The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I have an unknown 1920 ish disk player. There is a brake on the left. It cams over by way of a lever to place a steel pad on the external edge of the turntable. It hisses a lot when actuated. Should it have some sort of friction material as a brake pad, like rubber, or leather or felt?

All brake assemblies I've seen use a small round "bullet" made of leather, usually held in place by a pair of metal tongues. Phonograph parts dealers sell replacements, but a bit of leather cut from a tongue of an old shoe will work, though it's not very pretty. A short narrow length, folded rough side out and pressed between the tongues and tightened carefully with a pliers will likely work. The tongues can easily break or become deformed, so use gentle force with these.
Bob

Mechanical clocks that have hammer to strike a gong or bell also use a round sleeve of leather. You can buy this from a clock parts supplier for far less than what you pay elsewhere.

Try this, not an endorsement of this particularly supplier, just one that I quickly found: http://timesavers.com/i-8948012-leather ... -x-12.html

Checked this site again. There are other diameters: http://timesavers.com/search.html?q=leather

Actually, I've just found that a hole punch ¼" inch, and a postage stamp of belt leather with a rough side and a dab of PVA glue suffices. 4 minutes. basically free.

I use a piece of sewing machine belt. It is the right diameter for most brakes. On some machines, you might have to trim to fit. You can buy sewing machine belt at any good sewing store. A belt will last a lifetime.
Harvey Kravitz

Leather boot laces are another source.