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I just installed a spring in an Edison B80 Diamond Disc phonograph motor. The spring was .038" thick. Usually my springs come with a 5/16" steel rod wrapped around them as a retainer. However, this one came with 2 steel rods wrapped around it, a real monster.

Now the motor runs smooth as silk.

Watch it running on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_u_NPtkgMw

Whew!

Nice video! I have a B-80, and I agree it runs smoothly and silently.
Did you tap the spring down into the barrel while on the retainers, or did you have to wrestle the whole thing in?
Bob

I've talked with Ron Sitko many times over the years and on one visit we were discussing phonograph main springs and he told me that the most challenging of any main springs that he installs are for the Edison Diamond Disc Phonographs. They are indeed very powerful and anyone who accepts the challenge of installing a new one as Cliff describes (above in the video) should be prepared to eat their Wheaties first. Thankfully, many Edison Diamond Disc motors today are still functioning just fine. I imagine back in the old days at the Edison factory there were some pretty beefy guys that installed these on a regular basis. The Edison Triumph main springs would likely be next in line behind the Edison Diamond Disc main springs for most challenging to install.

Doug

The B80 is a heavy heavy monster that takes up a lot of space. I was lucky enough to find the matching record storage cabinet to support this monster of a phonograph

The B-80 spring had to be a beast, I suppose: I have an A-80, and it is a bit chancy to get through a single disc on that.

Bill

For those living in the Pacific Northwest, CDBPDX does excellent repair work. He's also very generous with his knowledge and will explain how to do things yourself. Here in Oregon and Washington he's a tremendous asset to the collecting community. Jerry B.

I install these springs by hand. Here is video of how that works:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=E-U7GXKZJZY

The Edison springs are especially challenging.

Cliff

Jerry B. wrote:For those living in the Pacific Northwest, CDBPDX does excellent repair work. He's also very generous with his knowledge and will explain how to do things yourself. Here in Oregon and Washington he's a tremendous asset to the collecting community. Jerry B.

Jerry-Thanks for the endorsement! I really enjoy working on these old motors.

Cliff

I enjoyed seeing the motor in action without a flashlight. That is how I view mine as it does not need any repair I am not about to remove it. My B-80 is serial number 4861 and is dark red mahogany. I think it has great sound too. I was sort of blown away by the sound. I have it on a piece of board cut to size and it is sitting on top of a small cabinet. It is a back breaker just to pick it up but I did it once. ha ha to have the board cut. So what are your serial numbers on your B-80's. I just got mine a couple months ago and am so pleased with it. Thanks for that video of the motor in action. Intriguing for us that are not mechanically inclined. I do like seeing things like this though.

CDBPDX wrote:I install these springs by hand. Here is video of how that works:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=E-U7GXKZJZY

The Edison springs are especially challenging.

Cliff

Bravo! I really enjoyed watching that Cliff. Thanks for posting.