HMV Gramophone Repair

[@Techmoan]

Loved this - keep it up. Subscribed. I’ll give you a ‘shout out’ to my Patrons as you definitely deserve more eyes on your videos.

[@MendItMark]

Wow! Feeling rather star-struck finding you on here! I would certainly appreciate a 'shout out' from you. I only started this channel in January, and am still finding my feet with KZbin. I might hit 1K subscribers yet... Thanks Mat! Mark.

[@theoloutlaw]

Ooooh Yeah!! You watch the channel grow now :) Onya Mark!

[@Ronnie01964]

Yes, he's really good and funny too.

[@fretlessfender]

Well you deserve it Mark! Your optimism and humour is much needed! I think your awesome 👌!

[@NaveenYadav-jb2un]

Very nice.

[@adamadkins9210]

I had to stop before the terrifying part at 8:28. I am a retired watchmaker, and sometimes clock repairer. That mainspring is NO JOKE. You can be badly injured if you lose control while releasing the spring from the barrel. A deep cut from that stiff spring filled with old grease and dirt...bad business. Another comment mentioned Simple Green. A good start, and won't poison you in your shop. You can clean the spring holding a bit of 000 steel wool (wire wool?) held in flat pliers. Much easier and quicker. I won't critique any more. If you are interested you can contact me directly and I would be very happy to give you safer ways of dealing with clockwork mechanisms. Thank you for your content and can do attitude. I look forward to each new video.

[@Sam-pl7xi]

This video gave me so much of confidence to go ahead and open up a 1925 HMV 101and sure enough, the spring box of the motor was quite like what you filmed with the gramophone you demonstrated in troubleshooting. Hats off to your clarity of video, speech, brevity, simplicity, all cautions in place and fundamentals to such cleaning, selection of grease (the why and what of it)..... You are GOOD!!! THANK YOU!

[@cmonkey63]

I don't suppose the owner's manual stated: "And remember to regrease the main spring every 100 years or so."

[@abigailhowes5944]

I am now officially addicted to your videos! You have a friendly casual manner, while at the same time very knowledgeable in a number of skills and very clever. You seem to have fun with your work, and have curiosity. Thank you so much!

[@peteschreiber9517]

You are the new king of repairs in my book. Great channel!

You are so amazing!!! Cheers from a very old engineer from Patagonia Argentina

[@THEOLDMOVIESHACK]

Excellent video Mark....I have an old gramaphone that is doing the same thing and this has given me the confidence to tackle it.....Thanks

[@katsclockeryshop659]

Thank you. I needed to see how a Gramophone comes apart. Just recently acquired one after passing of my brother. He restored antique radios; I restore antique clocks and music boxes. Like other commenters, I was concerned about you getting hurt by the spring. I will use my ultrasonic bath to clean the parts on the Gramophone.

[@DK640OBrianYT]

Installing a spring is easier, if you put the motor that much together, so you can have the spring grip onto the windup axle. Then you can use the handle to wind all of it inside. When everything is inside, wind a bit more until you hear a "click". The spring has then attached itself onto the pin on the side. Voila. Entire spring installed. By sheer luck, that's what I came up with and did as a first timer.

[@eaglevision993]

Just some tips for this endeavour: Never use your bare hands when handling the spring and always wear eye protection and long sleeves. These springs can cut you really bad when you lose grip. Also, when removing the spring, don´t pull it out. Use more of a twisting motion and it will come out more easily. Placing the spring barrel in a vice also helps for removal and inserting. Before reinserting the spring it needs to be greased up. Yes, it will be messy but this is the only way the grease coats all the surface of the spring.

[@wlayneh]

thank you for this video! i have a Columbia Grafonola that i inherited from my grandparents years ago that is having this same problem. this gives me the motivation to take a crack at fixing it, as i recently purchased a load of shellac classical records from an estate sale for next to nothing, so if i can get this working, i can fill the house with that lovely music.

[@petersundberg1461]

This was one of the best repairs i´ve ever seen. Excellent footage and i truly enjoyed your positive attitude to the work. Working with springs is a dirty and - sometimes- dangerous work, but you made the best of it. And what a marvelous tidy workshop. Great envy ! Sure I subscribe !

[@surfinbirdzx]

I've heard that putting out the spring of a grammophone EXTREMELY dangerous. So when I watched that part of the video I was holding my breath. The moment was tense:) Glad that all went OK. I hope that spring in my gramophone will not need regreasing in a decade or two:)

[@mrrgstuff]

Good video and a good repair too! I've done a couple of machines myself and it certainly is messy work. As well as not being totally effective, the other problem I found with white spirit was the fumes. I have an old book on gramophones and interestingly enough it suggests petrol as being very effective. WD40 also works well, but works out expensive. Thanks for posting 👍 😀

[@paul1153]

I'm really enjoying your channel Mark that was suggested to me on KZbin. You also have a very enviable workshop. Keep up the great work and your subs should grow. Cheers from Australia!

