The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Hello all,

I'm new to the forum and I'm hoping you can help me out. A while back a friend of mine called me up saying he'd found an old phonograph at a store he was at and was curious if I wanted to buy it. The price was right so I had him grab it for me. Everything was intact, except it needed a new mainspring for the motor. I've been doing a bit of research and I'm having a heck of a time finding the correct size. On eBay I can find "Brunswick mainsprings" under 18 ft, 16ft, 14ft, 12ft but at roughly $40 a pop I'm not willing to gamble. I've included some pictures below. Let me know if perhaps any of you know the correct size spring or possibly any other info on this interesting little portable.

I have a milkcrate full of 78's I've purchased over time and I'm really excited to get it working again. I even went and purchased some new felt for the platter.

Your best bet is to send the mainspring in its barrel to one of the suppliers below and let them install it for you, returning the new mainspring in its barrel ready to be installed in the motor. The installation adds about $15 to the cost of the mainspring. After installing my own mainsprings for about 45 years, I decided that the avoiding the mess was well worth it.

As for reputable suppliers, there are several I can recommend (in no particular order):

http://wyattsmusical.com/

http://www.victroladoctor.com/

Ron Sitko
56 Church Hill Road.
Waterford NY 12188
Telephone (518) 371-8549
(No web address. Call weeknights after 7pm Eastern.)(NOTE: Ron is on vacation until after New Year's Day.)

http://victrolarepairservice.com/

Good luck!

George P.

Great little portable you have there.
Unfortunately I can't help you with the size of the spring.

George offers great advice, but if you were planning on changing the spring yourself, why not just measure it
once you get it out? Sometimes when you open up the barrel to remove the old spring you'll find that it hasn't broken but just comes 'unhooked'. If you're rally handy, and the spring broke close to the end you can repair it yourself by trimming it slightly smaller and making a new catch for the barrel or pin.

Welcome to the forum!