Webcor Reel Table

Before digging into the electrical restoration, I'm going to work on the mechanics on the top.

This is due, in part, to a minor annoyance - the chassis is 'locked' inside of the case.

The prongs for the AC power cord protrude into an opening in the case. The entire unit drops into the case and is a tight fit, without wiggle room to tilt, tip, cajole, or otherwise position such that it will simply lift out. 🙄

There is a narrow access panel on the bottom, so that the tubes can be replaced.

To get the silly thing out, I bent the external tabs of a little protective box inside. Then, I drilled the rivets so that I could retract the silly thing.

To review, note the fit 😁

The dangerous electrical bits reside below 🔌

Get Bent

Zap!

Although that annoyance has been solved, I still want to work on the top, before extracting the silly thing.

That brings us to an amusing carnival of wheels, levers, springs, washers, and miscellaneous oddities. Refer to the first image of the top of the deck 😎. Sometimes, there will be service manuals with parts diagrams, etc. I haven't found one for this, although a more extensive search in the Tapeheads.net forums may help. I'll simply document part placement with photos.

There are two of these reel tables. Since they are relatively unencumbered with multiple springs and interlocking mechanisms, they are easy to disassemble.

Without a parts diagram, make sure you can reassemble things - take a photo, make a drawing....

Get Reel, so to speak....

Parts is Parts

There are varieties of bronze alloys used for bushings - some require lubrication, others are self-lubricating. If it is of the self-lubricating type, I'll simply clean all of the parts and reassemble. There is a simple friction clutch - the spring, felt pad, and washers - and a rubber tire that drives the reel table. Although not easy to see in the photo, parts of the clutch have little index tabs that require proper orientation. In this case it's easy to figure out if the whole mess ends up in a pile - in some cases, it's not so obvious, so take note 🤓

Next: Digging further into the reel table drive mechanics.

Webcor 2110 Reel to Reel Restoration

This Webcor 2110, ca. 1952, found its way into my collection of anachronistic, incredibly useful toys.

Oh Joy!

Moving parts are always more amusing for sound playback toys

This deck records and plays a monophonic signal in both directions - when the tape is near the end of the reel, you turn a knob to reverse the direction of the tape "...without bothersome reel turnover." 😃

There are two tape speeds - 3 1/4 and 7 1/2 inches per second. On a 7 inch reel, you can get a delightful 2 hour recording 😅 with an astonishing frequency response up to 10khz, with less than .5% wow and flutter.  Original price, in 1952, was $207.50.

Detail of the high-tech tape time counter

Beautiful mic - still works

These images are from an initial evaluation. It has all of the tubes, and is mechanically complete. Subsequent posts will go into more detail about the mechanical restoration for each section, followed by the electrical work.

First look under the cover...

Closeup, along the tape path by the heads. One head is in contact with the tape, and they alternate with tape direction. Eventually, I'll post little videos about the very unique mechanisms.

Head wear and oxide buildup. Always have dice on hand as little repair positioning aids 😄

Inside the head case (so to speak)

Missing some of the felt pressure pads. These gently press against the tape for good tape-to-head contact.

Schematic

The tubes are common if they are needed. The tricky part is whether the worn heads still work - aside from wear, sometimes a fine wire inside the head assembly will break. Heads are very rare. If they are shot, this still makes a great little guitar amp, for that sweet tube sound.

Next: Cleaning the topside mechanics.