The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Almost finished restoring a 4-3. The auto brake does not want to work. I can set it on the work bench but after it trips I cannot reset it. Based on the photograph am I missing a spring or a weak spring? Thanks Cheers


Bill K

Please refer to the photo:For starters, the brake won't reset until the knife blade "A" is moved past the ratchet plate in the direction of the arrow. Pivot points should move freely but not be loose. The points at "C" should engage firmly when the brake is off (as shown in your photo). Inspecting these points at eye-level sometimes helps. Your springs look okay to me.
Hope this helps!
Bob

Thanks for the reply. Actually on my machine B moves in the opposite direction and drags the knife edge in the opposite direction. When I manually trip the brake C will not return and latch. Something is amiss

Bill K

I just checked, your brake looks exactly like the one on my 4-3, so I don't think that anything is missing. I remember that I had issues with mine as well in the beginning. I would try a complete cleaning in mineral spirit or similar and then install without any oil or grease anywhere.

Good luck
Andreas

Hmmm. Yours looks like any typical orthophonic brake. I've rotated your picture 90 degrees so it should appear more or less as it would when installed.
Your picture shows how the knife blade would normally contact the ratchet plate during play. You cannot set the brake to play position if the knife blade's touching the ratchet plate. Your knife blade must be in the area of "A" in order to set the brake in the "play" position (turntable spinning). The fork would be in the "B" area, with the reproducer arm in the extreme right position (farthest from the center spindle). Of course the brake post on the tonearm must be positioned within the fork. As the record plays the knife blade will travel to the right and start making contact with the ratchet plate (about a third of the way in)and continue to click along the plate to the right until the eccentric groove of a Victor record causes it to suddenly move to the left, catching the plate and tripping the brake off (turntable stopped).
If the brake won't set in the play position after trying this, there may be something out-of-order with the contact area "C", but I'd suggest re-installing the brake and examining it again as you move the brake lever and fork. The contact points at "C" might need to be bent slightly in order to engage and trip smoothly.
Sorry if I'm misunderstanding your problem!
Bob

Well you guys who responded the brake is working like designed. This was a classic case of cockpit error I got hung up on the knife blade belonging on the right vice left. At any rate it is humming along, I'll post a few photos of this rescue. started with an empty beat up cabinet and decided this would be my final rescue. Have a good weekend and thanks again for the help. Cheers

Bill K

Yay! Glad it's working! I look forward to seeing your pictures. Bob