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Wilson turntable

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  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: west coast
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Wilson turntable
Posted by rrebell on Tuesday, August 11, 2020 9:02 AM

I have run accross these many times and they are always on e-bay. Question is has anyone accually used one here or seen one that was installed.

  • Member since
    February 2002
  • From: Reading, PA
  • 30,002 posts
Posted by rrinker on Tuesday, August 11, 2020 9:13 AM

 Took a bit - searching for Wilson Turntable results in some crazily priced audiophool record player. Looks like it was sold as the Wilson's Turntable. Sure is an oldie, never saw one in real life though. Looks similar to others I've seen in ads in really old issues of MR. Don;t recall seeing any reviews of any of them though, but there might be one from back in the day. 

 No clue on installation or anything, but from pictures it looks like it would be a reasonable starting point to add detail to. Does not appear to be indexed or anything, looks like a simple motor drive to spin it. Which is exactly what I'm after as well, since my turntable will be near the front of the layout.

Edit: Novemeber 1966 there is an article about building your own photocell indexing system, the author added his indexing to a Wilson turntable, so there are a few pictures.

 

                                         --Randy

 


Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's

 

Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.

  • Member since
    September 2002
  • 216 posts
Posted by KemacPrr on Tuesday, August 11, 2020 10:20 PM

I have one that I bought back in the early 60's. I replaced the motor years ago with a Holland can motor. It has been working ever since !!  I added a dcc decoder for motor control so I can use a handset to control the speed of the table. Makes it easy to line up with a wanted track . Pit is metal . ----------- Ken 

  • Member since
    February 2002
  • From: Reading, PA
  • 30,002 posts
Posted by rrinker on Wednesday, August 12, 2020 8:45 AM

 Is it the one at Renovo? If so, I can't tell that it is older than I am. Looks like they don't go for ridiculous prices, either, judging by the sold ones on eBay. One, the seller thoughfully took photos of all the instructions and everything - only problem I see if it might be a tiny bit short to turn a T-1.

Edit: I think this is it, can barely see the bridge wheels but they look like the ones in the eBay photos of the Wilson's turntable. Looks perfectly acceptable to me (photo I took on Ken's layout)

                                        --Randy


Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's

 

Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.

  • Member since
    February 2020
  • 10 posts
Posted by Soo61245 on Wednesday, August 12, 2020 9:55 AM

I purshased one in the early 60's. I seem to remember that the company was referred to as Wilson's of Cleveland.  It worked for awhile but was very noisy, probably because of the metal pit.  For some reason I tinkered with the motor mounting screws and the drive disengaged from the table...after that, the motor ran but it wouldn't move the table...never did get it running again.  The motor was wired to the power pack with a DPDT toggle switch.  With that you could control the speed the table turned.  It's long gone and I've had the 130' Walthers now since they were first released.

john

 

  • Member since
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  • From: Canada, eh?
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Posted by doctorwayne on Wednesday, August 12, 2020 2:59 PM

Hi John,

My apologies for taking this thread off-topic, but I just wanted to let you know that I did receive your PM, but for some reason, the site will not even allow me to create a reply, let alone send it.

To answer your query about the plugged Paasche VL:

When I've finished an airbrushing session (I always use bottles for the paint, never the colour cup - it's too small, and also too easy to spill the paint when doing oddly-shaped items).
I fill the colour cup with lacquer thinner, regardless of the type of paint I was using, and spray the entire contents into the spray booth. I then re-fill the colour cup with lacquer thinner, and place it on the floor of the spray booth. 
The air brush is then disassembled, with the air cap, air body, and tip all placed in the lacquer thinner in the colour cup (they're usually clean already from the spray-through of thinner, but the thinner's cheap and the extra step is easy).

Next, the lock nut (part 36) is removed, then the needle adjusting sleeve (part 35) followed by the spring (part 34). 

I then take a pipe cleaner and dip one end into the colour cup containing the lacquer thinner, and insert the wetted tip into the front end of the rocker assembly (part 30), pushing it right through and out the other end.

Next, the same pipe cleaner (it's usually still clean, as paint has never gotten into the rocker assembly, as far as I'm aware) is again dipped into the lacquer thinner in the colour cup, and inserted into the rear of the needle passageway in the VL shell, and pushed through until the front end emerges and can be pulled out.

