The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Well, trying to UNscrew the goose(neck)! I cannot get the &$%# screw out - it turns only with enormous effort, then stops. It doesn't help that some clown mangled the screw's slot with a too small screwdriver. Any suggestions? I just want to get in there to clean & grease.

This is not mine, but it's the same type:

I had that same problem. What I did was I used PB blaster and sprayed it into the screw. Make sure it gets around the openings. Let it sit for a day and try it again. It may have to rake a few applications. Also, make sure you use the RIGHT screw driver. Make sure the blade is the same width of the screw head. If you don't have one already, get a screw driver at least 6" long. That will give you more torque that the short stubby ones. Good luck with it.
Harvey Kravitz

One of my best tool purchases was a heat gun. It was inexpensive and has two heat setting. You might try a hair drier but those of you that have seen me know I have no need for one. Jerry Blais

Jerry B. wrote:One of my best tool purchases was a heat gun. It was inexpensive and has two heat setting. You might try a hair drier but those of you that have seen me know I have no need for one. Jerry Blais

Amen on that. I have used the heat gun so many times it has paid for itself.

Aargh. That thing almost gave me a stroke. Nothing I did would loosen it, and the slot just got more mangled. I finally had to cut a new slot across the original; it finally budged with super-human (super-more-than-me, anyway) effort. Now, cleaned up and oiled, that screw isn't much easier to turn in or out. What gives with these things? Did Victor not want their precious, patented taper-arm dismantled?

It's ugly; I prolly should find a new screw.

I happen to have a gold plated screw in decent condition, so I tried to use it - same problem! Even cleaned & greased, it went maybe halfway in and then STOPPED in either direction. ack. I did get it out & used the messed-up screw instead. Maybe the threads on the neck are fouled-up, but they look okay to me. Lesson learned: don't dismantle this type of gooseneck - just get some heavy oil in there if it's binding.

Oh- I packed the sloppy, non-airtight joint where the arm fits into the base with heavy grease topped off with 85/140 gear oil. (Victor was kidding, right? What a lousy 'design'! You could breathe through the air leaks if you had to.) I also made a gasket to go between the arm base & the horn assembly. The volume level is now quite impressive & using a Steve Medved restored Exhibition makes this little VV-VIII sound like a big machine!

I haven't tried it yet, but the patent on Brunswick's Ultona arm shows a trough built into the tone-arm base, designed to hold heavy oil so as to make it airtight. Experiment at your own peril & have some paper towels ready!

Take care with Victor screws... I've found that some of them are unique size & pitch, not available from modern hardware merchants.

I wouldn't be surprised if Victor made all their machine screws in-house...

What I would do in a case like yours is not even try to remove the screw if the gooseneck was moving freely. If not, I would work penetrating oil into the joint to free it up and follow that up with some light oil for permanent lubrication.

Jim