The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Hello again. I am needing the rubber gasket that sits just below where the tone arm mounts on top of the horn. I don't know what it's called so looking for tone arm gasket didn't get me in the right direction lol. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Have a great day.
Shawn

Hello,

People would be better able to help you if you were to provide more details.

What machine is the tone arm from? Pictures of the machine and the arm would help someone identify it, if you don't know.

What are the dimensions of the gasket you need, inner, outer, and thickness?

Would an o-ring work? O-rings are cheap and easily available. They can compress and seal fairly well in place of a flat gasket.

If the gasket is not visible and neatness doesn't count, you could try cutting your own with a very sharp box cutter--a frustrating but doable task.

Rubber Sheet Warehouse offers 3.5" by 7" sample sheets of pretty much any of their stock for a nominal cost of $10 including postage in the lower 48 states. (I have become rather fond of their natural gum product--Shore Hardness +/- 40--for making gaskets)

https://rubbersheetwarehouse.com

If I'm not mistaken, it should have a thick felt ring, not rubber. Unfortunately, I don't know the dimensions. I also don't know if anyone is making replacements. Hopefully, more knowledgeable folks here can provide that info.

Steve

Lah Ca wrote: Sun May 19, 2024 9:27 am
What machine is the tone arm from? Pictures of the machine and the arm would help someone identify it, if you don't know.

DOH!

Shawn,

I have the 4-3 part listing for your serial number however there are no specs for the gasket. It is likely a ¼” thick piece of felt or rubber, at that time probably rubber.
McMaster Carr has a variety of thick rubber gaskets you might look at. Many of the earlier Orthophonic machines used a ¼” thick piece of dense felt coated with heavy grease so that would be an alternate. The purpose is to minimize air leakage at the joint, leakage will cause a loss of base response.

Even though Victor skipped the gasket part number in the numeric listing and we don’t have the exact specs, determining the gasket size will not be very difficult. It should fit the cabinet recess above the horn elbow and have about the same inner diameter as the opening to the bottom of the taper tube bracket. The gasket should be compressed slightly after assembly.

Mark

Thanks for all y'alls help on this. You guys have been an excellent source of knowledge.

ChesterCheetah18 wrote: Sun May 19, 2024 11:57 am If I'm not mistaken, it should have a thick felt ring, not rubber. Unfortunately, I don't know the dimensions. I also don't know if anyone is making replacements. Hopefully, more knowledgeable folks here can provide that info.

Steve

They were indeed a thick felt ring. I also believe they were to be liberally coated in grease before installing/reinstalling, but verify this.

CharliePhono wrote: Sun May 19, 2024 6:55 pm

ChesterCheetah18 wrote: Sun May 19, 2024 11:57 am If I'm not mistaken, it should have a thick felt ring, not rubber. Unfortunately, I don't know the dimensions. I also don't know if anyone is making replacements. Hopefully, more knowledgeable folks here can provide that info.

Steve

They were indeed a thick felt ring. I also believe they were to be liberally coated in grease before installing/reinstalling, but verify this.

Yes, the good old "grease must seal this joint" admonition from the Victor repair manuals. After awhile, the old grease in the old felt gets rubbery.