The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Hello I am new to the Forum.. I just recently acquired a graphophone AT and I am trying to get it up and running. The bottom Works run freely but the top Works do not. I noticed that the gear that turns with the mandrel (located behind the puley) is wedged between the casting and the belt pulley, often times looking bent. Can someone tell me how to remove the mandrel or loosen things to create a bit more space? I see what appears to be a nut on the end of The Mandrell but for some reason I cannot loosen it and I wonder if it's a part of the casting?

It seems as though I need to create a little more space between the pulley and the bed plate casting and I cannot seem to figure out how to do this. Can anyone help? Thank you

That nut is a left hand thread, so trying to remove it by the conventional rotation will merely tighten it, or even strip it if too much force is used.

This model was plagued with problems of the top side metal castings swelling and deforming. That odd gear angle may be a result of that. Sometimes it's possible to work around the issue, using spacers or adjusting accordingly.

If the swelling is too bad, then you may never be able to get it aligned correctly. There were versions which had cast iron upper castings, but if you manage to get your hands on one, you'll find that the mounting holes probably do not match up.

Unfortunately, it looks like you have one of the ones with a pot metal top-works. It may be so tweaked that it will never run properly. Im hoping that you get lucky and can make it work. Good luck!

Ahhhh, I see... I thought "never" was a term that I would "never" hear on this forum from you experts. LOL

No seriously, I understand and thank you for the explanantion.. I am going to certainly give it a try. But just so I understand. The nut at the end of the mandrel should turn counter-clockwise to loosen correct?

That nut turns clockwise to come off. Once off, keep track of the parts and the order in which they came off, since you should re-assemble them in the same order. Once the nut is off, the mandrel should slip out of the upper casting with no trouble.

startgroove wrote:That nut turns clockwise to come off. Once off, keep track of the parts and the order in which they came off, since you should re-assemble them in the same order. Once the nut is off, the mandrel should slip out of the upper casting with no trouble.

Thank you for the assistance.. I was finally able to to get the machine in working order.. in addition to the issue with the mandrel and side gear, the pot metal also swole up some where the bottom of the carriage lever glides..I had to grind that down some and now everything turns and glides smoothly..

Glad to hear you got the machine working. They are attractive machines.
Harvey Kravitz