The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I recently picked up an edison schubert machine, which has the self-supporting type of lid support that uses a large spring, one for each support on either side of the lid. initially it worked well, but the springs creaked a lot. so while cleaning it, I used some oil on them and wiped them down a bit. initially, they continued to support the lid well, basically holding it open at whatever height or angle I wanted, but gradually it stopped doing that, the springs seem to have lost a lot of their tension, and now when I lift the lid the whole way, the springs will no longer hold it completely open, and if I'm not careful when I open it, holding it briefly in place afterward to make sure it stays, it will just drop shut. it's kind of annoying and I don't understand why it's happening. would anyone have any suggestions?

I had something like that happen on a Brunswick console years ago. I'd guess that your springs were already losing their punch and that removing the dirt and mechanical binding, the springs were having to do more work to keep the lid up. With the Brunswick, I just ended-up going to the hardware store and getting the closest match to the original springs as I could find. (I'm not familiar with the Shubert's lid mechanism so this all could be hot air.) In any case, good luck.

- Martin