Amplion 'Tone-a-matic' Record Player

[Old Sparky]

I'm having great difficulty removing the two screws along the RH side of the motor board in one of the above, which had beedn stored in damp conditions for many years, I'm told. My feeling is that corrosion has 'welded' the screws to the spire nuts.
I cannot turn them with eiter a conventional screwdriver or one of those bits designed for removing seized screw, neither can I drill off the heads. The bottom of the cabinet isn't removable, so there's no wat to get at the underside of the motor board. Unless I can get the motor board out, which is neccesay in order to gain access to the lower two nuts securing the amplifier/speaker assembly to the cabinet, then the player is scrap, which is a pity as it works after a fashion, but needs the usual electronic & mechanical overhaul. Does anyone have a solution to this problem. Plus Gas, btw, will not loosen the screws, presumably because it isn't penetrating far enough down the screws.

[AlanBeckett]

Pictures?

Alan

[Joe]

If the only alternative is scraping it you haven't got a lot to loose by trying to drill them out.

- Joe

[Refugee]

I have heated stuck screws of the tool blunting type found screwed into spring clips by putting a bit of soft steel rod in a high speed power drill and simply go flat out until the screw gets very hot and shatters the rust and then cut a slot in the melted end of the rod after stopping the drill while the thing is glowing hot.
The worst are the type that have a fake slot in them as well as a hex head. They even wreck sockets of the correct size after a couple of hundred of the things.

[Yorkie]

Can't you grind off the heads with a burr in a Dremel type drill, or are the heads not accessible?

Sets of small diamond tipped burrs aren't expensive and are surprisingly good, albeit not long-lasting. I use them quite a lot for such tasks as grinding rivets off valve-bases to remove the bases from chassis. I haven't got a Dremel - I use a cheapo variable speed similar style drill, which also has a flexible shaft and chuck to get into the more inaccessible places. Quite adequate for the job - such tools aren't called upon to do heavy duty work so there's no need to splash out on expensive ones such as Dremel.

Good luck!

[pwdrive]

Spire screws.....Hex, slotted, Philips ? Got hex on my 40 year Landrover, they always unscrew eventually.

Lawrence.

[EDIT: If they are slottted or Philips and the slot or cross has worn then I have had good results with using side cutters to grip and turn the head, that was a favourite trick with a lot of factory tightened posidrive screws on Japanese audio/TV etc]

[Old Sparky]

These are standard slotted head screws of the type always used in the 'old' days. The Amplion is a valved record player with a BSR UA8 deck, so I guess it dates from c.1958 or thereabouts. I don't have a Dremel or a drill with a flexible shaft, and the screws in question are two of the ones in the side of the wooden motor board, and a conventional electric drill won't go between the side of the deck and the cabinet, particularly at the rear, because of the PU Arm base. I might try as you suggest, Refugee. In the meantime, if I can rech under the motor board to where the front transit screw is located and release the clip, I may be able to lift the deck enough to get at the rear Transit screw, then the deck can come out, and then perhaps i can get at the underside of the two screws in question. The Player needs to be completely dismantled so that the cabinet can be thouroughly cleaned in any case (pun intended!!)

[Alan Douglas]

Perhaps you could heat the end of a steel rod red and press that against the screw head.

[Yorkie]

Just a small point: No need to fork out for Dremel stuff - there are countless 'me too' products will do the job just as well.

This sort of thing is an excellent alternative at under £20 - about half the price of a Dremel. Variable speed (10,000 - 30,000 RPM off-load), two collet sizes, accessories such as burrs and a flexible shaft available, favourable reviews etc. Mine's similar but came from Aldi - even cheaper and a 3-yr warranty. Soon makes short work of rivets and screw heads as well s countless other little jobs such as reaming out holes in chassis, and plenty good enough for the task in hand:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Silverline-24976...cr_pr_pb_t

[Alan Douglas]

My dentist gave me some worn carbide and diamond burrs when I asked. They fit a Dremel chuck just fine.