serviceman at the end of World War 2. If only it could talk...........

There was only one nut left holding the motor assembly to the board which I removed. Thus the platter was the only thing holding it in place. I tried the mallet method and the d*** platter wont budge. I even double checked to make sure I wasn't missing a screw (which I wasn't). I could have brought down the Berlin Wall with all the mallet strikes, but still nothing. It gave around ¼ of an inch but wont come off. What did come off was the fabric on the platter. ACK! Also what is a good way to remove the rust on the fittings? My instinct was steel wool, but given that these things appear to be nickel plated I didn't want to go ahead without asking advice.

That turntable will come off eventually, but it may take a lot of effort!
Tip: As there are two springs in this motor, if the worst happens and you have to replace one of the springs, make sure the new one is the same length as the other one, or the length of playing time will be reduced.

Re. the plating. It's a constant problem. Try a commercial rust remover first. The problem is that this usually leaves the metal a black colour, and the deeper pits are still visible. If you don't value the machine very highly, then by all means use steel wool. You may even have to use abrasive paper to get any heavy rust deposits off. After using either of these, you will probably remove a good deal of the remaining plating, but you can then polish the bare steel, and lacquer it. The result is not bad, but obviously nowhere as good as nickel plating, and will probably require re-lacquering after a time. But it does allow you to leave the machine in a reversible state, so if in the future you want to have the parts replated, you will have done no harm. I have lost count of the machines I couldn't live with because of rusty fittings. I usually bite the bullet, and have the parts replated, but the result of this is that the machines ends up costing me far more than they are worth. However, as I don't collect to sell on, I feel the cost is justified.

Try to find some Kroil; it is one of th best penetrating fluids around.

If that fails, if you havea source of dry-ice locally, you try to get a small quantity, and hold a bit of it to the spindle / turntable hub (wear cloves!). The thermal shock might break the rust-bond...

and yet another way is... put a bit of water in the middle then set alighted torch to the spindle when water dropleds are dancing stop its hot enough now place the whole thing in the freezer for a couple of hours the change in size from very hot to very cold could free the platter


tino