Making my 8-12 Air Tight, What needs to be done?

[Victrolaman]

I am now in the process of making my 8-12 Air Tight for great Bass Sound and air leaks.. I packed the joint with good grease at the base of the tone arm, The reproducer has a brand new Rubber flange i bought, Is there any other areas i need to check or seal on the 8-12?
Some had said remove the back panel and check out the metal bracket that connects to the wooden horn at the top, I checked all the screws and they are tight, should i put a bead of silicone or grease around that joint as well?
What else should be air tight on this great Machine?

[spin78's]

I never pulled apart my 8-12 however on the Credenza if you remove the motor board, tone arm, and the tone arm support board, you will have access to the metal horn connector. Removing that connector (on the credenza) there is a cork gasket where it connects to the wood horn that could be smeared with grease and re-assembled. My 8-12 never had a really great "bass" sound to it as compared to a 8-30 or credenza. Victor flattened the horn, and folded it vertically in the 8-12...still a great sounding machine though.

[Victrolaman]

I never pulled apart my 8-12 however on the Credenza if you remove the motor board, tone arm, and the tone arm support board, you will have access to the metal horn connector. Removing that connector (on the credenza) there is a cork gasket where it connects to the wood horn that could be smeared with grease and re-assembled. My 8-12 never had a really great "bass" sound to it as compared to a 8-30 or credenza. Victor flattened the horn, and folded it vertically in the 8-12...still a great sounding machine though.

Spin, thanks for the tip, i will do that. Thats what someone else told me to, is put some grease around there. The back of the machine as you know has set screws on the bottom that holds the board on, should i put some grease around the metal part that connects to the wooden horn as well or just along the top where the tone arm connects?
Any other spots that need it to while im in there?

[JohnM]

8-12's have metal horns, so a brighter sound is to be expected.

[OrthoFan]

Ideally, your Victrola's tone chamber should be absolutely air-tight, from the sound box to the mouth of the horn.

About 20 years ago, a series of articles were published in the now defunct "New Amberola Graphic," describing the steps involved in sealing the tone chamber. They are pretty well summed up in this article, which profiles the Credenza, but can apply to all Orthophonic models:

http://www.gracyk.com/credenza.shtml


If the horn seems solid, with no seam gaps between the slats, using a wood sealant would probably not be necessary.

BTW, one area often overlooked is the tonearm. Fortunately, a few dabs of heavy grease will take care of any minute leaks:


FROM: http://www.phonoland.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=107

HTH,
OF

[Uncle Vanya]

8-12's have metal horns, so a brighter sound is to be expected.

STUFF AND NONSENSE!

The 8-12 horn has more wood than any other Orthophonic horn, save the all-wood folded horn used in
the late-production Granada and in the 4-7 machines.

The large, vertically bifurcated horn in the 8-12 is made ENTIRELY of wood, save for a small die-cast connector
which attatches the top of the horn to the motor board. I've repaired a number of these machines over the years, including the machine that Paul Edie used in his horn tests, and have about five salvaged 8-12 horns left after my late fire.

[Victrolaman]

Metal?
the only thing in there thats metal i can see is the bracket? the 8-12 has a folded wooden horn

[Victrolaman]

Ideally, your Victrola's tone chamber should be absolutely air-tight, from the sound box to the mouth of the horn.

About 20 years ago, a series of articles were published in the now defunct "New Amberola Graphic," describing the steps involved in sealing the tone chamber. They are pretty well summed up in this article, which profiles the Credenza, but can apply to all Orthophonic models:

http://www.gracyk.com/credenza.shtml


If the horn seems solid, with no seam gaps between the slats, using a wood sealant would probably not be necessary.

BTW, one area often overlooked is the tonearm. Fortunately, a few dabs of heavy grease will take care of any minute leaks:


FROM: http://www.phonoland.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=107

HTH,
OF

Wow Ortho, thanks for the help and great article, i knew about the felt but didnt even thing about that joint on the arm..
Thanks so much guys for the help.. The wooden horn is very solid and no cracks or seems loose any anything i looked that over last night with a good bright light. So i will dothe other places you said with Grease and also put a bit of teflon take on the arm end before i reinstall the reproducer

[Victrolaman]

8-12's have metal horns, so a brighter sound is to be expected.

STUFF AND NONSENSE!

The 8-12 horn has more wood than any other Orthophonic horn, save the all-wood folded horn used in
the late-production Granada and in the 4-7 machines.

The large, vertically bifurcated horn in the 8-12 is made ENTIRELY of wood, save for a small die-cast connector
which attatches the top of the horn to the motor board. I've repaired a number of these machines over the years, including the machine that Paul Edie used in his horn tests, and have about five salvaged 8-12 horns left after my late fire.

I have no idea why he said that, there is no metal at all in the ??? its all wood, its a folded horn like the Credenza, just not as large? he must be thinking of another machine..

[OrthoFan]

This is, more or less, what the 8-12's horn looks like from the front:

8-12 Horn.JPG (8.74 KiB) Viewed 2909 times

The only 8-series models I know of that were equipped with all metal horns were the 8-8 (School version), 8-9 (home version) and the 8-35.

OF