The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I've got my Brunswick Sharon up and running, and it sounds great on both lateral discs and Diamond Discs, but I can't seem to figure out how to get the automatic brake working. There's a rod under the tone arm that's clearly supposed to trip a level, but tripping that lever doesn't stop anything, at least not at present. Am I missing something? Can anyone post pictures of a properly configured brake mechanism so I can see what a complete one looks like and how I should arrange mine? (Extra thanks if yours isn't as dusty as mine.)

It looks like you're missing a coil spring and the little plug of brake leather.
See picture below:

Spring should span from "A" to "B" (shown by arrow)

Leather goes in "C"

Be careful when bending the tongues in C to insert leather plug. I usually pry them sideways to each other rather than outward, and you don't need much bending to force-fit the leather into the space.

Phono parts dealers can supply the brake leather, also available through sellers on ebay.

Good luck with your fix!
Bob

This recent thread has a picture of a similar brake with the spring installed viewtopic.php?f=2&t=45876

Hope that helps
Andreas

barnettrp21122 wrote:It looks like you're missing a coil spring and the little plug of brake leather.
See picture below:

Spring should span from "A" to "B" (shown by arrow)

Leather goes in "C"

Be careful when bending the tongues in C to insert leather plug. I usually pry them sideways to each other rather than outward, and you don't need much bending to force-fit the leather into the space.

Phono parts dealers can supply the brake leather, also available through sellers on ebay.

Good luck with your fix!
Bob

The attachment Brunswick Sharon brake 1.jpg is no longer available

Thanks, Bob. Very helpful! I appreciate the lettering -- no room for misunderstanding!

Regarding "C" -- it doesn't appear that mine has anywhere to insert a leather pad -- see attached photos. I don't know if it had tongues that have since broken off, or if it never had them, but the tab where I assume a leather pad would go is in fact convex, not concave, and the metal part of it does make contact with the inner rim of the turntable. effective (if loudly) stopping it when you flip the brake lever. Is it possible it was just designed this way? Does yours look different if the leather is out?

eighteenbelow wrote:

barnettrp21122 wrote:It looks like you're missing a coil spring and the little plug of brake leather.
See picture below:

Spring should span from "A" to "B" (shown by arrow)

Leather goes in "C"

Be careful when bending the tongues in C to insert leather plug. I usually pry them sideways to each other rather than outward, and you don't need much bending to force-fit the leather into the space.

Phono parts dealers can supply the brake leather, also available through sellers on ebay.

Good luck with your fix!
Bob

Brunswick Sharon brake 1.jpg

Thanks, Bob. Very helpful! I appreciate the lettering -- no room for misunderstanding!

Regarding "C" -- it doesn't appear that mine has anywhere to insert a leather pad -- see attached photos. I don't know if it had tongues that have since broken off, or if it never had them, but the tab where I assume a leather pad would go is in fact convex, not concave, and the metal part of it does make contact with the inner rim of the turntable. effective (if loudly) stopping it when you flip the brake lever. Is it possible it was just designed this way? Does yours look different if the leather is out?

I used to own a "Hampton" model Brunswick Panatrope but no more. Come to think of it, doesn't the Brunswick brake press against the motor governor friction disc itself, stopping the motor that way rather than a leather brake against the rim.
Perhaps you can try moving the brake lever towards the back, away from you while the motor's running. If it stops, then there's your answer! I hope that's the case.
Bpb

Upon even closer inspection, it now appears that there is some kind of insert in there. Hard to tell what it is -- does it look like petrified leather? Some other material? It appears that it is set into a small ring which is itself set into a slightly larger bracket, but I have no idea if I'm supposed to punch out just the petrified leather (or whatever it is) or the entire small ring. Or maybe the small ring and the bracket are one piece? Any thoughts on which it is, what to do, and how?

Yes, it seems that the leather piece is mounted on a small frame...? Could be an elegant solution to the common problem with the grip catching the leather piece alone, which is that when you insert a new piece, it tends to peel off as you press it into the grip fingers, and loses part of its integrity... The metal frame around the leather would help.