The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

One on post for tonight, again sorry for some many on my first day. At the auction where I bought my good VV-X. I got a VV-X that was pretty trashed. The good thing is that it only cost me $5. It is a cabinet version with horizontal shelves.

Here are the problems.

No crank. Looks like it needs a male threaded crank, unless something else is missing.

The reproducer is an exhibition, but the rubber (or plastic) part on the back just crumbed when I touched it.

The turntable is stuck to the shaft. To make matters worse, it looks like someone gave it a hard pull and pulled the shaft out of the machine with the turn table. This knocked the governor out of place. It looks like I have all the parts, but can not tell if the bearings are in the pins or not. The large bearing where then end of the shaft sits in the motor is gone. The brass gear that meshed with the governor is missing a section of teeth, presumably when the shaft was yanked out. There needs to be some repairs on the vernier.

Just don't know if I want to take the time and cost of fixing it, or just part it out. Any thoughts?

These are all minor problems and it will cost little to repair it. The reproducer is NOT and Exhibition it's an Improved Concert. Pm to be sent soon.

Thanks for the reply. There might be some confusion since I posted about two different model VV-X machines. The pictures below are of the machine in this post. Sorry I was a bit unclear. The other machine does have an improved concert.

Oh okay you have two different vv-x victrolas. There was a typo in my last post I meant to say "pm to be sent soon".

I think the determining factor if it were my machine, would be "how much work does the cabinet need?"

From the photo, the finish looks pretty trashed.

Is any of the veneer chipped / bubbled / lifting ? Any deep gouges ?

How is the top surface of the lid ? ( Any rings / damage from flower-pots ?)

Are all the glue-joints tight ?



If the veneer is tight and sound, then it is probably worth cleaning a portion of the cabinet with GOJO hand cleaner, and see what the finish looks like.

If it needs refinishing, it might not be worth the effort, considering it sounds like you need most of the motor.


On the other hand, it could be a great project machine, if you want to try your hand at refinishing.


I'd be cautious about investing much money into it at this point.

Decent X's can be had from $50 - $150.

A common mahogany VV-x is not worth putting much money into

I would part out the motor and other non-cabinet parts and use the cabinet for experiments and self-education on cleaning, stripping, (re-)finishing, gluing, etc.

Thanks All for the advice. I think I will rebuild the reproducer, as the cost in minimal and try it on my other model X (spider leg version.) which currently has the improved concert which I also need to rebuild. At least I will get something for the five dollars I spent.

I will see what I can do to the cabinet. At least I can try some cleaning and refinishing ideas without damaging something I will regret.

I started to break down the motor and clean out the motor compartment of the cabinet. I have all the parts, but the governor spur gear is damaged. I also need a crank, So I will decide on the motor after I see what I can do with the cabinet.

George Vollema will have that gear you need. Just google Great Lakes antique phonograph repair and his site will come up.
Really sorry about my first post in this thread. I thought you were talking about the other Victor X that has the improved concert and I didn't know you had two machines. I guess I didn't read carefully.

I MAY have both the crank and the geart you need. If so, they are yours. Can someone post a pic of the crank needed with approximate dimensions? I could use the same for teh gear and I will check. PM me with the address and info, NCYankee and I'll see what I can do to help. I love projects and would like to help you if I can.
Good Luck!
Matt