The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Hello all!

I recently picked up a Victor VV 4-4 that came with a Pooley ‘parts’ phonograph with a motor that runs flawlessly, but a rough tone arm. Then I picked up a Pathé model X - mainly for the Pathé records to play on my Brunswick. The model X would clean up well, I think, but the motor has one spring either broken or disconnected because it won’t wind up fully and it has little power.

When I looked closely at the two phonographs’ motors, I noted that they are nearly identical in size and number of springs and the only differences seem to be the cranks and the number of screws that hold the motor to the motor board.

The question I have... is it the ‘right’ thing to do? Ordinarily, I would never think of doing this, but it is tempting to get one usable phonograph out of the two.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Gerald.

Here’s a couple of pictures of the Pooley.

Ay, ay. ay.... I'm also tempted to do things like these... But there are other means. You can try to repair the Pathé motor. A broken spring (or only disengaged) can be repaired with success. You can swap the springs, if they are of the same measures, still preserving o original Pathé motor! You can ask her for help and we'll lead you in the process. Just send detailed photos of the motors.
Or if you don't feel to repair it yourself, just see the links section or ask for a specialist to do the job for you, although you'll then incur some expenses and shipping costs. A motor is heavy and must be packed with care.
Maybe there's a fellow best you that can help you to do it at home.

Inigo wrote:Ay, ay. ay.... I'm also tempted to do things like these... But there are other means. You can try to repair the Pathé motor. A broken spring (or only disengaged) can be repaired with success. You can swap the springs, if they are of the same measures, still preserving o original Pathé motor! You can ask her for help and we'll lead you in the process. Just send detailed photos of the motors.
Or if you don't feel to repair it yourself, just see the links section or ask for a specialist to do the job for you, although you'll then incur some expenses and shipping costs. A motor is heavy and must be packed with care.
Maybe there's a fellow best you that can help you to do it at home.

Inigo, thank you. I was hoping someone would say to try and fix it. I’m going to see if the spring is just detached first and go from there.

Thanks again!

That would be a classy-looking phonograph all fixed up! I like the styling as opposed to the unrelentingly Edwardian features of most floor model machines. (Hey, I like my 1914 Victrola but there is a lot to be said for that Twenties look.)

VanEpsFan1914 wrote:That would be a classy-looking phonograph all fixed up! I like the styling as opposed to the unrelentingly Edwardian features of most floor model machines. (Hey, I like my 1914 Victrola but there is a lot to be said for that Twenties look.)

VanEpsFan1914,
I agree! The Pooley is just really interesting and different!

I’ve taken a closer look at the Pathé motor and it seems that the issue is not with the spring but with the bearing surface that the arbor shat rides on. It seems to be worn sort of oblong and you can see the shaft jump when you get to a certain tension. I’ll try to post a picture of the bearing.

Whoa, that one's been loved to death (or just plain never been oiled.)

You will have to do some bushing on it. Do you have a drill press and some brass? Find something that matches the end of the arbor, then fit the motor frame into the drill press and bore out a hole somewhat bigger so you can fit a chunk of brass or bronze tube in there to make a new hole for it to run in. I'm not describing it well here but it's the same thing they do to fix old clocks.

I had inherited an 1890s mantle clock from my great-grandmother's old home. It was worn out entirely and would not go so I took it apart (young & dumb) and found it had run until the pivots were egg-shaped. Oiling would not have saved the clock. So I took it to a clockmaker who cleaned everything thoroughly, then bored the plates of the movement and bushed them with bronze. Next time I saw the clock, we wound it up and gave it a push and it began to tick, tick, tick for the first time in years.

In fact, it's on my shelf right now. The front has brown faux-wood made of celluloid, carved in an Eastlake pattern. It sits on four feet like an old-time bathtub, and has a lion head on either end with a big ring in its mouth like you'd hitch a team of horses to. The dial is very plain and there are three columns on either side of it--four regular faux-marble celluloid ones and two brass ones with half a topless lady on each one (the upper half, looks like she was in the shower and forgot her towel and maybe dropped her eyeglasses in the drain after they fogged up.) It doesn't match a stick of the furniture.

So if that crazy-looking old Victorian thing can be made to go again, I don't see why a big Pathé phonograph motor would stop forever for lack of a bearing.