The Hammond M2 is home!!!

[K0LTZ]

After over a year of planning, rescheduling due to vacations, snow and other inclement weather, my new to me Hammond M2 made it home! It was carried from the upper level of a residence down a narrow, and very long staircase...then a 7 mile trip in the bed of a friend's pickup....to my place where it had to be carried up two flights of stairs....but it's home now.

I knew it wasn't working. I got it from the daughter and son-in-law of the original owner, who let it sit for at least 25 years without oiling or running it. It was bone dry. I have oiled it, and I was discouraged at first. I did not realize how "stuck" the TG/motor assembly was. it's been 3 hours since I oiled it. At first the start motor would just chatter and stall. Now, the start motor gets things turning reasonably well, but kicking in the run motor slows it to a stall. So hurry up and wait....btw, anyone know how to decode an actual manufacture date? Serial number perhaps?

[tpappano]

Congratulations! The M2 was supposed to have been made from 1951 through 1955. If there are any original tubes with “Hammond” printed on them there should be a four digit date code in a YY-WW format. Y being the year and W being the week. The speaker should have a 6 digit number printed on the basket rim. The fourth digit is the last digit of the year the speaker was made. There's a ‘sticky' at the top of this forum that leads to all sorts of info, such as dates vs. serial numbers. Enjoy!

[K0LTZ]

Silly me, I looked under the lid of the bench, and wallah! The original oiling schedule and instructions were still there! The purchase date was 3-1-1955. And, the last entry for oil was 12-18-1960....which is probably correct according to info from the folks I got it from, and the fact it was dry. I did get it to finally run on it's own, but it squeals like no other. I'll let it sit overnight and run it again tomorrow.

[tpappano]

Be patient, it can take days or even a couple weeks for the new oil to work its way to the bearings 8) That you got it running this soon is a good sign, it might not take too long.

[Guest]

Congratulation! Your M2 is finally home. Your Hammond must be antique already but still, it really looks new and in good condition. tpappano is right, you have to wait a couple of days or weeks before it could run smoothly.

[Jaim]

Congrats on the find and moving it. Like everyone said - give the oil time to work its way in. If you still have issues, send me a private message and I'll lend a hand.

Jim

[Silken Path]

Wow, what a beautiful old Hammond! The bench date on my M3's lost oiling was 9-5-61. Congratulations, indeed.