Radioguy51 Posted March 14, 2021 Share Posted March 14, 2021 Hello All, I'm a long time antique radio collector/restorer and this is my first venture into the world of antique phonographs. I've been restoring an Edison Standard (ser.# S105052). I've fully disassembled, cleaned, lubricated, adjusted and reassembled the motor and player. I ran into an issue when I attempted to remove the spring from the drum, however. Everything I've seen led me to believe that when I pulled the spring from the drum, that I should be able to separate the end of the spring from the drum itself. This wasn't the case though. The spring appeared to be solidly attached to the drum! Not being sure what was going on, I didn't want to risk breaking the spring so I cleaned and re-greased the spring the best I could with the drum still attached and replaced the spring. Now, with everything back together, I wound up the motor and it will run fine as long as there is no load. As soon as I put on the belt, the motor is unable to drive the mandrel. Every thing is able to move very freely and no reason I can see that it should not be able to drive the mandrel. The motor may have been stored in a fully wound state for many years. Is it possible that the spring may have "set" and no longer has enough strength to drive everything? Also, any thoughts as to why I may not have been able to separate the spring from the drum? Need new spring? Any help greatly appreciated! Thanks, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alang Posted March 14, 2021 Share Posted March 14, 2021 Welcome to the forum and to this addictive hobby. I had a similar problem with my Edison Standard. It turned out that the problem was the little wheel of the belt tensioner wasn't moving freely, so whenever I added the belt it would slow down to a halt. I pretty much soaked the wheel in penetrating oil for a couple of days until it turned freely again. Then cleaned it with mineral sprits and only oiled the center again. This resolved the issue on mine. Hope that helps. Andreas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radioguy51 Posted March 14, 2021 Author Share Posted March 14, 2021 Thanks Andreas. I’ll check that out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radioguy51 Posted March 14, 2021 Author Share Posted March 14, 2021 Well, I checked the tensioner and it’s running free as well, so I guess that wasn’t the issue. Thanks for the try though! Just seems like the spring doesn’t have enough power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phonogfp Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 Mike, the problem you describe can be caused by a few different things - including a weak mainspring. Before doing anything further, remove the belt from the upper pulley and then spin the mandrel with your fingers. Does it spin freely for 1 or 2 revolutions? If not, something may be binding your Standard's upper works. Let us know here if that's the problem and we can make several suggestions for you. If all is well above the bedplate, your suspicion of a weak mainspring may be accurate. The good news is that all you need to do is send your spring barrel with the old mainspring still inside to either of the repairmen below. For the cost of a new mainspring (usually $20-$30) plus - if you want it - installation and lubrication (I believe around $10-$15 from Ron Sitko; I believe George Vollema at Great Lakes does this too), you'll get your barrel and new mainspring back ready to drop into your motor. I used to do mainsprings for myself and for friends. Now I just have someone else install them. I think I save the installation cost in laundry detergent. Ron Sitko 56 Church Hill Road. Waterford NY 12188 Telephone (518) 371-8549 (No web address. Call weeknights after 7pm Eastern.) http://www.victroladoctor.com/ (George Vollema) Both of these fellows are good guys and will take good care of you. George P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radioguy51 Posted March 15, 2021 Author Share Posted March 15, 2021 George Thanks very much for the info! I’ll double check the mandrel as you suggested but I believe it should be ok. Pretty sure it’s going to come down to the spring. In retrospect, it didn’t expand all that much when I pulled it out of the barrel. Forty + years of storage in a fully wound state probably didn’t help! Appreciate the tips on repair services as well. Unfortunately this collecting format appears to be as addictive as my radio collection as I have a couple of others waiting in the wings for me to start on when I finish this one :) Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phonogfp Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 Mike, it's surely addictive for many people (myself included). I started as a teenager, and over 50 years later I still get a little thrill after cleaning and reassembling a spring motor. The last thing to adjust on many machines is the governor. After giving the crank 2 or 3 revolutions to put just slight tension on the mainspring, I carefully adjust the governor laterally...back off the pressure of one bearing...and she takes off on her own... It's even better on a Victor motor where you need to find the governor's "sweet spot" on an adjacent gear. And repair isn't even what I like best about this hobby! Good luck, George P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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