The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Hello there. I have recently come into possession of an Edison C 150 phonograph player that is a family heirloom. It was in decent shape and was working well when I got it, but as far as the crank, I was told not to wind it up all the way or let it unwind all the way. The other day, I set it up to play, and wound it like usual, but once I got the crank in the usual spot, it suddenly slipped and spun backwards, completely spinning out. I tried to wind it back up, but after just a few turns of the crank, it is just stuck. I could turn it counter-clockwise until the crank unscrewed completely from the unit, but trying to wind it back up won't work. It currently hangs with no tension.

I am in the process of getting someone to look at it at some point, but was wondering if there were any obvious things I do not know about that I might be missing. I did some inspection of the underside where all the gears are, but nothing seems to be obvious from the visible end of things. I don't know enough about it to even chance taking it apart. Any suggestions or advice?

Spring motors have what is called a "winding dog" which prevents the spring barrel from going backwards. As you wind the spring up, every time the gear moves, forward the winding dog moves over the next tooth and locks in place, thus keeping the gear from slipping back. I have attached a photo below that shows a winding dog. Apparently, your winding dog came loose or broke and allowed the spring to totally unwind. When that happened, the spring likely either broke or detached from the spring arbor, which is why it won't wind anymore. Fortunately, parts for Diamond Disc machines are plentiful. Hope this helps.

This is very helpful, and sounds exactly like what is going on. I actually located the winding dog, but just didn't know that's what it was called. It didn't seem to be working properly. Thank you!

Ck45 wrote:This is very helpful, and sounds exactly like what is going on. I actually located the winding dog, but just didn't know that's what it was called. It didn't seem to be working properly. Thank you!

I've never heard the term "winding dog", either: it's generally called a "pawl".

-Bill