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I am replacing a damaged brass spindle gear in a VV-VI. The teeth on the original gear are straight cut but, the replacement that I received has teeth cut at an angle. Are these interchangeable or, did I get the wrong gear?

It has to be cut on an angle. You got the wrong gear. However, the straight cut gear are for the horned machines, and are tough to get, so you did good. Also, on your VV IV have fine gears or coarse ones? That makes a difference.
Harvey Kravitz

Phonofreak wrote:It has to be cut on an angle. You got the wrong gear. However, the straight cut gear are for the horned machines, and are tough to get, so you did good. Also, on your VV IV have fine gears or coarse ones? That makes a difference.
Harvey Kravitz

Its my VV-VI and it has a straight cut gear. The one I ordered is cut at an angle. I wonder if my spindle is from an earlier machine?

Some of the early Victrolas used parts from Victor horn machines... that's what Harvey was trying to explain. The early machines used "coarse gears", which yours might have, but you have to know the difference between the early ones and the later versions. If you have the motor and tonearm from a horn machine, that is a good thing, since if you run onto a horn machine that needs those parts, they will work. If your gear is straight cut, I believe you have the early version and that will be more difficult to find. Pictures of your machine and motor would help in making a determination...

Here is the gear that is on my machine and the gear that I ordered.

Those two pics are good, but pics of the entire motor and the tonearm would be helpful... The worm gear looks coarse, but more detail is needed...

hearsedriver wrote:Here is the gear that is on my machine and the gear that I ordered.

You need the straight cut gear, definitely.

The key is that your governor sits at an angle equal to the helix angle of the worm gear. This necessitates the use of the straight gear. When the governor is mounted horizontal, the helix angle of the worm is matched by the helix angle of the brass gear, meaning the angled gear.

JerryVan wrote:

hearsedriver wrote:Here is the gear that is on my machine and the gear that I ordered.

You need the straight cut gear, definitely.

The key is that your governor sits at an angle equal to the helix angle of the worm gear. This necessitates the use of the straight gear. When the governor is mounted horizontal, the helix angle of the worm is matched by the helix angle of the brass gear, meaning the angled gear.

That makes sense. I hadnt thought about the governor being mounted horizontally. Thanks!