[HAM] Bernardo / generators

[Steve Leigh]

Just the other day, I received a private email from list member 
Bernardo Paratore.

In the msg were numerous links to slideshows, showing the work he is 
doing on a Hammond A.

I already deleted the msg, or I'd paste the links in here.

What I wanted to mention was .... Bernardo is doing some *really* 
excellent work.  Looking at his photos gave me flashbacks to the days 
when Rebecca and I were doing this work, too.

I saw so many things which were identical, or nearly so, to the tools 
and equipment we once used, it brought tears to my eyes.

Bernardo has built a "generator bench" - he's got air compressor, 
hypodermics, and even the same contact cleaner that we used to buy by 
the case.  In all, I was highly impressed with what he's 
accomplishing.  It also made me feel special to realize that so many 
of Rebecca's ideas are actually in use today.  (If you think the 
generator bench was my idea, it's time to thank Rebecca.)

Maybe Bernardo will send a msg to the group, and share those links 
and slideshows with everyone.  Meantime, on to his question, which 
might hold interest for some list members.

Apparently, there is still a small amount of mechanical noise coming 
from his generator, even after a thorough clean and oil lube.

Speaking with Bernardo on the phone, we addressed a few points.  NO 
running generator can be *completely* silent - there are just too 
many rotating parts.

Another point was that doing the generator properly should require 
3-4 full passes - cleaning and drying the bearings and 
re-oiling.  One pass will certainly make a big difference, but 
multiple passes make a lot _more_ difference.

I also suggested massive over-oiling *at the oil wicks* as well as 
the bearings.  Doing a generator right includes washing all the oil 
wicks, too, and they should be treated far more gently with the 
compressed air than the bearings.  Old, old cotton threads are very 
delicate, and much more breakable than one might imagine.  (This is 
why Rebecca and I used "D" weight nylon threads as replacements: the 
nylon will carry the oil perfectly, but it won't break very 
easily.  Actually, it can cut your hands if you try to snap it, so 
using a scalpel is a far better way to obtain the length you need.)

More noises in a generator could be coming from the run motor, the 
scanner, or both.  A stethoscope can usually help to chase down the 
"where", and some serious cleaning / over-oiling should take care of 
the "why".  Replacing the oil wicks for the run motor and scanner was 
- for us - mandatory.

I recall doing many, many generators with Rebecca, and during this 
work, we probably used about 1/2 pint of oil or more.  Many will say 
"that's insane".  Possibly it is - but the oil hurt nothing, and the 
compressed air ultimately blew most of the mess away.  While the 
generator is upside down, most of the over-oiling just runs down the 
divider bins, and ends up on your bench.  Once it is right-side-up, 
much more over oiling takes place, directly into the oil trough below 
the plate which mounts the generator filters.  From there, gravity 
allows the excess oil to move to the lowest point on the generator - 
usually the studs which are used to bolt down the generator.

The run motor and scanner also require this kind of deep cleaning and 
over-oiling.  Also, the scanner has its own peculiar set of problems 
which require considerable thought and several minor modifications.

Again, I'd like to congratulate Bernardo for the excellent work _and_ 
photos.  Hopefully, this will inspire more Hammond owners to delve 
into their own Hammonds, and do some of the work, also.

Finally, and I'm sure most everyone will agree on this, there once 
was a day when *all* of us had never taken a Hammond apart.  When we 
faced this intimidating task for the very first time, I'm certain we 
were *all* quite nervous and unsure of the outcome.  (I know for sure 
I was!)  My first experience included a big yellow pad of paper, 
masking tape, and a pen.  I had no schematics, and couldn't 
understand them if I did have them.  I didn't know color codes, so I 
wrote down things like "red-red-brown".  Pretty crude, but that's all 
I had to work with at the time.

So - let the inspiration work on you, too.  If a dummy like me can 
survive the mistakes and gain some experience - YOU CAN TOO!  :)



Steve Leigh  :::  steve at sl-prokeys.com
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