Some general Columbia Grafonola questions from a beginner?

[TuxedoRonny]

Hello again everyone, Ronny here, and I have a multitude of questions about my first (well, technically second- but that's another story) phonograph that I was hoping some of you experts could help me out with!

First off for reference purposes I'll post a few pictures of it here, sorry they're a little on the small side, but my digital camera is broken so I had to use the craigslist pictures that I saved when I bought it.






One thing I know for certain is that it's a Columbia Grafonola since it's proudly labeled on the interior, but my first question is, How old is it? I tried to do as much research as possible but the only thing I could come up with is somewhere in the area of 1917-1920, and I haven't a clue as to whether this is accurate, though it seems so...

I found an advertisement for it from some old magazine if it helps:


Mine looks exactly like the one in the bottom corner, record cabinet and all- I figured I'd note this since some others I've seen floating around on the internet have either horizontal shelves, a nifty felt-lined pushbutton-operated record ejector, or vertical dowels. Mine is equipped with the latter dowels.

I also found a serial number on the top of the motor if that helps in any way, or anyone might be able to refer me to a serial number guide of some sort! it's: G 01995. Don't know if that means anything!

My second question might be a little easier: How do I remove the reproducer? I need to replace the dried-up gaskets but I'm not really certain how to get the thing off the tonearm. I found another picture online of an already removed one:


Am I supposed to press in that little button-looking thing on the arm, or try and pull it out? And further more, how to I get to the gaskets- should I try to unscrew the part directly over the diaphragm? It's got 4 little holes in it... I really don't even want to tinker with it on my own since I'm terrified of breaking it, Lord knows it's been though enough.

And lastly: Do all Columbias of this type come equipped with an automatic stop, or was that an optional thing? I ask because my tonearm has a scythe-shaped hook that goes under and into the motor, but doesn't connect to anything! There's a little peg where it looks like there's supposed to be some kind of gizmo there, but there isn't! There's even an old sticker that tells me to make sure I move the tonearm to the far right in order to make it fit into everything correctly. Do you think there might have been one on there at one time and somebody removed it for some reason? Also when I was looking up parts I found this: http://www.phonographs.org/store/produc ... ts_id=1051

Would that possibly fit mine, or should I keep looking? Do any of you guys know a good repair service that deals in replacement parts? Oh... and one more thing I just remembered, the springs are broken

...So that's an issue I'll need help with too, if you have any good referrals (or service them yourself!) I'd love to hear from you! There's NO WAY I'd even dream about fooling around with 3 mainsprings this early on in my phonograph-collecting career! (it hasn't even been a year yet, but I'm hooked anyway!)

So anyways, I look forward to any help any of you may be able to provide, I've tried to be as detailed as possible with my descriptions and references so I hope I can get somewhere!

Thanks a million,
-Ronny.

[Brad]

Hi Ronny,

Based on the pictures, it looks like it might be a model G-2 that was introduced in 1918. The description in the book said the G-2 came with shelves to hold 7 record albums, however, variations exist within models.

Repro - first a caution, most Columbia tone arms are pot metal which will crumble in your hands if you have to put any force on it. If something is stuck, don't try and force it. I speak from several shattered tone arms on this one.

To remove the repro from the arm, rotate the repro clockwise until the needle is pointing straight up. you should be able to pull it out of the arm. The repro fits inside the center ring of the tone arm, the pin pushes in and holds the repro at a detente to keep it positioned properly.

The mica is held in by that ring with the 4 holes which is threaded into the repro body. I have had luck using a stout set of dividers or a compass in 2 of the holes. The back end of a steel needle will fit in the hole so if you can fashion something that will hold 2 needles in 2 of the holes and allow you some torque, you should be able to unscrew the ring.

I have only futzed with the auto stop once and never could figure out how it worked or how to get it to work. I have chalked that one up to being just one of life's great mysteries.

I buy my repro parts from Antique phonograph supply company in NY, and my springs from Wyatts musical americana. There is also George Volema who I haven't patronized, but others speak highly of him.

Pictures pictures pictures of the progress please!

Good luck.

[coyote]

What Brad said. The reproducer can be quite tight on the tonearm--I once had to use a pair of pipe vice-grips to gently grasp the circumference of the reproducer and slowly turn it. I have the same model with the horizontal shelves. This was my first phonograph and the auto-stop was never complete on mine, either.

