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I hope I'm not posting this twice,but I cant find my post from this A.M. I have a Columbia Grafonola floor model. It makes a whirling noise when it gets up to speed. It gets quieter when the turntable and tone arm are on. If I put pressure with my thumb on the spindle the noise almost goes away. I've got the motor out now and I cant tell where the noise is coming from. It looks well lubed and gears look o-k to me. This is fun,except when I get stumped. Anyone have any ideas?

"Whirling" implies a high-speed noise to me. If so, maybe be the governor.
The noise comes on when it comes up to speed which makes me think the felt pads are worn down, or need oiling. They would come into contact with the governor disc only "at speed".

Sorry been away for a few days. I will look at the pads clean and oil if they are not worn out.

I am having this problem with my brunswick parisian portable also. it is kind of intermittent, but happens more ofthen than not. putting the tone arm on the record quiets things a bit. I did oil the felt on the governor, but was wondering if maybe I should replace it with new, or use a different grade of oil?

I think I put some 40 weight mobil 1 on there, but it may have been 20 weight. what would be correct?

I once had a little tabletop Victrola that would start an annoying chatter from the governor pad even after I had just oiled it. I had used light oil and even put vaseline on it. Got the idea to scratch at it with a file and a knife to sort of "puff up" the leather a bit and this worked. I don't imagine felt pads could get such a hard face to cause this kind of problem but it goes to show how sometimes a little problem likes to avoid a solution.

I will try softening up the face of the felt (slicing/dicing like you spoke of), and see if that helps.

If simple oiling won't help, then there are several things I do to clean up a finicky governor. Sometimes the felt friction pads and the brass disk are sticky or gummy from old oil. Sometimes the disk is oxidized. You want the friction to be low and constant. I remove the pad yoke and immerse it in a strong solvent such as MEK to remove all traces of the old oil, then let it dry out thoroughly. On occasion I have removed the brass disk from the weighted springs and polished it bright with 0000 steel wool while chucked in a drill press. I re-lubricate the pads with non-gummy Remington gun oil. I adjust the centers that the governor runs on to be sure the governor does not bind. If your governor has a worm gear, trying different greases on the worm might reduce the noise.

The governor on mine has a worm gear. and a bit of end play - the shaft can slide back and forth in the bearings along its length, maybe 1/16". I am could probably find a way to limit the endplay, but I figured I will try some other stuff first. I don't have any grease on the worm gear, just some teflon spray. I will try putting some grease on and see if that helps.

I haven't had much opportunity to work on any other motors of this type, so I don't know yet what to consider normal.

anchorman wrote:The governor on mine has a worm gear. and a bit of end play - the shaft can slide back and forth in the bearings along its length, maybe 1/16". I am could probably find a way to limit the endplay, but I figured I will try some other stuff first. I don't have any grease on the worm gear, just some teflon spray. I will try putting some grease on and see if that helps.

I haven't had much opportunity to work on any other motors of this type, so I don't know yet what to consider normal.

I never allow that much endplay, just a few thousandths of a inch. I see no reason to allow more than that. I loosen the set screw on a bearing and gently slide the bearing in until it bottoms out, then I back it out just a hair and set the screw. Sometimes a bearing may be frozen in the motor casting and requires a tap or twist to free it up. For the worm gear, you could try Vaseline or light lithiuim grease. Sometimes I will stir some oil into white lithium grease to make a homemade version of Lubriplate. I will add whatever obtains the consistancy I'm looking for. Experiment - whatever works for you is "right".

I'm sure all the posters to this thread already know this, but for those who've never tried it, make sure that your motor springs are wound down all the way before attempting to remove the governor, or you'll get a nasty and unwelcome surprise in the form of sudden release of spring tension ( = loud whir with rapid spinning of spring canister(s) and oil/grease on you, your brand new shirt, your walls, ceiling, furniture, carpet, dog, etc.,etc.). I know, it happened to me. It's something akin to being spooked by a ruffed grouse in the forest, but a lot messier.