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I have the first style Columbia Q....

The problem is skipping, I have swapped out back and forth different things like rods and feedscrews etc.

I thought hmmm...maybe this is a problem between the belt pulley, pulley and mandrel.... so I took the belt off my other Q, and then I noticed the belt is too loose, so upon further inspection, I noticed there is a difference in the belt pulleys.

I am wondering if their may have been a swapped out mandrel in the past? Are the mandrels all the same on Q's? or was the pulley changed or something?

Jerry

Have you tried swapping reproducers and using different records?

George P.

Hello,
When you say it is skipping do you me the reproducer is skipping on the cylinder or the carriage is skipping. Remove the reproducer and see if the carriage will track properly across on its own. If so then I would have to think that the problem is in the reproducer. The reproducer must be able to float up and down and also have free side to side motion. If the reproducer sleeve is gummed up the reproducer will be restricted in its lateral movement and will skip on the cylinder.
Pete

I tried two different reproducers same problem. Tried several different records, Edisons, Indestructibles, Columbia and newer Vulcans. Same problem.

I sent an e-mail to George Vollema, he said the earlier machines had a smaller diameter pulley. He did mention some of the mandrels have a lip on the end.

So what I am thinking that the ratio would be the same as the second style if the one has a smaller pulley but is made up for the mandrel with the lip?????

My second style machine works perfect.

Victrolacollector wrote:I have the first style Columbia Q....

The problem is skipping

Tell it to work like all the others or it won't get any pudding.

The belt/pulley ratio is not going to make any difference as far as skipping on a Q or virtually any other cylinder machine. The feedscrew and mandrel are connected by a gear train, so they must turn at the same relative speeds. Check the condition of the feedscrew and half nut and make sure the half nut is firmly in contact with the feedscrew and that everything is clean and moves easily. Also, check to see if the reproducer is being lowered sufficiently to allow the stylus to fully contact the record. The reproducer lift tab on the carriage can be adjusted by bending it to raise or lower the reproducer. At its lowest point, the stylus tip should be about half way between the playing surface of the cylinder and the mandrel,thus allowing the reproducer to drop far enough for the stylus to fully contact the record but not so far that it contacts the mandrel.

Jim

I am not sure about what this had to do with it, but I made a new belt, and now it seems the machine is not skipping. I have played several different records and all seems ok now.

On your Q, the feedscrew and mandrel are not connected by a gear or by anything else. The feedscrew is run by a gear, and the mandrel is run entirely separately by pulleys and belt. Without a belt, the mandrel will sit there while the feedscrew turns happily along.

So, if the belt slips or either pulley is the wrong size, there will be either skipping or repeating. That's why your new belt solved the problem.

I should have changed the belt earlier, lol

Now I have a extra feedscrew and mandrel shaft left from swapping them out to try and eliminate the problem.

Now both my Q's are running great.

While Q's are not as good of a sound as the Edison Home, Standard, Triumph etc., they do not sound bad at all.

They (and their $10 cousin, The Eagle) don't sound that bad, and they're cute as buttons. Also highly portable for easy demonstrations to the unwashed masses who will be awe-struck (or at least mildly interested) to see & hear what our 1897 or so ancestors marvelled at.