[@lyndonbushnell8080]

The exact issue with mine, you have given me the confidence to attempt the same repair thank you

[@KnottingleyGuns]

Very impressed with the spring clean & installation. You’ll have someone’s eye with that !!

[@ricobass0253]

You're a brave and patient man!! Hat's off to you.

[@prawnstar9213]

The mechanism works just like a manual or automatic watch! The spring is exactly like the mainspring on a watch.. the winding mechanism.. wheels.. who knows why the phonograph came first when watches have been around since the 1600s. To remove the mainspring we use the same process and if we mess up the spring will fly across the room or snap into your face which isn’t pleasant. It can blind you for life. To reinstall we use special winding tools or do it by hand in the same exact process you used! Very tricky! We also oil the spring in the same way..

[@tapanbanerjee3563]

Wonderful display of repairing and greasing the old gramophone...I have an old HMV model 163 almirah type which is still working.

[@ecc84]

As someone who used to repair clocks my heart was in my mouth when you were putting that spring back in without any gloves on, those things have some power and can easily slice a finger end off. I have a similar unit to restore known as the pye black box which has the same problems as this one.

[@IvyMike.]

Amazing to think that this was the pinnacle of technology at the time.

[@jean-paul7251]

Gramophone springs bite, and can bite bad!

[@derrickgoodwin7078]

Lovely video Mark, you will turn your hand to anything. Well done and keep them coming. 👍👍👍👍

[@LZDEN]

very nicely done Mark, excellent.

[@graeme8755]

Love you videos Mark. The speed controller is called the governor.

[@mikem9403]

Came here on Techmoan's recommendation. Great channel!

[@yogeshsharma0201]

i have a same one back in india .Now i know how to fix it .thanks a lot .when i was a baby i broke it and also broke so many Records now i feel bad .thanks a lot for a great video 🙏

[@LeviticusCorwall1899]

I have this same gramaphone and wanting to do it up, the hinges to open it are falling off and ripping wood and the body could do with some TLC, so I better crack on! Superb video Mark!

[@ExtremeBogom]

Great repair Mark. I love the engineering on this..

[@ThePhonographStop]

Love HMVs!! I recently acquired an Edison Bell Electron Portable!! Thanks for the video!

[@manjunathdoddamani9919]

Thanks lot that you shown how to repair Gramophone. Bcz I have old Gramophone.

[@esdrasoliveira3177]

Eu amo essa polivalência que você possui Mark!!! Eu agradeço por você existir.

[@davidk6271]

You’re a braver man than me to do that without gloves!

[@beppo_1465]

Hey. Very nice early Grammophone. This one have the old type of tonearm, what means that it was build round about 1923. definitely before 1925. but I think the motor and controlling parts for the speed is from an newer suitcase Grammophon. 👍

[@briankellymusician]

Just discovered your channel Mark and I’m hooked, great knowledge and expertise lovin your videos, all the best Brian 👍

[@whstark]

Amazing I sent the spring motor out for repair in my shop, still I think I'd never try it, even aftr seeing how. Great JOB! As a side note one time I got a antique toaster to fix.

[@alanc1085]

Hi Mark, Your videos and the information you bring are great, I really like. Congratulations from Brazil!

[@dieSpinnt]

What a great job and entertaining video (a thriller!) reviving this beauty, Mark! Thank you very much for sharing this:) Just a thought to Springs: There are helpful tools for installation. You can also build them yourself if you deal with something like this quite often. The tool combines roughly the reverse function of a flywheel puller (to force the spring out of the drum into its installation location) with a tensioning and winding drum. Watchmakers often use the miniature version of what I describe here.

[@fab1604]

Welp, Mat was right, you're such a nice, competent guy! Great video, subscribed, keep it up

[@victorparmar2355]

Good job this reminds me my childhood.when my father used to repair HMV gramophone it was double spring, and I used to sit next to him ,it was same model some look.any thank you for your video.

[@LunaTurki]

Thanks for your efforts

[@LyneisFilm]

Nice job on the disassembly, clean and reassembly. Bare hands on the spring was exciting. I wonder if the record was badly worn, because the final music was rather garbled. High marks for the video work.

[@markcnc]

Look in to main spring winders, pefect opportunity to make a tool 👍

[@jameskolar9655]

Well done with that spring. The crux of the job I think? Another good vid. Thanks.

[@andrewlittleboy8532]

Removing that spring was pretty terrifying! I’m sure you know what you’re doing but I’d be scared stiff to use petrol indoors as it’s the vapours that make it much more dangerous than other flammable liquids. Keep up the great work though!

