Page 1 of 2
Is the "roof" of the spring barrel supposed to be loose?
Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2012 7:02 pm
by rasmus.baath
Hi!
I'm trying to repair a HMV 87 portable gramophone. Everything seems to work reasonably well except for the fact that the top of the spring barrel is loose and pops up every time the spring gets wound up (See the attached picture or this video:
http://youtu.be/4zYzWAEtOjo). Is this really supposed to be the case? When I look at the barrel I can't see any part that is obviously missing or broken...
Any suggestions for what might be wrong and/or how to fix it are greatly appreciated!
/Rasmus
Re: Is the "roof" of the spring barrel supposed to be loose?
Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2012 7:12 pm
by kirtley2012
it could be
1) the retaining ring is missing
or 2) it is surpposed to do that, the same thing happens on my edison fireside and does not affect function in any way
Alex
Re: Is the "roof" of the spring barrel supposed to be loose?
Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2012 7:13 pm
by MicaMonster
There is supposed to be a circular retaining wire that goes into the grooved channel above the level of the lid.
Re: Is the "roof" of the spring barrel supposed to be loose?
Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2012 7:15 am
by CarlosV
Hello Rasmus
The lid is held by tension from a circular wire that acts as retaining spring. Normally you have to snap it out of its retainer with a screw driver to release the lid. Yours is missing it. The lid maintains the spring in place (as a protection in case the spring breaks or its ends unlock from the pins) and prevents the grease from leaking out, so I would recommend that you look for a replacement wire (or a whole barrel).
Regards
Carlos
Re: Is the "roof" of the spring barrel supposed to be loose?
Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2012 7:21 am
by rasmus.baath
Thanks for your advice!
As the machine is in rather bad condition over all (Some parts are missing and it has at some point been painted!) Ill think I try to fix the spring barrel instead of looking for a replacement. If I get what you are saying correctly I should be able to use, for example, a thick metal wire as the retaining ring.
/Rasmus
Re: Is the "roof" of the spring barrel supposed to be loose?
Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2012 8:42 am
by kirtley2012
No, the wire has to be springed so thet is pushes outwards on the barrel to hold the plate in place, I am sure some one on here will have a replacement
Alex
Re: Is the "roof" of the spring barrel supposed to be loose?
Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2012 8:59 am
by rasmus.baath
kirtley2012 wrote:No, the wire has to be springed so thet is pushes outwards on the barrel to hold the plate in place, I am sure some one on here will have a replacement
Alex
You mean something like these?
http://www.pespring.com/images/common/s ... mepage.jpg
/Rasmus
Re: Is the "roof" of the spring barrel supposed to be loose?
Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2012 9:10 am
by HisMastersVoice
No, it would look something like this:

- retaining ring.jpg (13.37 KiB) Viewed 2438 times
Re: Is the "roof" of the spring barrel supposed to be loose?
Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2012 6:22 pm
by rasmus.baath
Brandon wrote:No, it would look something like this:
retaining ring.jpg
Ok, I get it! Thank you so much!
/Rasmus
Re: Is the "roof" of the spring barrel supposed to be loose?
Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2012 5:32 am
by rasmus.baath
Ok, so I tried to manufacture a ring out of thick piano wire. But I never really got it to work. Until I get the time to fix it properly I have taken the inner, plastic part of a roll of sticky tape and put that between the roof of the barrel and the "ceiling" created by gear above the barrel. It actually works really well...