The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Just opened up a Victor spring barrel and found the most broken spring I have ever seen! It was shattered into 23 pieces. WHEW!

I replaced a Fireside mainspring years ago that looked like that. Evidently, some batches of steel would become brittle over time. I remember it was lots of fun getting those small, jagged pieces out of the barrel. I took it outside, aimed it away from the house (and myself) and with a screwdriver, pried out the shards - many of them shooting out with impressive speed.

George P.

I used needle nose pliers to pull out each segment one at a time. Amazing that it shattered like that. The remaining 2 springs were in good condition. The motor works great, now.

https://youtu.be/14_2WQ66Q9A

Wow! That is insane.

I had a Victrola XI that had a spring that exploded in a similar way. It happened when I was away so I didn't hear anything. But, when I tried to wind it and realized it wasn't working I took a look at the motor. There was grease everywhere under the motor board. It must have been pretty violent and I imagine it would have made a bunch of noise too. I did not open it up myself, but when I sent it in the guy that replaced the spring said he had never seen anything like it. I guess it is amazing that most original springs just keep on working for all these decades.

Dan