Phonoland

Hi all,
This is my first post. I am restoring a Continental 2 jukebox.
This machine must have sat for years in an unheated shed. Everything was very rusty. The glass bead blaster of my buddy has been my best friend.
I have the manual, and most problems have been fixed.
I have a question about the little rubber bumpers, or "shock absorbers" that go inside the selector assembly.
The selector assembly is shown on page SPC-6 of the manual, part number L-2245-B. It is a metal frame that contains the 10 metal pushbutton shafts that have the springs and have the actual contacts in them.
Right underneath the top of the metal "frame" (where the metal on the "shafts" curve). There are 10 small rubbers that go over the individual selector shafts.They don't have a part number.
The rubber is supposed to be soft and pliable.
This machine being a 200 play has 3 selector assemblies. The 100 play models only have 2.
2 of the assemblies of mine are fine. (The rubber is soft, and they work as they should.) In the 1 assembly about half of the rubbers have dried up and are hard. 2 of them have broken in two. I tried super glue and they just broke again.
Without them, there is metal to metal contact.
I have tried most of the parts suppliers with no luck.
Seems continental 2 parts are almost non existent.
I have wondered if the 200 play wallboxes would contain these items.
Would it be possible for someone to check on this ?
I'm sure I could fabricate something. Does anyone have any ideas as to what material would stand up to repeated use of the pushbuttons.
Has anyone had this problem with their Continental 2 ?

Thank-you to everyone in advance.
Tony

Hi Tony,
I'm trying to find the rubber bumpers you mentioned. Are they on the pushbutton assembly on the tilt-down front door? The three sections have covers on them that slide off when you loosen the screws that hold the covers on. Do you need to remove the covers to see them? I can't locate my continental manual.
I have a couple of the 200 select wallboxes in storage so I can check once I know what I'm looking for. If they are the same on a J I have a mostly complete parts J in storage although I do know many of the parts on the continental seem to be only made for continentals.

Hi Juker,
Yes, you are correct. They are on the tilt out portion of the front door. No, you don't need to remove the covers to see them. If you have a small mirror and a flashlight you can see them. but you have to be looking from the bottom. This saves removing the selector assembly and having to flip it over to view them. The one end that is visible, you can see the springs, and small square insulators under them. You can also see the contacts.
It is the opposite end of the springs (you have to disassemble the entire selector assembly to get them out).
I've been thinking that a material like an innertube (only a little stiffer) might work. I sure like having original parts though.
Thanks for looking though.

Tony

Hi Tony,
The springs and insulators are on the rear, and on the front are square pieces that are wrapped around the pushbutton shaft. Are they in the far rear between the springs and the black metal casting? I need to get out my small adjustable mirror.

I'm going to pull off the assemblies this week to send the chrome out so I can look them over real good at that time if I can't see them with a mirror.

Hi Juker,
They are the square pieces on the front , that wrap around around the shaft. Not the ones under the spring.
The assemblies are actually easy to remove and disassemble.
I had to do this in order to properly clean all of the contacts, as well as bead blast the entire assemblies in order to paint them.
If you ever have to take them off, they should be pliable. They kind of stick to the shaft where they have remained under pressure for years. If they have dried out ,they will be hard and you have to be very careful applying pressure to get them off. They will break at either end, where there is the least amount of material.

Thanks again...
Tony

OK Tony I'll look at the wallboxes this week.

It's not easy to get to them when in the jukebox but I was poking at them with a sharp awl and mine seem to be dried out and hard as well.