Re: Old Duo-Art Wiring (96.08.13)
By Bill Chapman
I thought I should pass on my experience with my Weber D.A. 5'8" made in 1926. I inspected the wiring where connections are made and all looked fine. I cleaned the switch, rubbed the oxide off the plug prongs, cleaned them with pure alcohol, replaced the line cord and played the D.A. for hours on end. I occassionally checked the motor for overheating. One day I happened to feel the armored cable that runs along the interior cross-beams and found it to be HOT. I dissected the cable only to find that the wire had a coating of green gluck on it wherever it had been in contact with original rubber insulation and was no longer a viable conductor. My guess is that sulfer in the rubber insulation reacted with copper wire to yield something akin to copper sulfate, which is just about the color of the green gluck. Luckily the motor had sufficient current and did'nt burn out.
There is no question that old electrical parts must be refurbished or replaced by someone with ADVANCED knowledge. The way I see it, let the added micro-switches become part of the instrument's history -- ke a collector in another century will admire the handywork done to protect the instrument.
On the topic of applying wood filler, some books suggest a coating of shellac BEFORE applying the filler. I tried it, and it made scraping the filler off a little easier.
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(Message sent Wed 14 Aug 1996, 23:38:06 GMT, from time zone GMT-0700.) |
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