The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

To my amazement I was able to replace the diaphragm gaskets. Bur for the life of me I can't get the ball bearing to stay put. What am I missing or doing wrong?



Thanks,


Randy

A little grease in the bearing-race helps keep them in place.

And NO CAFFEINE !

De Soto Frank wrote:A little grease in the bearing-race helps keep them in place.

And NO CAFFEINE !

Gin is OK.

I personally use a rubber gasket cut to fit like a washer to put towards the bottom of the bearing racers, smear some grease and just plop the bearings in and follow up with pushing them in place. The rubber keeps them from falling through and gives enough play that you can push those little babies around till they are seated properly. Once finished with both sides, a fine pointed needle can be used to pull the rubber out the back to be snipped in half and fully removed. It works like a charm for me- I hope it does for others too.

I've done this in two ways; by springs and domes. I have used tiny weak springs to hold them in but one of the best ways is to get the little rubber domes under the keys of an old laptop. These work very well! When rebuilding a sound box, I magnetize the pivot arm after cleaning it of rust; it is removed first, cleaned, and then replaced to its original position. I use plastic tweezers and place the bearings; the pivot is held in the center by stabilizing it from the other side. Once one side is done, it will then cause the second side to be centered so you can put those bearings in. I also use a thin coating of grease on the pivot to keep the individual balls from going where they shouldn't. After this, the domes are placed over the bearings and the dust cover rotated into place and tightened. Getting these bearings replaced and the pivots cleaned will make a world of difference in how the sound box works! By the way, when the pivot is magnetized and the bearings are in place they are surprisingly hard to move out of place without a good knock or jar.