Victor Victrola VV IX 173518G 1915 

Orthophonic applies to the soundbox, and the horn, not the motor. It is a name Victor came up with for the soundbox designed for electrically recorded higher fidelity records after 1927. The motor itself isn't much changed since the late teen's. Turn the winding handle until resistance is felt, and that's good enough. Trying to force it past that can snap a spring.

Normal operation, don't worry about it, you already know the springs are clean and greased. It would be a problem if you heard a loud rumble and thump as the motor ran. That would be a dry spring hanging up and then suddenly letting go. Always take pictures of the spring direction when you pop open the can. What if I screwed up on mine and you copied it? With these older 9's it is possible to install a spring backwards. Even when it's a motor I have worked with many times I still double check to make sure I have it right. Sounds like you are on the way to being your own Victrola Doctor, 1915 should have the Exhibition reproducer, remember to rebuild it, or have it rebuilt. The motor just has to spin the turntable at a consistent 78 rpm, the reproducer is what creates the sound, it's the heart of the machine.

@@Rockisland1903 - Thanks so much for the confirmation and yeah I took a ton of pictures before starting work and during the cleaning. I have rebuilt about 10 Tube radios and always wanted a Victrola and just got my first one last week, I am hooked! Before the rebuild the springs would clatter and hang up, but it all runs very quiet now. I ordered all the parts needed to rebuild my exhibition reproducer, cant wait for the parts to get here! I am looking for information on the alignment screws that are attached to the tension springs though. Everything is there, but I am wondering what is the procedure for final adjustment on the arm that touches the Mica diaphragm. I haven't found much information about this yet, but will keep digging. I am so thankful for people like you that put this information out there for others to learn, thank you again!

No, most instructions, and video's will gloss over adjusting the needle bar because that is where the real skill comes in when rebuilding these things. 98% of these bars will be bent, or out of adjustment for other reasons. New gaskets a different thickness than the ones from a century ago mean it's adjustment time. More common is the damage inflicted from being dropped on a record, or the empty turntable 100,000 times over 100+ years. The foot, the bar leading up to it, or the shaft holding the tension springs can be bent, or all three. In short this is what heeds to happen before you attach the foot to the diaphragm with that tiny and easily lost screw. By the way, make sure the tiny screw has its paper washer on before screwing it down, and DO NOT overtighten or it will strip out instantly, snug it gently. No paper washer? Make a new one from an ordinary sheet of notepaper, what a fun job that is for those of us in the thick glasses set. First you adjust the springs using the screws (loosen lock nuts and put on a bit of oil) so that the needle is aligned 90 degrees with the side of the reproducer. That needle must sit straight like that, or you will have a cutting implement when playing records. Now you will notice that the bar foot is not sitting on the diaphragm, or it is pushing into it. Not good, the foot must not push, or pull on the diaphragm. Using tiny needle nose pliers, you gently bend the bar so that it's just touching the face of the reproducer. If you got the repair kit from Walt Sommers he includes some basic instructions on how to tell it's at the right spot by the sound your finger makes rubbing across the needle. Otherwise you have to eyeball it. OK, at the same time the foot must sit flat on the mica, more bending and adjustment, and it must be lined up with the hole in the mica so the screw can be threaded in. This can take hours of fooling around, and I have 30+ years' experience doing it. I learned to do it because I wasn't satisfied with anyone else's work, and I am very picky about this sort of thing. Now, before you get to the bar there is another fun part of rebuilding an Exhibition, the tightly fit diaphragm. If that mica touches the body of the reproducer when it's installed then it doesn't matter what you do with the bar, it will still sound like crap. This is what I do. Install the outer gasket first in the ring, then dab some clear nail polish in a few spots (also sealing the end of the tube gasket with it} set the diaphragm on top of the gasket. Before this I take one of Walts business cards and snip some thin strips of material out of it, these are now shims that I slip between the diaphragm and the reproducer body as it sits in there. I stick six or seven all around the edges so there is no mica contact with the brass. The card stock is the perfect thickness for this, and is glossy so slips in easy. Wait ten minutes for the polish to dry, gently remove the shims, put in the inner gasket and screw down the back clamping everything in place. There are no reproducer videos that I have found that fully cover how to do a proper rebuild with bar adjustment. I am not doing one as it would be a five hour video with all the endless adjusting I do to get my bars where I want them. Done right these reproducers sound great, just as they did when the Victor factory passed them. This is just something that has to be learned from doing once you understand the basics of how a reproducer works. I forgot the part where the tension springs might need some tweaking also if they are a bit flat, or new ones that aren't perfectly arched. Reproducer rebuilding is an art, each one presents it's own challenges, but it's something well worth learning.

@@Rockisland1903 - Sounds like fun, I love bending thin pieces of metal from 1915, fingers crossed! I found another video of yours that goes over a bit of this as well and so thank you again! I took apart and put back together mine now a few times to get an understanding of the end goal and I think it makes sense to me, but yeah can see how this will take a few hours to do right. I didnt lose the tiny mica screw and even have the tiny paper washer! I can see how the tension screws will push/pull the arm to barely graze the mica, so that makes sense. For an alignment tool, I took a piece of 1/16" tig welding wire and bent it off center around a long piece of 1/8' thick flat bar, so 8" on one side and 12" on the other. I put the short side in the needle holder and I used the adjustment screws to lower until the other end of the tig wire gentle touched the face of the reproducer. I still have the arm to bend to graze the mica, but does this seem like a feasible way to adjust the needle to being parallel to the face? My tension springs have a good arch to them and both intact, when I push on them gently they give, so seems ok. If I understood correctly I think the end state I am looking to be something like: - mica gaskets cut and fit snugly into the opening with ends nail polished and meeting perfectly - mica perfectly centered in the reproducer, clear nail polish and shims, etc - both tension screws contacting the tension springs and lock nuts tightened after the needle holder is parallel to the reproducer face - Adjust the arm so that the bar foot is parallel and barely grazing the mica and perfectly aligned to the mica hole, snug in tiny screw/paper washer - Melt wax onto both sides of the tiny mica screw with soldering iron touching the arm

It will work so long as the end result is needle aligned with the side of the reproducer while at the same time the bar foot just barely touches the mica. I have tig wire here someplace, if not plenty of other wire, but I never thought to use it that way. I just install a needle, and use a small steel machinists ruler placed down the front of the reproducer, then line the needle up with it by eye.