The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Frequently some of us lay awake at night wondering if we are wearing out our records by playing them (well may not literally) and I see such topics on this board from time to time.

But perhaps maybe the true anxiety should be "are we wearing our Victor V or VI out by play records on it" even if it has a well maintained motor? Those drive gears and governor worm gears are at the 100 year point and I suppose they cannot last forever. I know I have had somewhat limited success swapping such things out and get good results. Does any one make high quality replacement spindle drive gear or worm gear governor shafts that match the originals? Just sayin.

the way i see it is, if a part wears out, buy a new one, if there isnt one to be bought one can always be made, you cant exactly replecate edisons gold moulding process of records, i worry more about records than machines, but enjoy them while you can!

Oh there's an avenue I hadn't allowed myself to consider. Now I definitely need to lie down in a dark room for a while!

The only issue I have had to date is if one of my machines goes unused for a period. Firming up grease and settling grime all play their part in seizing them up. I have always assumed that disuse was worse than use, assuming a good level of upkeep with regular lubrication and cleaning to stop anything getting into the gears and grinding them down. I see the point though, I can get new records at the drop of a hat, but new parts?

I always keep an eye out for motors from machines that have lost the fight. I expect I am not alone in that regard.

Life is too short to lose sleep over these things, especially at my age.

If I worried too much about wearing out my 1947 and 1956 cars I would never take them out on the road, then what would be the point of owning them?

Regular gentle use is the best preservative for old machines, whether they be cars or gramophones.

Regular gentle use is the best preservative for old machines, whether they be cars or gramophones.

I agree completely. Proper care as in cleaning and lubrication will minimize problems but obviously you can't cover every possibility. Springs do break, gears can crack, Edison in particular, etc. Enjoy your machines and, if you notice a problem, take care of it before it becomes a big one and you won't have any trouble. These motors are extremely robust, like American brass clocks: designed to run a long time under adverse conditions with little maintenance and, I think, do a very good job of it.

Jim

The cost of replacement main springs here in the UK seems to have jumped while I wasn't noticing. I'm sure it used to be about £10-£20, and is now £40-£60. What happened? Many machines aren't worth that!

As long as we can still get needles and springs, then I don't see any threat to using gramophones regularly within a lifetime. Heavy constant (commercial) use might wear one out I suppose. Running without lubrication will dramatically increase wear. Pot metal will degrade whether you use the machine or not. Apart from this, the time when we need to worry about gramophones wearing out is decades if not a century or more away. If people can keep 400 year old clocks and 150 year old steam engines running, then gramophones will be fine

The only caveat is that I think mint original condition machines, especially in finishes that simply won't stand much use, should probably be kept for their own sake, rather than for regular use.


I'm sure we will run out of decent affordable expendable records first, and even those will not be all gone within a lifetime. Both for 78s on acoustic gramophones, and 45s on 1960s record players, most records too good to use on period machines will survive and be treasured for a century, but records already rough enough to wear out on these machines will eventually be all worn out - the most popular titles first. There will be enough classical releases to play for a century, but I bet people start to re-press popular hard-to-find titles in a substance that stands up to acoustic playback to give collectors of the future easy access to the titles they want, but can no longer find at a sensible price.

Cheers,
David.

That's why one is OK, two is better, and a basement full is beyond wearing out one particular unit. Jerry

Jerry B. wrote:That's why one is OK, two is better, and a basement full is beyond wearing out one particular unit. Jerry

The question of gear wear.There are many applications where gears run for ages without failure.
And considering the low speed these gears run at I would think another 100 years should do it.
Brand new gears can be made of coarse.Just keep them oiled.

Jerry B. wrote:That's why one is OK, two is better, and a basement full is beyond wearing out one particular unit. Jerry

i have a attic full does that count???