The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Hi.
I came upon a post where someone was suggesting a wormwheel be turned around on its shaft because its teeth were badly worn away for half of its thickness.
I have a Decca Junior Portable which I bought just a few weeks back, having the same problem. But in THIS case, the wheel is made from red fibre.
Has anyone rotated one of these without cracking the fibre? Is it safe to try? I have a milling machine and have cut wheels and pinions, but never one with the teeth at an angle to the axis. Is it necessary to soften the fibre before pressing, and is it a plain shaft (without milling) underneath the wheel?

Is it possible to just move the wormwheel up or down a bit on the shaft in order to make use of a better section of the gear? Just as with your other posting, pictures would help greatly in assisting you.

Yes, I couldn't see why moving on the shaft wouldn't be better that turning it over, assuming there's room. Luckily the worm wasn't set up in the centre of the wheel, so only half is damaged.
Don't have a camera thats good on closeups, when I find one I'll be more sensible in that area.

Technomaniac wrote: Mon Dec 13, 2021 9:38 pm Yes, I couldn't see why moving on the shaft wouldn't be better that turning it over, assuming there's room.

It would potentially be better, as moving the gear just a bit up or down would have much less possibility of doing damage to the fiber gear, which was a concern of yours. Besides, even if you turned it over, you would most likely still want to offset it a bit from its original location anyway, supposing that the gear teeth would be somewhat thinned, and therefore weaker, adjacent to the wear area. Of course, all of this is hypothetical until we can see what you're working with.