Steve, I think the large mica diaphragms are available from somewhere, but I don't know who has them. Maybe Ron Sitko. Paul Baker makes the amber wheels and hard rubber (vulcanite) shoes, but I don't know if he offers them for sale individually.
pabclassm at aol.com I suspect that Baker probably prefers to recondition the entire unit because getting the reproducer to work takes a lot of fiddling. I don't know if any of the other parts such as the weight, stylus bar, or any of the several other parts which are unique to the Higham reproducer are made as reproductions. Most of these parts are unusual, but they would not be too difficult to make by an experienced machinist. Probably costly, though, to have done. There aren't that many BCs around, but many of them need something or other. So getting into restoring these would certainly be servicing a niche market, and tooling up to make just a few of each required piece to meet the small demand would be costly. Anyway, Baker is the only guy I know who has much experience with these beasties. I have a 2&4 minute model (the latest version from about 1909), and it's all there but I haven't taken the time to get it working very well. But I've spent enough time fiddling with it to convince myself that these things are cantankerous and fussy and certainly not the kind of thing you want to mess with on a casual basis. I would like to experiment with completely different friction materials (rather than the amber and hard rubber), but that will take a lot of trial and error which I haven't decided to get serious about yet. And there's no guarantee that different friction materials would be any less fussy than the original ones. Greg Bogantz ----- Original Message ----- From: "Steven Medved" <[email protected]> To: "Antique Phonograph List" <phono-l at oldcrank.org> Sent: Saturday, August 30, 2008 3:46 PM Subject: Re: [Phono-L] Columbia BC friction wheel drive > Hi Greg, > > Does anyone make reproduction parts for these reproducers? > > Steve > > > > : [Phono-L] Columbia BC friction wheel drive> > Ron, it's difficult to > explain the BC friction wheel driveshaft system > without pictures or > handwaving :o) The drive train begins with a > gear-driven piece of metal > tubing which is enclosed in the stationary outer > housing which is > fastened to the gear housing casting on the side of the > machine. This > first piece of tubing (call it part 1) rotates but does not > translate > axially. Inside this rotating tubing is the brass coupling sleeve > (part > 2) which can rotate and also slide along its axis. And inside the > brass > sleeve is the solid rod (part 3) which connects with the amber wheel. > > This part 3 rotates and also slides axially. Part 2 has two slots, > > diametrically opposed and milled into its outside surface that run almost > > the full length of the part. Part 1 transmits its torque via two > setscrews > which extend inward from Part 1 into the slots milled in part > 2. (Access to > these screws is via a hole drilled in the s > tationary outer tube.) This > allows Part 2 to be rotated by part 1 and > also to slide axially inside part > 1. Part 3 has a "T" shaped fixture at > its end that engages two longitudinal > slots milled INSIDE of part 2. > This is what transmits the torque from part > 2 to part 3 and also allows > part 3 to translate axially. The slots inside > of part 2 do not extend > all the way to the ends of part 2. When part 3 is > pulled along the > mandrel with the reproducer, its T fixture hits the ends > of the slots > inside of part 2 and thereby drags part 2 along with it > axially. All > this assemblage has a purposefully sloppy fit to allow the > amber wheel > end of part 3 to wobble around radially so it can follow the > stylus > assembly as it is raised and lowered from the record surface.> > Clear as > mud? Again, it's hard to envision what's happening without > seeing the > structure in detail. But maybe this helps understand it.> > Greg Bogantz > _______________________________________________ > Phono-L mailing list > http://phono-l.oldcrank.org
