Victor Orthophonic Reproducer Repair Service For Sale

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SALES OUTSIDE OF THE USA ARE WELCOMED. BUT ONLY WITH

What you are paying for, is a reasonable fee, for me to examine your Sound Box. I will send you an estimate, and should you elect for me to repair your Sound Box, upon completion I will send you an invoice in a private listing. Please see Price Schedule at the bottom of this page.

For the most part, I can make repairs to almost any Orthophonic handed me.If your SoundBox has cracks as shown in the second picture, then it cannot be disassembled,however I can still make repairs to it. Often the results can be as good as a complete rebuild!One or two small holes or dents to the Diaphragmwill not present much of a problem. Holes that are not too large can always be filled in, and small dents usually do notaffect sound quality. There is however a pointwhere it would be a waste of money and time. If you are in doubt, please send me a few good pictures. I will be more than happy to work with you in using any extra good parts you may have, in doing repairs or a complete rebuild.

I have been professionally repairing / rebuilding Orthophonic Sound Boxes since 1973. I was the first technician to be interviewed in an article on the Orthophonic by Albert Sefl inthe Journal ofThe American Phonograph Society in 1975*.I worked on my first Orthophonic SoundBox in 1967 and myfirst Exhibition in 1964. With this many years of experience I am able to assure the highest level of performance at the most reasonable cost to you. Anything deemed unnecessary,will be avoided, unless it is at your request!

Being a collector of Victor Orthophonic Highly Recommended May 1, 2010

Great service, expert Orthophonic repair, the best $ I've ever spent. Thank You! 4/25/10

A++++Orthophonic reproduction at its best! March 10, 2010

Doing business w/ this extremely knowledgeable honest seller since 1968 pre-. January 19, 2010

Another impossible to find Edison part from a legendary phonograph repairman. A++ August 21, 2008

Photos 2; 3; and 4illustrate a simple repair on a Sound Box, that otherwise could not be disassembled. This one camein with an annoying buzzing andrattling in reproduction. The one missing ball-bearing had nothing at all to do with the buzzing, but nevertheless I did replace it. In this casethe rubber decoupling ringwas alsoreplaced. TheTotal to my customer was $28.90. He was pleased, and there's nothing in the world that pleases me more than a satisfied customer!

In the fourth photo you see a "worst case" scenario for ball-bearings, they must be replaced with a full set of newball-bearings. I do not charge for the ball-bearings itis included inthe installation fee. A bearing rebuild is neededin only around fifty per cent of most repairs, seldom on Sound Boxes made beforeJuly 1927. After the "new design" with the "Phase Plug" (photo7with and without phase plug)and athinner Bearing Shaft was introduced in late1927,several problems cropped up. In 1926, the percentage of zinc was quite high, and as a result, these Sound Boxes lost their gold plating within only months.To alleviate this problem, the zinc was reduced to a very low level; these are the ones that "swell, contort and crack", but the plating looks great! As a result, the bushingbearing races, do tend to be loose. Also at this time, the end caps are reversed, and a rubber grommet was placed over theball-bearings; the sulfur in the rubber did cause rust to form on theball-bearings.At some time in late1928, a steel washerwas placedbetween the rubber and balls, this in many cases exasperated the problem of rust.

In the followingSchedule, atthebasic Price quoted, you may indeed receiveyour Sound Box returned to yousounding just great!Asnoted above, frequently the Ball-Bearing Pivot needs little or nowork done to it! It wouldbe a good idea to have me change the old decoupling rubber, insound quality there is only a slight improvement, however there is a vastgain in record preservation!

Basic

New

*With Basic Repair..................$9.95

New Rubber Decoupler........ $9.95

Complete Rebuild.................$58.90 This includes all of the above, in addition to removing the Diaphragm and installing new Gaskets. Therewill be an extra chargefor a new Needle Arm or Diaphragm if needed.AComplete rebuildis only possible on Reproducers that will come apart.

I can usually remove a broken Needle ThumbScrew, especially if someone has not made a mess of the job before I can get to it! There will be an extra $8.00 charge for this service. An original Victor Thumb Screw will cost$12.95.

Other miscellaneous small parts, such as Dust Caps will be offered at a reasonable price.

*If you can make out the term "float" function in this article, please disregard the explanation given. It is that soft rubber allows for a little vertical compliance. I do not wishto give an impression of beingsour grapes, but it was I that taught Bob Waltrip how to work on the Othophonic.This was around 1975, some ten or so years beforehe started expounding on his talents as the only true exponent of reproducerdom.

I first met Bob Waltrip when he was living here in San Francisco in1968. It was also in that year, that I worked on the Sound Box from his"cheap" little VV-7-11. Before he moved to Levelland Texas,he lived inParker Arizonafor a number of years,where he refinished Grand Pianos professionally (he did the most beautiful work). In 1975 or '76 on a visit back toSan Francisco, to return a Piano Case, he came over to my shop with our mutual friend Frank Bourquin**. He asked if I could not do the work on an Orthophonic Sound Box that afternoon. Idid the work with him standing over my shoulder, and himplaying the game offorty questions.

In all fairness, over the years, he taught me much about the best techniques in good refinishing. With his short little stature (he verged on being a dwarf) heneeded to do something a bit less strenuous to make a livelihood! The one thingthat mostly ticked me off was whenheborrowed (stole) my term "Floating Gaskets" some ten years after I first used it. In the last picture you can see what remains ofthe first one Ididaround 1977.

**This character can be Googled up, check up Frank Bourquin Cockette. Among business partners, friends,record and phonograph collectors and sundryrouges* thatfigured into my early years in this business are: Edward L. Linotti;CharlesSiegfried; Albert (Al) Sefl; Thomas Pollard; Gregory J. Walsh; Arthur (Art) Wilmoth; Dominique McBride;Jon Lundburg; Perry George; Stephen Bedola*; Dr. Phillip Peterson*; Cecil Dancer; Peter Minton; Ian Ingham; Jennifer Ellison;CarlDeFronzo; R. (Robert) Crumb; Terry Zwigoff ; Al Dodge;Bill Knorp; David Banks; Dave Rocco; Ron Pendergraft; David Cash,and in more recent years, Tim Gracyk;René Rondeau; Dade Thieriot; Bill Davis;Robert (Bobby Lee) Yarbrough.

Over the years, I have done reproducer work for everyone on the above list,with butone exception, R. Crumb, I cooked him a fried chicken dinner!Al Dodge and Terry Zwigoff were present at that meal, but yes, I have worked onDodge's Victrola and Zwigoff's sound

As always, thank you for looking!

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