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I have two Columbia machines both with open mainsprings--a Columbia AU and a Model X2. Should I bind up the mainspring? I could wrap some wire around the mainspring to secure it. Otherwise, I just think to disassemble the two plates between which the mainsprings are held. Anyone have experience with this? Any suggestions?

You need to wind up the mainsprings and then put a retaining ring around them. Then, let the tension down into the retaining ring. All tension must be released before splitting the plates or it will explode on you and probably cause damage to you and the mechanism. I have a fairly expensive clock mainspring winder that I use and made some arbors for exactly those two types of machines.

The hard part for you will probably be how to wind them back up to put the motor back together. You will want to clean the mainspring, rewind it into the retaining rings, and then put it in the motor.

Perhaps someone else will chime in with advice on how to do this safely without a mainspring winder.
Dave

Dave: Thanks!

For the time being, I will disassemble the rest of the machine, clean what I can, especially pivot holes, and then reassemble the X2, which is what I'm working on now that I've brought the Standard Model A (with the green horn) up to a certain point. I think people always enjoy to see what others have found. I know I do. And so I will post pics of the X2 later when I get it all back together.

Good luck!
Dave

jboger wrote:Dave: Thanks!

For the time being, I will disassemble the rest of the machine, clean what I can, especially pivot holes, and then reassemble the X2, which is what I'm working on now that I've brought the Standard Model A (with the green horn) up to a certain point. I think people always enjoy to see what others have found. I know I do. And so I will post pics of the X2 later when I get it all back together.

In the partial clean-up you refer to, I hope you don't mean to separate the side plates without first capturing the spring, as Dave correctly warns.

I bought an X2 at the last Stanton auction. Of course the motor was bone dry and had very low power but I did not take it apart. Instead I oiled all pivots and the governor pads. Then, with the motor run down, I dripped oil in the spaces between the spring leaves. Then I started winding it, each time another space opened in the spring pack, I put oil in. I put it through severral cycles of winding and unwinding and it now runs very smoothly. It is the quietest running motor of that style I have ever seen.

Jim

No, I won't separate the plates. Actually, I'm being a bit lazy. I've taken Connecticut shelf clocks apart, mainsprings and all, by binding the mainspring. I could do the same here. What I will do is clean everything without separating the plates between which the mainspring is sandwiched. I've removed hundreds of mainsprings from pocket watches. There you pretty much need to clean the spring and get any dirt out of the barrel as is harmful for these small mainsprings--they can break. I've even pulled out multiply shattered mainsprings. The old time watchman would say the watch was struck by lightning. I never believed that. But for these phonograph mainsprings, they are much more robust. I'll let it go for now.

So, no, I won't separate the plates.