Just for fun I was scanning eBay for rubber grommets/motor mounts for the RCA Victor RP-168 and RP-190. They look like this:
They are normally priced very high. $2-$3 each if you look around.


Three per motor

But I found these same motor mounts for use with the Thorens TD 124 turntable priced at $10 each 6/$60, item 290745303335 plus $10 shipping. Ouch!
Another guy sells the same 6 for $40 including shipping.

How about selling a Thorens plexiglass dustcover for $139.95 plus $34.75 shipping.
I wonder if I can modify my plexiglass dustcover design for RCA Victor RP-190 covers


A Coverette 45 Copy

At those prices, are we in the wrong business? Maybe the sellers are no audiofools, but this confirms the buyers are.
Wow.

Jack

You are making a good point here Jack. I buy the motor grommets from AES in a package of 9 (which will restore 3 players) for $4.50. They are as nice and soft as the expensive gummed rubber motor mounts.

Phonojack,
I'd be interested in one your plexiglass covers (with black colored handles on the sides?) for my 6jy1.What would it cost?

B b

they look like very common rubber grommets to me. any hardware store anywhere

We all wish! It's that cone shape that makes all the difference.

-David

Nope, you cannot get the cone shaped phonograph motor mounts at a hardware store. I have seen several changers where people used regular flat grommets, and the motor is loose and it doesn't allow it to properly contact the turrets/idler.

Those look similar to PCV valve gaskets. Here is one for a 1975 Corolla:



The one I posted is NOT a match, but I wonder if there is one that will match. Cost for this at O'rielys is 99 cents each.

Ive had mine for so long just figured must have been Lowes or something. could be machine shop supply, electrical supply or Harbour Freight. maybe army surplus. theres a place in Orlando that has one of everything http://www.skycraftsurplus.com/
google 'rubber grommet' turned up a lot of stuff
this guy might know http://www.renovatedradios.com/

Hi Bob,

Thanks for your interest. The brown Coverette 45 is a relatively hard-to-find item. Over the years I have searched for these "Coverette 45's" which were originally priced at $2.95. They now command a high price on eBay when they show up only a few times a year.

On July 30, 1955 the Record Chest Company of Atlantic City NJ set up a promotion with RCA Camden Records to encourage distributors to push a new product called the "45" Coverette, a chocolate brown plastic cover that nicely fits over a variety of RCA Victor 45 players from EY-2 to the 7-EY series including virtually any RP-190 machine with clearance for the cover.

Just for fun, I decided to try working with thin Plexiglass to make a few covers for those phonographs that seem to accumulate dust. Using a few pieces of Plexiglass and with the help of the proper Plexiglass glue to form the cover, the problem was solved. Now I need to keep the covers dust-free. Tip! Protect your machines, play better music by playing clean, dust free records. Make some plexiglass covers. Sorry, Bob I'm not a dealer, they are not for sale.

Jack

Audiophoolery aside, Ed Shultz of Renovated Radios makes a better grommet. His are gum rubber, more like the originals. They give better isolation from motor hum. Side by side comparisons show a significant, obvious reduction in motor hum even on small speaker sets like the 45-EY-3. The difference is even greater on the Deluxe and New Orthophonic models. Consoles like the 45-W-10 have a 12- inch speaker and a 10-watt amplifier. These grommets make a world of difference in these sets.


He also has the rubber motorboard suspension cones. I hate it when I see a “restored” player with an un-level motorboard because of a rigged replacement.


Those rubber feet that are always missing form the 45-EY-4, 45-HY-4 and 8-EY-4 phonographs.


And the feet for the attachment players like the 45J-2 and 6JY-1.

what do I know. found this
http://www.tubesandmore.com/products/P-R407

I buy all my motor mounts from AES. Think they are about $4.95 for a package of 9, enough to do three changers. A few years ago the AES motor mount grommets were a bit stiff, and I guess customers complained, and the mounts they are selling today are nice and soft, practically identical in cushioning to the much higher priced gummed rubber motor mounts that will cost about $10 for three mounts. I've used both kinds in the last two years, and I simply can't tell any difference.