Resurrecting an M-3

[RegisWhite]

Hello to all;</p>

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I am a newcomer to the Forum, and I've been having a great time reading through countless posts about things where I've either had a question, or know that I will soon have... But I digress.</p>

I'm starting to restore an M-3 from the early '50s. I bought it in 1989 from a music retailer, where it had been gone over and worked fine. I left the area for several years, and couldn't have it with me, so it stayed at my old house, where it has been disused for... sheesh, about 19 years now. Yikes...</p>

My question (first question, for I'm bound to have more for which I've not yet seen answers in previous posts!) is: What procedures should I follow prior to turning it on? I know that I have to clean and vacuum the back--get rid of cat hair and dust bunnies and so on; I know that I want to do some cabinet refinishing, and some other aesthetic work, but I want to make sure I can get sound out of it before that phase. Before I fire this thing up again, should I do an oiling... wait for a period of time... and then do another oiling before I try turning it on? I don't want to "burn anything up" if I can avoid it, but I don't want to have an oily mess unnecessarily, either. </p>

Any other advisements for "pre-power up procedures" would, of course, also be appreciated, since this machine has been dormant for quite some time.

I've seen some great advice from many of you out there, and look forward to your responses. Thanks in advance for your collective expertise!
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[Riverside]

Re: Resurrecting an M-3



You'll want to be mindful of things electrical, as well. </P>


Make sure that wires carrying mains current have not lost insulationandshort out (or shock you.) You should also take care at some point to know for certain that the speaker is properly connected (no breaks in wiring) - otherwise you risk letting the smoke out of the output transformer.</P>


The good news is that these things were built like tanks, and you should be able to put it back into working order with few problems. Parts are still pretty much readily available if something has gone south over the past few decades.</P>


Let us know how it turns out.</P>
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[toasterDude]

Re: Resurrecting an M-3

RS is right, these things were built to last - so I wouldn't worry too much over pre-start procedures. However, after 19 years I probably would oil the tonewheel generator and give the oil 2-3 days to soak in. After that (again provided the insulation on the power cord is intact), fire her up and see what happens! My bet is, after some oil your M3 will be making sweet music just like no time had passed at all. good luck!