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Today I purchased my first DD machine, an S-19 in what appears to be mahogany. It works good other than needing the usual maintenance. The mute ball is intact and operational and the wheels weren't frozen either. One issue though is that the limit pin was replaced with a drywall nail. When I eventually send the reproducer to be rebuilt could the pin be replaced with the correct part? Also, where do you oil the motor? Do I only put oil in the little oil cup with holes in the bottom, or do I have to pull the motor? More pictures will be posted as I clean up the machine.

Congrats on the S-19! That should clean up very nicely.

You should certainly send the reproducer out for rebuilding, and tell them about the limit pin.

If the motor hasn't been serviced recently, it's always a good idea to disassemble and clean it. You can use Vaseline in a few spots, such as the winding gear, governor worm gear, and the spindle gear; for the rest, you can use the oiling ports: the one with the cup, and the single hole near the winding shaft. You can also put a few drops of oil on the spindle bearing. (Note: I base this on my C-250, which has decals showing these oiling points).

When cleaning the motor, don't forget to make sure the oiling tubes are not clogged up: you might have to remove and replace the little wicks on the ends.

Bill

I would like to add my congratulations!

Will gojo make this machine look better? If so do I just put the gojo on the machine, wait, and remove it?

GrafonolaG50 wrote:Will gojo make this machine look better? If so do I just put the gojo on the machine, wait, and remove it?

Congrats on the new machine.
My Pathé is a very similar color. Attached is a pic of where I tried Gojo on a spot on the back. Wipe it on, wait a few minutes and wipe off. Repeat until the rags stop pulling off dark stuff...

Congrats on your new DD, my S19 is what I've been told is Tiger eye oak. I used Goop, smells better than Gojo , to clean mine. I applied it with a clean paint brush, waited about 5 mins, then worked it with the bristles and used 0000 steel wool as well. Picture of bottom of leg with top portion before and lower part of picture after cleaning. Not the best picture but get an idea.
For the oil tubes, 1 of mine of mine was partially clogged and the felt was pretty gummed up and hard. I pulled them out and soaked them in denatured alcohol to soften it up. The motorboard isn't too difficult to take apart to be cleaned oil, though readjusting the bearing adjustment screws takes some trial and error.
If you happen to remove your wood trim around the motorboard, can you post a picture of the bracket(s) if possible please? Mine's missing. Thanks.

Danny

I did the gojo treatment, and now it actually looks like a wooden cabinet rather than asphalt. I can post a picture of the brackets soon. Also, can I pull the motor board without removing the horn? If so, how, and how hard is it to reassemble and readjust the horn raise/lower mechanism?

GrafonolaG50 wrote:I did the gojo treatment, and now it actually looks like a wooden cabinet rather than asphalt. I can post a picture of the brackets soon. Also, can I pull the motor board without removing the horn? If so, how, and how hard is it to reassemble and readjust the horn raise/lower mechanism?

As I recollect, I removed the motor from my C-250 with the horn attached.

Once you've removed the wooden framework and unbolted the motor from its brackets, you can lift the whole assembly out (you might want to remove the lid for this, not to mention the grille).

Once out, you can begin disassembly of the motor. Unscrew the collar that holds the lift lever, and unbolt the arm holding the mute ball, and then you can remove the horn. You may have to do some maneuvering to get the rack free from the motor, but it will come out.

After cleaning, etc., you can replace the horn and mute, and return the motor to the case. You'll then have to readjust the horn/reproducer height for proper playback: put a DD that is perfectly flat (and preferably one you're not too attached to) on the turntable, and lower the reproducer. Then loosen the lift lever collar, and raise or lower the horn until the limit pin is about midway between the bottom of the loop and the underside of the reproducer. When you get the right spacing, tighten the set screw on the collar again. That should do it; but you can check by playing the record and seeing how it goes.

Bill

To remove motorboard without horn, refer to this http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... ?f=2&t=476
Remove reproducer first, then let spring unwind and remove platter.
Basically loosen 2 upper square head screws, 1 flat head screw on spring finger thing( ), pull out control handle, horn might tip a bit. Disconnect horn as well. Remove bolts from board, square nuts underneath, never needed anything to hold those to prevent spinning. I used my right hand to lift up the gear rack/comb piece that is attached to the horn and lifted out board. If careful, lid removal not needed. Just make sure spring fully unwound before taking everything apart (whistle ). Gear on spindle is a very light press fit, loosen screws first though. The whole thing is real easy is once you see it apart. Even a can do it... err me. Haven't attempted main spring yet, which might be a good thing, for now.

Isn't it great to be able to see the wood grain again?

Well I tried to pull the board, but the screws and nuts are well seized. I could see though that the motor had been cleaned some time in the past 20 years or so, and was still pretty clean (ie no dripping grease, nastiness or otherwise). I was able to reach in past the horn with an oil can and lube everything mentioned in the manual.

Now that I have the cabinet cleaned, should I use Restore A Finish before Feed and Wax, or go straight to feed and wax?