Credenza playing time & automatic brake.

[thepianolist]

New to this forum so I hope this is the right place to ask these questions:
How many sides should you be able to get on a fully wound Credenza spring motor?

The automatic brake activator is always in contact with the taper tube trip post. I would think this causes some amount of drag as the sound box moves across the record. I have oiled the pivots on my brake and it moves smoothly, but I can feel a difference if I move the arm with the "scissors" disconnected. Wouldn't this cause an increase in record wear, or is the weight of the sound box enough to make this difference negligible?

Thanks for any input!

[gramophoneshane]

The Credenza should be able to play 4 x 12" records as long as they're not worn. I can usually get 5 or 6 x 10" discs from my HMV which has the same motor.

[thepianolist]

Thanks, Shane. I have been reliably getting 5 sides and many times 6 x 10" on my machine.

[1926CredenzaOwner]

!

[Inigo]

Looking for other things I've found this oooold post, and I want to add that I noticed the same slight drag on the tonearm due to the scissors being connected. It's a very small drag which will not spoil the records by itself. It could be counteracted by a delicate tilting of the cabinet.
But I faced this problem when using bamboo needles, whose point is sensitive. I tried to prolong the life of the point by using a counterweight in the tonearm, and with light weight, this little drag became significative!. I ended disengaging the fork and operating the brake manually. Then the point of the bamboo needle lasts several sides without repointing.
Bbut this is not definitive at all, as also with full soundbox weight (no counterweight added) depending on the surface quality of the records being played, and of the bamboo, I've also been able to play well 6-8 sides without need to repoint the bamboo, especially with soft shellac classical sets as chamber music and the like. But even with this normal use, I've finally removed the brake, and installed, and I'm currently using, an older auto brake model with the wide U fork that you have to set first for every record. With this older brake, the release lever only touches the tonearm prop just at the runout groove where you set it, so no drag at all during playing! I'm happy with it.