 Phonograph motors come in all shapes and sizes. The most common motor has 2 or 4 mainsprings but they could also have between 1 and 6. Over the years, these spring driven motors have accumulated harsh, caked on grease and dirt. This "gunk" will hinder the phonograph's performance and it could also end up damaging/breaking your motor's gears and springs. Having your motor serviced, will lengthen the life of the phonograph and give you many more years of enjoying it. The process of the motor cleaning is to completely disassemble the motor, clean the frame, as well as all the gears and moving parts. The motor is then put back together, oiled, adjusted, and fully tested. If your motor has never been cleaned during the time you owned it or before you bought it, then you'll want to have this service done. Do this service once, and you'll never have to have it done again. This service doesn't include servicing the mainsprings (see below for this service).
Price for motor cleaning: $65
Spring Cleaning Just like the motor cleaning, if this spring service has never been done, then you'll want and need this service performed. If the springs remain inside the canister with old grease, then the movement of these "dry" springs (shuttering noise you may hear when the motor is playing) will eventually break the spring or springs. We can take your mainspring(s) out of the canister(s), clean the surface (top and bottom), buff the surface if necessary and then re-install the springs with fresh grease. This will reduce the amount of movement of the spring(s) and lengthen the motor's life.
Price for spring cleaning: $25 per spring
If you hear a loud thud/bang and then your springs no longer wind when you turn the crank, this means that a gear could have broken or (most likely) a mainspring broke. Your phonograph could have been like this when you first bought it also. In either of these cases, you'd want to send it into us for our free estimate and we can let you know how much it will cost to fix your phonograph. We wouldn't "repair"' your old spring. We would replace it with a brand new one, made to the same specifications (length, steel grade, width) as the original one. Springs come in all shapes and sizes so the cost depends on what type and size of spring you need. When the broken spring is replaced, we'll also clean out the inside of your spring barrel to get rid of the old grease and then we'll install the new spring back into your clean, original barrel. If you have multiple springs in your motor, then we would recommend either replacing all the springs (even if not broken) or just having the unbroken original springs cleaned and lubricated.
Price for new springs and installation: $25 to $55 per spring (depends on size) plus $25 per spring installation
Governor Repair
The governor is the "spinning" piece in your motor with the weights and springs. This piece's purpose is to help the motor maintain a constant speed (78 rpm, some machines are 80 rpm). The most common problem is that one of the springs will break. This is usually noticeable by a loud rapping noise while the motor is turning. The rapping noise would be the weight hitting against the frame while spinning. Other noticeable traits of broken governor springs would be the motor spinning too fast with no speed control or the motor would turn at uneven speeds, fast then slow then fast again. Most governors have 3 springs and 3 weights, but some could have 2 of each or 4 of each. When replacing one broken spring, you need to replace all of them to ensure balance. If the weights are riveted to the springs (they are on some models but not all), then you'd need to replace all the weights also.
Price of governor parts: $3 to $4 per spring / $7 to $12 per weight
Miscellaneous Parts Needed
Besides the services listed above, other things could also go wrong with your motor: stripped gears, dirty jammed gears, worn bearings, etc. All of these scenarios are looked at when we do your free estimate. If you have any questions about your motor and why it is doing what it's doing, then let us know and we can also try to troubleshoot it over the phone.
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