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I've had an Edison B80 hanging out in my garage for several months that had an issue with speed continuity. It would play for a while, then slow down, then play normal again. After about 7 minutes of play like this, the slow down would actually stop the motor. Took a while to deduce that it was the drive gear attached to the spring barrel. The gear teeth were badly worn and one section of about 6 teeth was really badly worn. That section hit the worm gear on the spindle every time it slowed down. The quick and easy repair was to simply remove the spring barrel, remove the drive gear and flip it around, stick it back on the spring barrel, and reinstall the spring barrel. Since both sides of the gear teeth were the same, with one side badly worn, the other side like new, the switch worked and it now runs like new. The mainspring is old and only provides about 8 minutes of play time before it needs rewinding, but that's good enough for me.

This is the 2nd B80 I've worked on recently. They are pretty interesting motors, unlike anything else I have worked on.

Cliff

That's very ingenious! Is it hard to remove that big gear from the spring barrel? BTW, my phono mechanic just fixed the motor on my B-60. He says it works great now. I also have a newly acquired B-80 that he also fixed. Marc.

marcapra wrote:That's very ingenious! Is it hard to remove that big gear from the spring barrel? Marc.

The gear is attached to the spring barrel with 6 screws. Quick and easy...

Takes some of the mystery away, doesn't it.

Cliff

To take a motor out of a B80:

Disconnect the lid support bar from the lid by removing 2 screws.

Remove the lid from the cabinet. It is secured with 2 hinges, each with 3 screws.

Remove the cabinet deck - 6 screws, 3 on each side. It comes out in 2 pieces, left side and right side.

Remove the belt.

Remove the speed adjust knob. Unscrew the speed adjust shaft and remove it.

The gear that drives the horn/reproducer assembly across the record is attached to a shaft that is secured to the spring barrel shaft with a small set screw in the spring barrel shaft. The set screw goes into a dimple on the gear shaft. Loosen that set screw and pull out the gear shaft. Screw the set screw back in.

Remove the governor. MAKE SURE THE SPRING IS COMPLETELY UNWOUND BEFORE REMOVING THE GOVERNOR!

Lay the cabinet on its back. This will expose the bottom of the cabinet. There is a triangular metal plate held in place with 3 screws. Those 3 screws are what secure the motor to the horn/motor mounting plate inside the cabinet. Remove these 3 screws while holding the motor in place. The motor can now be removed from the cabinet.

To remove the spring barrel:

There are 3 screws that secure the spindle shaft assembly to the motor plate. Remove those 3 screws, one at the front and two at the back. Pull the spindle shaft assembly away from the spring barrel. Remove the spring barrel. Note that there is a brass shim on the spring barrel shaft between the winding gears and the motor plate. Don't loose that.

To replace the spring:

The spring barrel has a cover pressed in place beneath the winding gears. The winding gears are on a shaft that connects to the center of the spring. Remove the winding gear shaft from the spring and pull it out of the spring barrel.

To remove the pressed on cover plate, I insert a 3/16" steel rod into the center of the spring barrel on the opposite side. Then I take a nickel (or some other 21mm round piece of metal) and insert it into the hole the spring barrel shaft came out of. Press the 3/16" steel rod against the nickel from the back side and use that to pound the steel plate off the spring barrel.

Remove the spring taking care to note how it is installed (counter-clockwise). Wear gloves.

Install the new spring and thank your lucky stars you didn't get injured.

Put everything back together and crank it up. It should work.

The gear is attached to the spring barrel with 6 screws. Quick and easy...

Takes some of the mystery away, doesn't it.

Cliff

Wow and double wow! And a friend of mine just said that to remove the gear from the spring barrel would involve cutting welds and using a press to get it off and great skill needed to get it back on! That's probably true of other phonographs I guess.

marcapra wrote:

The gear is attached to the spring barrel with 6 screws. Quick and easy...

Takes some of the mystery away, doesn't it.

Cliff

Wow and double wow! And a friend of mine just said that to remove the gear from the spring barrel would involve cutting welds and using a press to get it off and great skill needed to get it back on! That's probably true of other phonographs I guess.

Many spring barrels have the gear riveted on, a real pain to deal with when they get damaged. Others had the gear spot welded to the spring barrel. They are fairly common, too. Your friend was right as a general rule, but spring barrels on Edison spring motors all have detachable drive gears.

Cliff