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M75 Motor trouble

rogersvibes 2 May 2016

Hi All,

I'm hoping some of the more handy people on the site might be of some help. I acquired an older M75 recently. It's in great shape and plays wonderfully, but the motor got damaged in transit.

This isn't too serious of an issue for me, since I often don't use the motor and I'm not performing on this instrument. But it would be nice to have fixed, as it worked before it got sent to me.

The issue is that the control box turns on, light goes on, etc. but the motor doesn't start up at all, and the drive seems to be stuck (can't even move it with my hand). I'm not sure how serious the problem could be, but I was hoping it was just a wiring problem.

I've thought about sending it off to Century Mallet, but the other issue is that I can't seem to detach it from the end piece. The drive passes through a hole on the frame bracket, and there is a little flap that is screwed onto the bracket, preventing the drive from being freed from the frame. And I can't reach the screws with a screwdriver!

Any pointers much appreciated!

-Tristan

Comments

IndianaGlen Wed, 05/04/2016 - 16:12

Fist be careful it's possible to break stuff and possible to get shocked, or cause a fire if you don't know what you are doing with electrical stuff. So please do any of this with caution.

If you can do without the vibe for a while, it's fairly easy to take off the board that the motor and the speed rheostat are mounted on. It's held onto the side rail with three nuts. I'm pretty sure they are 3/8". Remove the three nuts and it will take some fiddling, GENTLY prying and pulling to get it off. It is possible to break the board since it's probably been there a LONG time. When you get it off you'll notice four holes in the board. One of the mounting 'bolts' is a pin that doesn't need a nut. You probably could either send the board and all to Century, or if you are handy you can remove the motor from the rubber mounts and the Rheostat and then put the board back on so you can play practice etc. If you take the motor off of the board you will have to take off the end pulley or remove a little piece of wood that is held on with some small nails.

Just because you can't move the pully by hand, doesn't mean it's frozen. Those old bodine motors have gears and when they get gunked it may work but it would take a lot of twisting to get it to turn. I have taken apart an old bodine motor and cleaned it and put it back together, although I would never do it for anyone else since the insulation on those old wires can be very fragile.

rogersvibes Wed, 05/04/2016 - 16:26

Thank you!

I managed to get the damn thing off yesterday, while leaving the board bracket in place. I am not very handy with electrical stuff, so I should probably send it into Century, eh? Hopefully the repair isn't too expensive.

Another thing I've thought about is replacing it with one of the new motors, or even poach the motor off my newer M55. But I don't know if they would fit onto the old M75 frame. Actually I think it's going to be difficult to even reattach the old motor if I can get it fixed. It's oddly complicated how the whole thing is put together!

IndianaGlen Wed, 05/04/2016 - 16:54

With some customization you can get one of the new motors to fit. It is doable. The New oriental brand motors a much safer for sure. On my project the old motor was quieter, but it would get really hot.

rfrench5 Wed, 05/04/2016 - 20:04

Where can new motors be purchased?

I have a M-75 that the motor has been making a noticeable whirring noise, not too terribly loud but it's noticeable to me the player. It's not quiet. Yes I know I could take it apart and tinker with it. But I don't know where or if a motor could be purchased in the event that it really needs to be replaced. Yes it's the motor that the noise is noticable, not the other moving parts.

The Musser Mallet site? Century Mallet? Somewhere else?

Thanks in advance,
-Roger

rogersvibes Wed, 05/04/2016 - 20:22

Drumsonsale.com is the best place to get Musser parts as far as I can tell. They sell new motors in conjunction with the control box for $700. I think you can buy them separately too, plus parts, knobs, etc. They probably take a little while to come in-stock as I think they order direct from Musser.

http://drumsonsale.com/musser-vibraphone-motor-and-control-box-assembly…

IndianaGlen Thu, 05/05/2016 - 11:10

Roger,
Is this the old Bodine Motor, or is it the new Oriental Motor? If it's the Oriental motor try loosening the mounting screws by 1/2 turn. If it's the old motor, there are oil ports that you can try a drop or two of oil. 3in1 or some 30 weight motor oil works just fine.

rfrench5 Sun, 01/22/2017 - 19:58

I took some time to look at the motor. When I take the Oriental motor completely off the screws which hold the motor onto the frame, the motor is completely silent when turned on. Yes, I want a motor that when turned on, it's completely or as quiet as possible.
The noise starts to happen on the motor gradually when I add in the silicon/rubber shanked screws. Yes I have the rubber O-ring in place too. Naturally the vibration of the motor transfers to and via the metal screws to the frame. The rubber headed screws are, in my guess, supposed to absorb the vibration energy from the motor, but the rubber/silicon does not seem to be sufficient. More rubber in the screws? I know there are rubber/silicon headed wood screws and maybe a different style of screw is needed. Or may just very carefully squirt a drop or two of silicon into the screw hole of the motor mount, let it dry and use that in conjunction with a silicon headed screw.
Anyone else?
Thanks,
-Roger

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