RCA 73-B help.

[donnyz29]

Hi, I've been lurking on the board here for a long while now, and I am finally stuck on something and need some help. I just bought a RCA 73-B lathe, it came in pieces without the turntable, microscope, or cutter head. I bought it because it's really clean (no rust, and the coating is fully intact), and as far as I can tell, everything is there. My only problem is that I don't have anything to reference off of in order to get it put back into a working order. This is my second project, last year I bought a Rek-O-Kut Cutting Master Pro with a Presto D-1 cutter head, and it was a real mess, seized up from rust and the coil was bad in the head, I've done a decent job of getting that one working through lots of elbow grease with a brass brush and a lot of patience. I'm having a little more trouble with the RCA machine.

The Rek-O-Kut seems to be a much more widely available machine, there are lots of photos and videos of people using them, as well as literature that pops up. I had no problems getting that back together. The RCA machine seems to be a bit more elusive. So, my question would be does anyone have any idea where I could get information on my RCA 73B lathe? It would be most ideal if I could get a copy of a technical manual, even if I could get some photos of the inside I'd be able to get this project going. Any input that anyone has would be very helpful.

Thanks

[Stevie342000]

You could try here http://www.americanradiohistory.com/RCA-Broadcast-News-Page-Range-Guide.htm you need Issue 60.

There is an article on the RCA cutting lathe, incidentally I have the original manuals for the cutter heads, the equalisation compensator, the cutting lathe.

[donnyz29]

You could try here http://www.americanradiohistory.com/RCA-Broadcast-News-Page-Range-Guide.htm you need Issue 60.

There is an article on the RCA cutting lathe, incidentally I have the original manuals for the cutter heads, the equalisation compensator, the cutting lathe.

This is great! It's not everything that I need, but it'll get me started in the right direction for sure!

[rsimms3]

Issue 60 as a PDF.
http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RCA-Broadcast-News/RCA-60.pdf
Some good pictures in the article.

RCA Catalog from 1950, page 94 has some specs.
http://www.smcelectronics.com/DOWNLOADS/1950RCA-BROADCAST.pdf

73B at Sun Records


Russian eBay archive site with several pictures of a mostly disassembled unit
http://soundup.ru/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2737%3Arca-transcription-turntable-type-73-b-recorder-1930&catid=9%3Arecord-player-gramophone&Itemid=75