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I picked up this Pathé today and I have a few questions. I have the reproducer apart and I’ll order a new diaphragm and gaskets soon. It’s been refinished but it still looks nice.

The tone arm assembly is not in good shape. How is the reproducer supposed to turn? And is the Broken pot metal fixable?

The motor runs great but there is something wrong/ missing on the speed control.

Are these common in the USA?

Any help would be appreciated.

David

It's an American Pathé so they come up pretty often, they were one of the bigger minor brands that had a large national distribution.

The reproducer is supposed to swivel from pointing straight out to at a side angle. You could try using JB Weld to fix the mounting base if you want to try keeping it original, it be more work than it's worth. They pop up often it'd be easy to replace. The speed control looks like it's all there, it might of had a washer, but I'm not sure.

The person who refinished it in the past didn't do that bad of a job, but they took of some of the cabinet decorations. (It's a lower line model but still neat.)

I would like to keep it original if I can.

The piece that is supposed to turn the reproducer is completely stiff. I am unsure how to loosen it.


If anyone has one, can you post a picture of the motor?

dzavracky wrote:I would like to keep it original if I can.

The piece that is supposed to turn the reproducer is completely stiff. I am unsure how to loosen it.


If anyone has one, can you post a picture of the motor?

Let it sit in the freezer for awhile to let the pot metal contract then put some penetrating oil on it.

Yes, the freezer method worked for me when I had an issue with a tone arm on a portable machine.

Don't be tempted to heat it... pot metal melts at a low temp.

Okay I will try freezing it. How long can it sit in the freezer?

I noticed the missing trim piece, but to be honest. I kind of like it better without it. All of my other phonographs have nice pieces of trim/carvings on it. Its kind of nice to have a plain phonograph.


Hopefully I can fiddle with it later this week; but I must not be understanding how the motor works. I found a picture of another Pathé Model VII motor and it looks exactly the same as mine. So as far as I know I am not missing any pieces. The motor is not working in its current state though. If I lift up the speed adjustment lever the motor starts instantly, but when it is put down again it stops. And adjusting the speed to "fast" does nothing. The motor is stopped via a turntable brake, so how does this speed mechanism work then? Ill attach a video to show what I mean.

Here is an instruction sheet for the reproducer; I copied it off the Web, whether from the forums here, eBay, or elsewhere I don't remember. I hope perhaps it will help a bit.

Here is an update and I also have a question.

I took out the motor to work on the speed control and I noticed one of the springs was broken! I took the spring out, cut off the broken end, and then cut a new wole. I was very happy that I succeed on the first try! I then greased the springs and put the motor back together. I had to make a little dowel for the speed control. The motor runs really well now! It will play three and ½ records on a full wind (I took the tone arm off one of my columbia machines to test this). I got the pot metal piece out of the tone arm without it breaking and it now rotates nicely. I will be rebuilding the reproducer soon. I also tried something I hadn't done before. I washed the felt! I was pretty nervous to submerge the whole platter in water, but it looks nice now!

So now to the question.

I do not think broken pot metal is fixable on the base of the tone arm. Would it be frowned upon to remove the broken potmetal entirely and make a new piece? I could make a 3d printed copy of it and then possibly make a metal one with the equipment at my school. Or maybe the 3d printed one would be good enough?

I'd appreciate any thoughts!


Cheers,

David

dzavracky wrote:Here is an update and I also have a question.

I took out the motor to work on the speed control and I noticed one of the springs was broken! I took the spring out, cut off the broken end, and then cut a new wole. I was very happy that I succeed on the first try! I then greased the springs and put the motor back together. I had to make a little dowel for the speed control. The motor runs really well now! It will play three and ½ records on a full wind (I took the tone arm off one of my columbia machines to test this). I got the pot metal piece out of the tone arm without it breaking and it now rotates nicely. I will be rebuilding the reproducer soon. I also tried something I hadn't done before. I washed the felt! I was pretty nervous to submerge the whole platter in water, but it looks nice now!

So now to the question.

I do not think broken pot metal is fixable on the base of the tone arm. Would it be frowned upon to remove the broken potmetal entirely and make a new piece? I could make a 3d printed copy of it and then possibly make a metal one with the equipment at my school. Or maybe the 3d printed one would be good enough?

I'd appreciate any thoughts!


Cheers,

David

If I understand what you intend to do correctly, it won't show, and it will fix the problem. This is not a high-end, hotly sought machine, so I see no reason not to proceed as you plan.