[@dashrathrajguru4947]

Nicely restored. Godspeed

[@michaelgreenhaf6624]

Just found your channel and already hooked cheers Michael Greenhaf from Merthyr Tydfil South Wales 👍

[@outfield1988]

That’s awesome never knew how one worked. Great video as alway.

[@Jammerk40]

Nice job! Those motors can be a pain but that was an easy one because I've seen one with two springs!

[@BillDunne-n6y]

Great repair video thanks so much,I've shared and liked.I have a German gramophone and same problem slowing down.Bought it fr my son fr his Birthday.

[@jhareng]

British engineering from a time it was made to last. I would have no doubt that spring would be good if not better than todays springs in another 50 years.

[@bcu567obzx]

Turpentine works great as a degreaser and dry's nice and clean.

[@burmesecolourneedles4680]

Super, well done! Totally agree with your choice of greases too (may I add, sewing machine oil on the felt pad and sliding parts of the governor). The springs are brutes, aren't they? And that one was a tiddler compared to some! 😄

[@rolandbogush2594]

Well done - interesting, informative and entertaining. What more could anyone ask for? Subscribed following Techmoan's recommendation.

[@JamesEncliffe]

Hauling a large mainspring out of its barrel by hand like this is highly dangerous. If it gets away from the operator it can slice the hands to bits. The rubber gloves are totally inadequate protection. In addition, doing this is likely to distort the spring so it doesn't run properly when replaced. ALWAYS use a proper spring winder tool and wear thick gloves and face protection, just in case. Before disassembling the plates, turn the governor by hand to remove latent spring tension, until it is fully down. There is a risk of damaging pivots and wheel teeth otherwise.

[@IvyMike.]

Where have you been all this time? I now have a fair backlog to go through. Subscribed, and like everywhere.

[@Dadymilles13]

That happiness, thank you enjoyed me superb tutorial, like that more secret .......

[@Ecksterphono]

Make your life easier. Install the spring THEN add the graphite grease to the inner coils. When you wind it up, the grease will spread to the rest of the spring!!!!. Also some slight oiling on where the spring clips to the barrel also helps. You really don't want the graphite grease to ooze out of the arbor sections and migrate to shaft components if the temperatures ever decide to get a bit warm. Let winding action spread the grease. Might want to tune the governor a bit. Bare hands on springs is taking chances of getting cuts on your hands. Also wear a face shield just in case a spring let's go violently and could cause more serious injuries. Avoid scraping caked grease of a spring using metal objects to prevents nicking the spring and causing breaks in the spring. Best thing is to use a plastic putty knife to clean the spring. When spring is put back into a barrel, on certain models the spring is not flush in the barrel. Lightly tap the spring in using an old Hockey puck or a flat plastic dowel to flush the spring in the barrel. Great video for beginners.

[@pepealexandre]

Great repair!

[@elsaarmstrong-zp6ng]

Ultrasound box springs to mind!

[@reparadiohifivintage]

Magnifico trabajo , saludos

[@christophermarshall5765]

Very interesting!! I often wondered how big that spring would be, when compared to a wind up mantle clock of yesteryear.

[@yogibear2k220]

I love these repairs a lot more than the electronic ones. To me, mechanical mechanisms are far superior than anything done by electronics. More of these mechanical repairs, please! You can keep all your audiophile junk, this is how music is supposed to sound.

[@shakur7013]

Whats wrong with u !?

[@yogibear2k220]

@@shakur7013 Why should there be anything wrong with me? I just prefer clockwork to electronic mechanisms. They are a lot more involved.

[@jesusmoreno5568]

Wonderful job! Subscribed! I have a Columbia grafonola which has a similar problem so I suppose I will have to do the same cleaning. BTW, what kind of solvent is the second one (the red can)? Thank you!!!

[@Matt78collector]

Just a few suggestions regarding the record and gramophone, don't play any 78 record or vinyl one that was made after 1935, it wears out the record easily. Also, sometimes those machines won't play a very worn record, in which that one you used was very damaged.

[@aces78s]

This is misinformation when given to someone from the uk. Your advice is valid for Americans. In America the majority of consumers had adopted electric players by the Second World War. In the uk the majority of people still had acoustic gramophones, many still didn’t have electricity in their homes. British made records carried on being made strong right through until the mid 1950s. American made records were made weaker to be cheaper and play better on the electric pickups, this started happening around 1940 (not 1935). Rule of thumb that I follow is: American/Canadian records up to 1940. British and elsewhere up to ~1956. This comes from personal experience, others experience and research. Because why would record makers make records that people can’t play on the only record players they have? The record this guy is playing is late 1950s and so isn’t right to play on this.

[@Matt78collector]

@@aces78s Thanks for informing me!

[@las97531]

You deserve more subscribers!

[@markosterman419]

Maybe the term lGramophone” is applied to all record players over there. In the United States where that was made we would call what you have there a Victor “Victrola” opposed to a Columbia Gramophone … or an Edison Phonograph. These were all trade marked names.

