April 11, 2025

Still Livin’ The Seeburg Life

The last several months have been spent buying a new home, readying the old home to sell, and sorting through belongings deciding what to keep and what to throw away, sell, or donate.

This includes going through decades worth of Seeburg parts and trying to decide what will be needed in the future. I started a “hoarding” type mentality when I got in business for myself back in 1988. Mainly because money was so tight and so many parts can be re-used. If I could re-use a part it meant money wasn’t spent for that part. If I tore down a video game I would keep screws, nuts, washers, trim, switches, lighting assemblies, ballasts, controls, wire and more; in short everything but the wooden cabinet. This held true for the jukeboxes as well and over a 30 year span I bet I’ve torn down a couple hundred Seeburg jukeboxes mainly the 60’s and 70’s models with a good sprinkling of 50’s.

Imagine sorting through 30-40 reverse switches of the different sort Seeburg used! Same with 50 detent switch assemblies. Or 32 tonearm assemblies. Where it hurt was having to throw away amplifiers and control centers. I knew I’d be hauling a lot to Washington, or rather that Mayflower would, and have tried hard to keep the weight down. I think I’m taking a couple amps and a couple of the DCC’s. The rest of them got scrapped with as much attention to small parts as always. You know those plastic posts used to mount the boards in those units and how one will break leaving a three-legged mount? Well I have a butt load of them now. Set for years post-wise.

Trying to save shipment weight got a serious kick when I saw a STD4 for sale very cheap. One I had worked on once. I emailed Mayflower and was pleasantly surprised to learn that adding a 375 pound juke would cost me about $75. Not bad at all! I’m picking it up Sunday. This morning I quickly found an LS3 for parts and a decently priced AQ160 and thought about hauling them with me as well.

NOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

That way lies madness as King Lear once said.

I do intend to keep on livin’ the Seeburg Life when I get to Vancouver. A fellow has a STD3 stashed away that I will pick up shortly after getting there. I’m already starting to make aquaintenances with jukebox people living in the area. Found plenty of places to get speakers reconed. Now to find a decently priced chrome plater if there is such a thing anymore. I intend to keep right on reconditioning parts to sell and restoring jukeboxes as well. I like doing it for several reasons the least of which is it keeps me busy.

I’ve learned a thing or two about being busy. I started in December doing all the small jobs around the house I just ignored for years. I worked harder than I’ve worked since, well, working for a living. I used to joke that home prices appreciated so much that I wouldn’t have to do anything and could still sell the house for quite a bit more than I paid for it. Something happened though when I thought about it. I turned out to be a lot more interested in making as much money on the house than I thought. It took four months but I finally finished all the caulking, painting, and repair needed. Even by gosh put 30 pieces of sod in the front lawn. House looks good and I feel great about my house.

Now, will someone buy it so I can move please?

I’ve also learned a lot about being not-busy. Most all my belongings are packed. I don’t know how often I’ve needed something only to find out it’s been packed. I’ve re-opened packed boxes looking for stuff with very limited success. Most boxes are such a hodge-podge of stuff that they’re marked Miscellaneous so there’s not much of a hint as to contents. I’m living a very minimal life in that with nothing left to work on I have a lot of free time. I have books, the TV, and my computer basically. I got all excited this morning at the prospect of driving to the post office to drop off some letters. I drove slowly there and back stopping at several garage sales and the Dollar Store.

Hasn’t been much of a “Seeburg Life”. Usually I’m working on something Seeburg everyday but the closest I’ve come to it in the last couple months is getting the jukeboxes I’m taking with me ready to move. All the Library Units got pieced back together and are now whole, not working, but whole. The Test Box is ready as is the Console Library Unit. I’ll take the SMC2 Hideaway and the additional STD4. I tied the mechs down either with a bolt through the mech to the track or baling wire to each side of the mechanism and the ends of the rack to keep ’em from being able to move. Mayflower says they’ll blanket wrap all this stuff. The only one I’m really worried about is the Console Unit with the beautifully restored mahogany finish. I’d have a fit if it gets scratched or dented. Absolute fit.

About the last thing to work on is the Honda Car. I replaced the plugs yesterday and will soon change the oil, rear shocks, and transmission fluid. I’ll be driving it Westward Ho! at some point. I’m making sure to parce this work out slowly to try and make it last.