A Success Story With A 'Twist' ! - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

camtechman · 10th Apr 2009, 4:32 pm

Unfortunately, this isn't going to one of those success stories that Howard so generously brings to these pages in order to delight us all but it is one that drove me mad for months.

I bought a bargain priced Ferguson 3362 Stereo Radiogram on Ebay last year and, although 99.9% about it was fine, it refused to accept & auto drop a stack of records.

The fitted turntable is a BSR C129 and came with two spindles, one short plastic one for manual use & the usual metal multi-stack/auto drop one.

However, no matter how much I made sure that the auto drop spindle was inserted correctly (not that it can be wrongly inserted, as the insertion end is 'D' shaped and there's also a locating slot on the shaft too) it resisted being clicked into place and popped out as soon as auto change was selected.

To cut a long story short, it turned out that the shaft (also the platter bearing), into which the spindle fits, had been assembled 180 deg out of alignment !!!

It's not that the shaft had worn or had twisted 180 deg out of alignment, it had actually been stamped/swaged in that position from original manufacture.

Being 180 deg out of alignment, once the auto spindle was inserted, the mechanism below the shaft couldn't lock the spindle in place, nor could the auto mech of the deck operate the auto drop part of the spindle.

At first it seemed that a serious removal job of the shaft was the only course of action, in order to turn it through 180 deg and then to secure it back in place.

So I put it to one side and then last week, I got the urge to look at the problem again and Eureka!!!, I found an easier way of solving the problem.... and so, I cut a new slot on the saft, 180 deg away from the 'wrong' slot and filed another flat on the other side of the 'D' profile.

Shazzam, the spindle works fine and I can now listen to a stack of my 7" 45s....well, as long as they don't slip on each other.....!

One wonders if the BSR turntable was a Friday Afternoon one?

Steve_P · 10th Apr 2009, 6:48 pm

And it lasted this long without a complaint from it's owners too. Amazing! Nice way to fix it too, I will remember that one.

A friday afternoon one or the monday morning after the weekend on the beer deck.

Cheers,

Steve P.

Jimmyhaflinger · 10th Apr 2009, 9:43 pm

I think this happened due to some previous owner or repair tech forcing the frozen platter to turn, this is a typical problem with 70s BSR changers, the grease in the platter bearing gums up and seizes it, then if someone forces the platter to turn, and this often happens while attempting to remove it, the fixed shaft may rotate, i've done this as a kid!

The shaft is usually easy to rotate back into its correct position though.

The "proper" removal method for seized BSR platter bearings is to apply a few drops of some sewing machine oil on the retaining circlip and allow a few hours for it to penetrate, then (unless you have a plastic platter) you can heat the bearing with a large soldering iron to facilitate removal.

camtechman · 10th Apr 2009, 10:10 pm

#3,

That was one of the thoughts I had but when I examined the bearing/shaft it was clear that this hadn't happened and, as I said in my original post, you could see that it hadn't been disturbed/moved in any way and was still firmly "swaged" as from original assembly.

10th Apr 2009, 4:32 pm	#1
camtechman Nonode Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Milton Keynes, Bucks. UK. Posts: 2,552	A Success Story With A 'Twist' ! Unfortunately, this isn't going to one of those success stories that Howard so generously brings to these pages in order to delight us all but it is one that drove me mad for months. I bought a bargain priced Ferguson 3362 Stereo Radiogram on Ebay last year and, although 99.9% about it was fine, it refused to accept & auto drop a stack of records. The fitted turntable is a BSR C129 and came with two spindles, one short plastic one for manual use & the usual metal multi-stack/auto drop one. However, no matter how much I made sure that the auto drop spindle was inserted correctly (not that it can be wrongly inserted, as the insertion end is 'D' shaped and there's also a locating slot on the shaft too) it resisted being clicked into place and popped out as soon as auto change was selected. To cut a long story short, it turned out that the shaft (also the platter bearing), into which the spindle fits, had been assembled 180 deg out of alignment !!! It's not that the shaft had worn or had twisted 180 deg out of alignment, it had actually been stamped/swaged in that position from original manufacture. Being 180 deg out of alignment, once the auto spindle was inserted, the mechanism below the shaft couldn't lock the spindle in place, nor could the auto mech of the deck operate the auto drop part of the spindle. At first it seemed that a serious removal job of the shaft was the only course of action, in order to turn it through 180 deg and then to secure it back in place. So I put it to one side and then last week, I got the urge to look at the problem again and Eureka!!!, I found an easier way of solving the problem.... and so, I cut a new slot on the saft, 180 deg away from the 'wrong' slot and filed another flat on the other side of the 'D' profile. Shazzam, the spindle works fine and I can now listen to a stack of my 7" 45s....well, as long as they don't slip on each other.....! One wonders if the BSR turntable was a Friday Afternoon one? __________________ When I die, please don't let my Wife sell my collection for the amount I told her I paid for it!

10th Apr 2009, 6:48 pm	#2
Steve_P Dekatron Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Bolton, Greater Manchester, UK. Posts: 6,644	Re: A Success Story With A 'Twist' ! And it lasted this long without a complaint from it's owners too. Amazing! Nice way to fix it too, I will remember that one. A friday afternoon one or the monday morning after the weekend on the beer deck. Cheers, Steve P. __________________ If we've always had it, why is the Car Boot open? You're not sneaking another Old TV in are you...?

10th Apr 2009, 10:10 pm	#4
camtechman Nonode Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Milton Keynes, Bucks. UK. Posts: 2,552	Re: A Success Story With A 'Twist' ! #3, That was one of the thoughts I had but when I examined the bearing/shaft it was clear that this hadn't happened and, as I said in my original post, you could see that it hadn't been disturbed/moved in any way and was still firmly "swaged" as from original assembly. __________________ When I die, please don't let my Wife sell my collection for the amount I told her I paid for it!

10th Apr 2009, 9:43 pm	#3
Jimmyhaflinger Heptode Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: La Spezia, Italy Posts: 834	Re: A Success Story With A 'Twist' ! I think this happened due to some previous owner or repair tech forcing the frozen platter to turn, this is a typical problem with 70s BSR changers, the grease in the platter bearing gums up and seizes it, then if someone forces the platter to turn, and this often happens while attempting to remove it, the fixed shaft may rotate, i've done this as a kid! The shaft is usually easy to rotate back into its correct position though. The "proper" removal method for seized BSR platter bearings is to apply a few drops of some sewing machine oil on the retaining circlip and allow a few hours for it to penetrate, then (unless you have a plastic platter) you can heat the bearing with a large soldering iron to facilitate removal.