[TuxedoRonny]

Wow, thanks for all the extremely helpful info on this thing Brad! I never would've known otherwise!

Oh lordy, I was hoping the reproducer wasn't pot metal, I've had my share of wacky incidents with that stuff on a little off-brand portable I have and it wasn't to pretty. I'll be as careful as I can, though for now I'm just going to mostly leave it alone since I haven't even got the appropriate parts to repair it with. No sense in fussing over it just to take it apart out of curiosity, the saying 'curiosity killed the cat' strikes close to home in a lot of my endeavors and I've learned to let sleeping dogs lie. (gee, I wonder how many other sayings I can wedge in here?)

But when the time comes I think I can handle it. I've got a good compass that'll do the trick unscrewing the ring to get to the gaskets and I'm pretty good with the smaller details to boot. So wish me luck when the day comes, I'll keep you updated on how it goes and I'll make sure to get plenty of pictures!

Hm, it would seem that nobody has any particular luck with the automatic stop mechanism, maybe they weren't that great from the get-go? You never know. People may have just taken them out if they had too many shortcomings, or broke to easily. Anyway I'm still going to experiment with the idea if I can, and keep doing research on the matter. Either way I'm not terribly bothered by just manually shutting it off myself! (oh to be one of those lucky VV 10-50 owners right now!)

Thanks also for the references to APSCO and Wyatt's, with all the places to turn to for parts and repairs I'm glad I could find a good recommendation! I also checked out "GREAT LAKES ANTIQUE PHONOGRAPH" and it doesn't seem half bad either!

Anyways thanks a TON for the info and comments, I'd be totally lost without this forum!

[Shane]

If I remember correctly... I don't think you actually need to remove the reproducer off the tonearm in order to replace the gaskets. If you loosen that ring on the front of the reproducer, and loosen the little tiny screws that hold the needle bar in place, you can remove the gaskets, mica and needle bar in order to install new gaskets. With pot metal, sometimes it's best to leave it alone if you can get away with leaving it alone.

[coyote]

Shane: it makes it a bit awkward, but it's true that you can rebuild the reproducer without removing it from the tonearm. It's just much easier to unscrew a stubborn bezel if it's not still on the tonearm. Just make sure that the pivot points for the needle bar are loosened out of the way as the other end of the bar is attached to the diaphragm with (beeswax and) a nut which has EXTREMELY fine threads. APSCO had all the replacement parts last time I checked for this reproducer: gaskets, diaphragm, and needle bar.

[TuxedoRonny]

Okay, well I took a look at the reproducer, and it seems like it's on there pretty good, I couldn't get it to budge at all. I'm not sure if perhaps the pot metal is swollen, since I heard that's a problem with a few Columbia parts. However the tone arm itself turns very smoothly, and I head those are usually the first to go (unless of course that was replaced some time ago, as I have no record of any service history prior to my ownership).

I think that when I get some new gaskets I'm just going to try and replace them without taking it off altogether, as awkward as it might be, I really don't want to risk breaking it!

And again I sure do appreciate the help!

[Brad]

Sounds like the best approach. In the meantime, if the repro rattles or blasts on loud passages, use soft tone needles, they won't fix that issue, but will lessen it a bit.

Good luck!

[Shane]

Glad we could help. If it were me trying to get that ring off, I'd hit it with some penetrating oil (or at least WD-40) first. I guess some people use a compass or other tool, but I've had some luck with two small nails, one in each hand, to go inside each divet in the ring. It works better if someone else can hold onto the reproducer while you use the nails to try to unscrew the ring. Just be careful not to stab yourself or the other person if a nail lets loose!

[Brad]

Glad we could help. If it were me trying to get that ring off, I'd hit it with some penetrating oil (or at least WD-40) first. I guess some people use a compass or other tool, but I've had some luck with two small nails, one in each hand, to go inside each divet in the ring. It works better if someone else can hold onto the reproducer while you use the nails to try to unscrew the ring. Just be careful not to stab yourself or the other person if a nail lets loose!

If you try this have a third person shooting a video for YouTube. It will either be instructive or very very funny (for 2 of the three there and everyone watching)