The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Hello all,

I picked up a VV-107 yesterday and it runs well and sounds amazing! But those four 17' springs are thumping in an - occasional - alarming way. I am going to send the springs out to be serviced, but I have never taken a motor apart before and I do not want to hurt anything. How can I be sure that the mainsprings are all the way unwound?
Should the governor be removed and then the springs/main gear?

Any help would really be appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

VictorVV-X
Gerald

Wow!! congrats on getting a very rare machine!

AmberolaAndy wrote:Wow!! congrats on getting a very rare machine!

Thank you! I couldn’t resist it and I found that it was even cooler in person! It’s in good condition, though the seller did say they played with it when they were kids and it shows a little. It plays really well with a no. 4 reproducer I installed and the motor is super smooth and quiet until the springs jump. I’ve decided to send the whole motor off to George at Great Lakes Antique Phonograph, only to check the springs.

VictorVV-X wrote:Hello all,

I picked up a VV-107 yesterday and it runs well and sounds amazing! But those four 17' springs are thumping in an - occasional - alarming way. I am going to send the springs out to be serviced, but I have never taken a motor apart before and I do not want to hurt anything. How can I be sure that the mainsprings are all the way unwound?
Should the governor be removed and then the springs/main gear?

Any help would really be appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

VictorVV-X
Gerald

NO!!! Never touch the governor screws before you are sure the springs are would down completely. How do you know? Since your motor is still running, just let it wind down until the turntable stops. When you remove the turntable the spindle may actually still turn a few more times, or you can manually help it a little. That's as wound down as you need it. The only time this does not apply is when the motor is stuck for whatever reason and does not turn at all.

Hope that helps. Good luck!
Andreas

alang wrote:

VictorVV-X wrote:Hello all,

I picked up a VV-107 yesterday and it runs well and sounds amazing! But those four 17' springs are thumping in an - occasional - alarming way. I am going to send the springs out to be serviced, but I have never taken a motor apart before and I do not want to hurt anything. How can I be sure that the mainsprings are all the way unwound?
Should the governor be removed and then the springs/main gear?

Any help would really be appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

VictorVV-X
Gerald

NO!!! Never touch the governor screws before you are sure the springs are would down completely. How do you know? Since your motor is still running, just let it wind down until the turntable stops. When you remove the turntable the spindle may actually still turn a few more times, or you can manually help it a little. That's as wound down as you need it. The only time this does not apply is when the motor is stuck for whatever reason and does not turn at all.

Hope that helps. Good luck!
Andreas

Andres, thank you for your advice. Don't worry, I have decided to send the whole motor off. I can adjust governors and do some light maintenance, but springs scare me to death! I have whacked my fingers with enough clock mainsprings to know that I should not tempt fate again - especially with much more powerful phonograph mainsprings!

Congrats on the find! I have 2 and a half 107s great machines

oltractor wrote:Congrats on the find! I have 2 and a half 107s great machines

oltractor,
Thank you! It is a great machine! And it sounds great, too! I installed a HMV no. 4 reproducer on it and it could play some electric records quite well! To me, the 107 seems to have a mellow tone to it.

The style of the cabinet is cool, too. When I saw it in person for the first time, I was impressed! It just stands out!