Drilling out spindle hole in turntable

[johnwilla]

Does anybody on the list have experience drilling out a turntable's spindle hole to make it fit on a motor? It seems to be soft steel and this should be possible...
Thanks for considering this--

[Phonofreak]

Why would you want to drill out a hole in the turn table? It's best to have the correct turn table for the machine. Is it Victor, Columbia, etc? If we know which machine you have, you can get guidance for the right turn table. Let us know what machine you have.
Harvey Kravitz

[mf77]

I've done it before, but it can be very hit & miss, particularly if you don't have the right equipment.
Another problem can be that the hole for the spindle needs to be tapered to fit properly, and the hole has to be dead center or it can cause the turntable to sit out of level & out of balance, which can effect sound quality dramatically.
I agree that's it's best to find the right replacement, although that isn't always as easy as it sounds, especially if the original is an odd size or one of those fragile cast affairs dotted with holes.

[johnwilla]

Thanks for the thoughtful replies. The machine is a VV IX but it has been 'assembled' out of a variety of pieces from different machines. The current turntable is from an Orthophonic (I think) gold-tone but it has been modified with a hacksaw to fit. This machine is common enough that I should be able to find correct parts, but I am not sure what is 'correct'; the phonograph based on SN is either an A or a B in the model series, has attributes of both.
Thanks again--

[Phonofreak]

The VV IX is a very common machine and parts should be readily accessible. If you can provide the serial number, that will be a help. The early machines had a forward crank, and the turn table had a short nub on the bottom. The later machines had a full size nub on the bottom.
Harvey Kravitz

[johnwilla]

SN for the phonograph is 20156 B, which is misleading, because it has a double-spring motor (the B variation had a single spring motor, acc. Victor Data Book.) I have an incorrect crank and turntable which was modified so that it would fit onto the spindle. The whole cabinet has been partly stripped, and the wooden horn assembly removed from inside the phonograph. I can certainly post those needs as a WTB entry on the list.
Thanks again--