Question on VV 2-35 repair

vintagejim · by **vintagejim** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 4:57 pm

Greetings all. I'm new to the board, and relatively new to the world of acoustic phonograph collecting.

I recently purchased a Victrola VV 2-35 and I'm a bit stymied on how to approach a particular bit of repair. Most of it is in good shape -- the spring thunks a bit and so needs cleaning, and the sound box is not an Orthophonic (though it sounds pretty good, despite that). Both of those are pretty straightforward to handle.

The one wrinkle is that one of the brackets that holds the record holder in place -- and hence the lid open -- has come free. It looks like it was originally spot-welded to the internal frame and the welds have broken. To add to the annoyance, it looks like it was welded from the front, so in order to repair it that way I'd have to damage the paint job. I don't think I can repair from the back, as it appears that the internal frame is riveted to the case so I can't get in there. And there's no guarantee that the heat of the welding process wouldn't damage the paint job that way, either.

My thought right now is to drill two holes in the bracket and the frame, and use some sort of brass screw/bolt/rivet jobby to hold it in place. But that thought makes me a little sick to think about. I was hoping someone else had some other ideas.

Thanks,
Jim

Neophone · by **Neophone** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 4:28 am

Jim,

I'm not too familiar with the 2-35, it has a metal case with the crinkle paint inside? Before you start drilling it may be worth while to look into J-B Weld. I haven't used it myself-yet, (I have a broken pot-metal HMV No.4 I plan of fiddling with) but I hear good things about it. Maybe some of the other members here have some experience with it?

Good Luck! Let us know how you make out.

Regards,
J.

vintagejim · by **vintagejim** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 3:35 pm

Yes, it's a metal case. There are two exterior pieces (the "suitcase" part) that are covered with a black leather, and a hinged interior piece with the horn that has green paint sprayed inside.

I'll check out J-B Weld or similar epoxy -- if it doesn't work I won't be any worse off than I am now.

Thanks!

vintagejim · by **vintagejim** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 3:04 am

The J-B Weld worked great... thanks again!

Neophone · by **Neophone** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 12:43 pm

Jim,

Wonderful, very glad to hear it. I finally gave the stuff a try myself. The German portable I've written about elsewhere had a broken latch, the metal loop was broken out of the lock. I filled up the holes with J-B Weld and wedged the loop back in and BINGO!

Regards,
J.