Anyone know how to fix a chipped pulley on a Rek-O-Kut Rondine?

[nobody]

Well, started in trying to rebuild a rek-O-Kut turntable and have made some progress and uncovered some decidedly mixed and not so good news.


I'll start with the good news. I got in new rubber grommets and took the whole thing apart and cleaned all the various parts. It was much simpler to do than I anticipated. It's a pretty straight forward design and as long as you are careful about what went where when taking things apart, putting 'em back together isn't bad at all. So I replaced the rubber and got it all back together in fine shape.


Unfortunately, when I ran the table, I noticed a problem that I'm at a loss as to how to approach or if it is even something fixable. The pulley/capstan shaft that is affixed to the motor has a chip out of the top step, where it spins at 33. There is a very noticeable increase in rumble at this point and I would assume some flutter and such as well. I've found nothing online about anyone successfully replacing this pulley. In fact, I have found old service manual quotes saying such damage is "not repairable in the field," and that the entire motor either needs to be replaced or sent back to the factory to fit a new pulley.


My Dual has a set screw to just remove the pulley, but the one on the Rek O Kut is affixed some other way and I've only read about people having little to no success in removing the pulley without damaging things beyond repair. So, just sliding it off and getting someone to machine a new pulley isn't likely to be possible, unless someone out there has some method of removing the old pulley I haven't yet found.


The only option I can think of is to somehow try to fill the chip and then sand everything back to smooth. I was thinking some sort of epoxy like JB Weld or the like built up to fill the chip and then sand it all back smooth. I'm not entirely confident of getting things back to perfect condition with this, but I'm guessing it may be better than the chipped pulley right now, which I consider too noisy to put into full use anyway.


Otherwise I keep my eyes open for anyone selling a new motor for this model and wait patiently until one turns up.


Any other ideas or suggestions are most welcome.

 

[laatsch55]

There is a product called Belzona. They have various products depending on what you need to do. It is a steel-like filler that is mixed in 2 parts. We use it to true up gearbox bases and bearing fits....VERY GOOD STUFF.....Google it Dave, you might find it fits the bill.

How,about a pic of the motor/pulley combination ???

 

[nobody]

Sounds at least worth a shot. I'll get up a pic of the damage later on when I get a chance.

 

[laatsch55]

Coolness...

 

[nobody]

This one isn't mine, but same model.

You can see where the pulley is attached to the motor. No screws or moving parts, just stuck on the stem, and I've read varying reports if it is just friction holding it on or some kind of adhesive. Mostly I read people tried to pry them off and it wouldn't budge or they got it off but trashed the stem while doing so. Basically, I'm scared to try pulling it off unless repairing the pulley doesn't work and I end up with no choice.

I'll get a picture of the damage when I get home. It really doesn't look like much, just a bit chipped bit off the end stretching about halfway down the first step. But, when it spins against the idler you can hear a dramatic difference in noise over the steps where it is smooth, similar to the thumping you get with a slat spot on an idler, but with it being on the pulley even more frequent.

Can that Belzona stuff be filed down and sanded? Hardest part I can think of on the repair would be getting it as perfectly round and smooth as possible.

 

[Web Police]

I would think any kind of sand-able putty should work? Can't imaging once you fill it in it is under much pressure. The trick would be sanding down smooth and back to the size and shape it should be.

 

[Northwinds]

A small wheel puller? It's probably just pressed on. Heat that bitch and I bet it will come off

 

[MarkWComer]

I'm not sure if any of that epoxy filler stuff will stick to metal very well- certainly worth a shot.

Those idler steps are pressed onto the motor shaft, sort of like those "press nuts" that provide a tapped screw hole for a drilled hole in sheet metal.

I'd take it to a machine shop for an opinion, maybe a gear puller would get the steps off. A remanufactured one would require the use of a metal lathe.

I wish you luck, those old Rek-O-Kut turntables are precious, and for lack of one tiny part the machine becomes useless.

 

[nobody]

I think I'll try the epoxy stuff first as it's cheap and easy/quick. See if it works out. If not, there's a machine shop just down the street that specializes in custom small car parts with a sign saying they will do any kind of job you need, so I'll see what they think about it. I'm fairly determined on this. Eventually this will work. It may just take some patience if I need to find or have a part made.

And it seems the pulley is made of phenolic resin and is thermo-set onto the motor shaft, so not sure what that means for getting it off.

 

[MarkWComer]

And it seems the pulley is made of phenolic resin and is thermo-set onto the motor shaft, so not sure what that means for getting it off.

Oh... not metal... probably means it will break if you try to pull it off. Can't heat it much to expand it, either.

Tough job.

 

[Northwinds]

And it seems the pulley is made of phenolic resin and is thermo-set onto the motor shaft, so not sure what that means for getting it off.

Hmmm... did not know that. I assumed it was brass or something. Probably heating is not an option then. It may be that this is not doable and you will need a parts unit motor. You would have to heat the shaft only and pray

 

[nobody]

Well, breaking it wouldn't be horrible if I were removing it to replace. I'm just skittish that it would trash the shaft getting it off.

Anyway, here's the damage:

Just that tiny little chip causing all sorts of rumble.

 

[laatsch55]

Dave, I would wrap some slick paper around the damaged step, mix up some regular epoxy, pour the epoxy down the void. Use a tooth pick to make sure it's all the way down and to remove any air trapped, let cure and remove slick paper and dress it up. Phenolic should bond to epoxy very well.....

 

[nobody]

Couldn't hurt. Hopefully I'll have time to give it a shot this weekend sometime.

Already have some JB Weld. Any reason to get something else, or is one as good as another epoxy?

 

[laatsch55]

As long as it's thin enough to fill the void. I use Devcon 5 minute a lot....

 

[nobody]

Once this hangover subsides I'll give this a go. So, maybe tomorrow.

 

[MarkWComer]

So- that looks like the topmost step- the step for 16 2/3 RPM. How many 16RPM records do you play?

 

[nobody]

Nope, 3 speeds, it's the 33. Bottom, largest not used. If it was the 16 I wouldn't care.

 

[MarkWComer]

Nope, 3 speeds, it's the 33. Bottom, largest not used. If it was the 16 I wouldn't care.

I forgot you said it was Rek-O-Kut. I don't think any of those went down to 16. My mistake...

 

[nobody]

Well, I think there is a chance this will actually work.

At first I tried the mold with a piece of paper taped around, but it was really hard to get the epoxy to just the right consistency to fill it properly. So after a couple tries of letting it start to set and then pulling away the paper to see it looking rather gloopy and misshapen I tried a slightly different route. I just put a glop of the epoxy on the chipped part and held a thin but smooth and strong piece of wrapping paper firmly against the good part of the pulley low down and balanced on the next step down to hold it straight, turned on the motor and basically used it like a mini lathe and it seems to look quite round and smooth. I can't see where the original chip was anymore in fact.

It is pretty hard now, But I'm going to let it cure for another day or tow and then I'll try some really fine sandpaper to see how smooth I can get it. I'm pretty confident in being able to get a pretty smooth and evenly round surface this way. First attempt looks good to my eyes, but even if not, this seems to be a reasonable way to get the shape as right as possible with what I've got on hand so I'm willing to scrape off the first try and give this method another go if necessary. Now, I am mostly just concerned if the fully cured epoxy will be strong enough to stand up to constant use once all is said and done. I'll keep y'all posted and get a pic of what the potential repair looks like once I've gotten it sanded and smooth.