Since I got the Victory Glass order with the new motor couplers today is a good time to install one in place of the rather stiff one on the SMC1. I had been hearing vibration harmonics while playing a record in the start up and tail off grooves and could feel a littl vibration on the motor. I knew the coupler was stiff but it was all I had. It took about a half hour to install the new coupler and it definitely made a difference. There is a proper way to install these. Push the motor couple up all the way up on the turntable shaft. But before doing so note there is a cut out on that shaft. This where the upper set screws go. Install the motor. Move the coupler down eyeballing where that cut out is in relation to the set screws. When in place tighten the set screws. The motor shaft has two flat sides and this is where the lower set screws will go. I use a small flat tip screwdriver and fiddle the coupler around to get the set screws lined up with the flats. When installed this way the turntable shaft is not being forced upwards and proper clearance on the upper turntable shaft bearing is maintained.
While on the subject of vibration a very important but overlooked piece is the motor support plug. If the motor is hanging in its mounts this pulls on the motor shaft and can transmit vibration. The support plug is rubber and about 3/16 of an inch thick. It can be made out of almost any piece of fairly firm rubber that supports the motor without allowing it to sink in. The rubber bumpers on each end of a Seeburg mechanism rack are excellent examples of what to use and I have used them cut down to proper thickness. Motor mounts take up the torsional movement when the mechanism switches direction as do the turntable bushings. As long as the rubber is flexible and not oil soaked they’ll work.
I did one of my favorite upgrades to the early 50’s 100 Select machines. I took the mono tonearm off and installed the later redhead stereo T needle tonearm and needles in its place. Better needles and lighter tracking. Tie both outputs together and both grounds for a mono output to the amp. I am fortunate in that I have a ton of original Pickering T needles sourced from an old operator as well as a large supply of these cartridges and tonearms assemblies. These needles used, put out better sound than the new $125 a pair needles available today. This is a fairly straightforward swap. When I get the mech mounted in the juke I’ll sort out the tonearm adjustments. With this bounty of new parts from Victory I replaced the mech cover insert as well. I did it the way I’ve always done them. Set the cover upsdide down on a thick folded over towel, cleaned the old insert out of the cover and scraped off the old dried brown glue then I ran a fine bead of silicone sealant as a glue, wrapped a mech motor in a clean rag and set it inside the cover on top of the insert to gold in palce while the silicone drys. The next morning I’ll remove the motor and any silicone that might have squeezed out into view.
My Seeburg Life 