[@Ronnie01964]

You know what your doing with all this vintage stuff.

[@19ghost73]

Very informative & entertaining! 😃👍

[@EphraimMakoko-hi5ub]

You dd a great work,.. By my self i have a gramaphone that died a transistor of detail (TDA 1059 J725) my question is still this transistor available on market so that i can get it or what alternative should I take? Than you

[@can-cruiser]

7:35.. you let the genie out of the bottle. Now what..?? 😄😄😄😄

[@radiogramgramophonetoons5802]

Have you got a vid, showing repairs to the speed control and braking system ?

[@mikepeterson443]

Shoot! I finally know how to spell gramophone. I always thought it was grandma's phone.

[@BensPhonographs07]

To soak dirty motors, gasolene or diesel (or i guess petrol where you live!) will work. You can also use simply green.

[@marklammas2465]

The trouble with petrol is its high flammability and explosive nature. Diesel is the better option.

[@madtopp]

another great video mark it's amazing how old grease can cause problems is this the one you showed me the cables you made for it i don't think i could listen to that for very long tbh sounds like someone running there nails down a blackboard

[@MendItMark]

Yes, the very same. I don’t have any good records, I’m too tight fisted to buy them. 😂

[@stephent1117]

New to your channel, Great job naf music .

[@MendItMark]

I know. Hopefully the copyright owners will be too embarrassed to claim any loot!

[@TiswasTerry]

great job

[@siavashjamshidi7661]

You are wonderful

[@muhammadasgharfarooq7625]

❤ Wow Its Amazing antique ❤

[@Bighaus1234]

What’s your tip for remembering we’re all the screws and parts go. Seems like easy to forgot.

[@RubyHue]

Great video Mike. Was hoping you could give me some advice on my HMV model 2417. The speaker totally suck so I was wondering if it's possible to connect it to a pair of modern speakers whilst disconnecting the built in speakers? Thanks!

[@MendItMark]

You would need to lift out the record player and radio chassis to get to the wiring. You will be able to trace the speaker wires quite easily. Just remove the old wires, and connect your modern speakers in the same place. I think they will need to be 8 Ohms impedance.

[@fdort3971]

@menditmark thanks for the lesson. Where do you source your parts please? I'm in Nova Scotia and I received a phonograph free for restoration

[@aj3075]

OK I have a a table gramophone and lately the needle has started jumping and now it is getting stuck. Thoughts?

[@stevemumbling7720]

Great stuff. What is the name of that instrumental sound track?

[@flamencoprof]

Is there any reason that spring assembly could not be soaked in solvent for a while before trying to take the spring out, instead of fighting all that hardened grease?

[@htroberts]

does anyone recognize two scenes from the intro: the one with the “trash can” looking item, and the one where Mark seems amused at apparently being shocked?

[@RudolfStrauchBrosPianola]

I had the same problem in my HMV 101 where it would slow right down so I took apart the whole mechanism and cleaned it all up, regreased and everything, put it back together to find out I still had the same problem where it slows down... still have no idea what it could be.

[@darylhudson777]

Okay , Mark, what was the song you played on that record ?

[@reBates55]

Hi just serviced my 104A gramophone. It was working well . But now when I put the tone arm on it stops ????? Ta.

[@Gennettor-nc8kx]

I'd like to know when my HMV 102 portable gramophone was manufactured but can't get an answer anywhere. It's a 102c, number 8129 with a nr4 soundbox (which is original to this machine). Can you help?

[@randyvance9048]

Brilliant Well done

[@AlexiaSodergren]

Where are you based I have a gramophone with a slipping spring can you help thanks

[@DavidHenrysupercool]

I have a very similar model, but mine stops turning when the needle hits the record, any ideas?

[@alexmason2815]

I am overhauling a Dulcetto gramophone because it is running slow and won't start with the headphone down I would like to replace the spring but where to get it

[@ashutosh1269]

Superb

[@redbishop71]

My spring barrel got a ring clip not screws, I haven’t got a clue how to take it off. Any suggestions will greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[@ponnumary4171]

Do you fix old vinyl record

[@gordonmitchell729]

Hi Mark, I used to play around with these when I was a child over 70 years ago lol. I can’t remember what the expandable mechanism is called though. A friend of mine has one that vibrates as it runs, so I think it’s possibly loose or perhaps it’s become weaker. Is it called a commutator? Your video brings back some lovely memories of when the world seemed to be less chaotic, but hey, I was just a young sprig lol

[@abhijitghosal537]

Thank you Sir. I want a spring my HMV Gramaphone brought in 1959 by my father. Please inform me about my query. From Kolkata, India

[@ovalwingnut]

I really expected (anticipated) a spring much LARGER... surprised that it has such "staying power". Now my GF is jealous