Dear Fellow Phono-Listers:
I am restoring a Victor VE-9-40E and have found that the weakest part of this magnificent machine to be the side arm which holds the electric pick-up. As you probably know, it is made of an alloy of low-melting point metals such as zinc, lead, copper, and tin and is commonly known as “white metal,” “die cast zinc,” and especially “POT METAL.” As a result, this piece is most often found to be misshapen, swollen, and/or cracked. I have searched, without positive result, for a replacement for the side arm on my VE-9-40E. But, there is a solution to this problem that will solve it once-and-for-all and is the result of a new technology that has the potential of making spare parts available for historic devices where none now exists. The process is called “rapid prototyping” or “3-D printing.” The process begins with a non-destructive scan of an original part (or computer drawing of the part). Next, a duplicate of the part is created by a 3-printer in plastic (or newer metalized plastic composite) which is used as a prototype. The prototype is checked for accuracy and similarity to the original part and the drawing created from the scan of the original part is tweaked to fix any inaccuracies found in the duplicate part. Finally, a fully-functional duplicate part is made from the updated drawing file. The resulting part may be painted or plated and then would need to have an original electric reproducer socket installed from one of the many broken side arms available. This long explanation is the introduction to a request that I am making here on the ANTIQUE PHONOGRAPH LIST. I would like to borrow a good, original side arm from a Victor VE-9-40E to use as a pattern for the process described above. As I have already mentioned, it is a non-destructive process and I can guarantee the safety of your precious part during the effort. If you have such a side-arm that might be available for this purpose, please contact me at [email protected]. Best Regards, William Zucca Rochester, Vermont NOTES: --The side arm used on the Victor Borgia I and II are NOT the same as the one used on the VE-9-40E and are not suitable for this project. --I have photos of the VE-9-40E tone arm and side arms available upon request. _______________________________________________ Phono-L mailing list http://phono-l.org
