The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

This is a question for all the Credenza people here. I notices that a small portion of the brake leather sticks out from under the turntable of my 1926 4-door Credenza. I looked at the brake carefully with the turntable removed and it doesn't look as though anything is bent downward. Should the brake pad be completely covered by the edge of the turntable or is it normal to have about one quarter of the pad showing? The brake appears to function OK, it stops the turntable within one revolution with no squealing.

Thanks for any observations from all you collectors!

this isn't really a credenza problem, just something that happens with the brake from time to time.

is the turntable positioned properly on the spindle (as in, all the way down)? more likely, could the brake mechanism be slightly bent, such that the friction leather should be up higher? sounds like a minor adjustment will resolve the issue.

Thanks for the fast reply. I have checked the turntable and it is all the way down with the drive pin in the the slot. The part that holds the brake leather appears to be positioned correctly. If it were bent upwards, then the hand lever would not make perfect contact with its mating point on the brake mechanism. The hand lever also seems to be un-bent as the lever that operates the brake is parallel to the motor board.

In that case, a cosmetic fix can be made by loosening the leather [long nose
pliers can do this], then rotate it, so the unworn part is inside the turntable rim. In a few years, you'll have a flat face on the leather again.
The good news is that as long as that's your only problem, it's a minor one that shouldn't affect your orthophonic enjoyment. It is a great machine.
If the brake should ever start squealing, just give it a drop of oil. This is one kind of brake that SHOULD be oiled once in a while.

Depending on how much clearance you've got between the motor board & turntable, it may be easier (and safer) to add a couple felt washers between the motor and motor board. This should drop the turntable a millimeter or two, so the brake pad can make full contact with the turntable rim.
I've had the same problem occure when I've used replacement rubbers/felts that weren't quite as thick as the originals, or when I've over-tightened the motor screws..