I then immediately push the same end of the same pipe cleaner into the orifice into which the colour cup or siphon of a bottle would be attached, pushing it so that it slides out the front of the needle's passageway.

All that's left to do is fish the parts out of the colour cup, and dry them (I usually slip the tip of the pipe cleaner gently into the tip, to remove any remaining thinner, and then re-assemble the airbrush.

If the airbrush shell itself is clogged with paint (I've never had that happen) you'd be wise to further disassemble it, as there's a packing washer (part 21...where the needle passes through the packing nut, part 22), and also, where the air hose attaches, there's a valve washer (part 25, which fits atop the valve plunger, part 26).

The packing washer is plastic of some sort, which doesn't seem to be affected by the lacquer thinner on the pipe cleaner, but I'd be concerned if it were immersed in thinner for some time if you needed to soak the VL shell. 
The valve washer may be rubber or neoprene, but since it wouldn't, under normal circumstances, ever be exposed to lacquer thinner, it's difficult to say if it would stand-up to a lengthy period of soaking in lacquer thinner.

Part of my reason for using lacquer thinner as an airbrush cleaner, instead of water, is that it works well with any type of paint I've ever used - lacquer based (Floquil, Dullcote, and Glosscote and quite a few older paints, acetone paints (SMP's Accupaint), naptha & xylene-based (Scalecoat I & II), petroleum distillates (Humbrol), and pretty well any water-based paints, too, including clear urethane finishes (not normally used on models, but I did use my VL to re-finish an oak table, rescued from a library)

The other reason is that my paint shop is in my unheated and not-connected-to-water garage, about 100' behind the house.  Spraying water into the paint booth in winter would not be a good practice.  I do use a portable electric heater when painting, though, and always wear a two stage respirator whenever airbrushing, no matter what type of paint I'm using or whether I'm working in the paint shop or outdoors.

Wayne

You may now return to your regularly scheduled topic.  Smile, Wink & Grin

  • Member since
    September 2002
  • 216 posts
Posted by KemacPrr on Thursday, August 13, 2020 8:21 PM

Yup thats the Wilson turntable. Does not owe me one cent. It was long enough for the M's and I-1's and RDG T's when I ran steam. Figured I was 13 or 14 when I bought it. Will turn 72 this year !! It's in better shape than me !! -  Ken 

  • Member since
    February 2002
  • From: Reading, PA
  • 30,002 posts
Posted by rrinker on Thursday, August 13, 2020 8:45 PM

 Well that's good news, if it fits a T. I'm stretching a bit to have a couple still in service because I like them, but other than that, and the shop switcher 1251, the rest of the layout will be all diesel. Now a vintage Wilson is an alternative to the finicky Walthers and the expensive Diamond Scale and CMR ones. Pretty sure I can handle the mechanical side of swapping the old motor for a more modern one.

                                            --Randy


Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's

 

Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.

  • Member since
    March 2012
  • 1,134 posts
Posted by PC101 on Thursday, August 13, 2020 9:02 PM

I have one here and I can not post pictures here. I have no photo hosting site that I like. Remember the Photobucket scandle? When someone has a question on something that I can go and take a picture of that something and then just maybe resize, rename and upload that sounds so simple to me. Other wise, I have to take a picture, go and put it on the photo hosting site then retrieve it and post the link back here, sounds like extra work to me. All my photos are on my files, CD or memory cards.

OK back to the Wilson's Turntable.

Wilson's HO Turntable, cost $22.95 some where around 1967. 

Howard Industries

MSL Industries Inc. /Motor Group

6502 N.W. 16th. St.

Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

End of rail to end of rail is 16-1/8'', 118' in HO. Metal tray/pit when turning the bridge is very noisy. It has four push buttons on the control to turn the turntable CW or CCW and to power the rail this way or that way. Brass rail on fiber ties. Cut the hole 15-3/8'' in the layout. Run with 12 volts DC. I have the ''Instructions for Installing'', ''Return for Overhaul and Recondition'' paper work and it was packed in the box (I still have the box) with part of ''The Miami Herald'' news paper, date of paper, Monday Feb. 13, 1967.     

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: west coast
  • 7,584 posts
Posted by rrebell on Friday, August 14, 2020 9:37 AM

Like I said, never had heard anything about them but always see them on e-bay, sometimes in pairs.

  • Member since
    February 2020
  • 10 posts
Posted by Soo61245 on Friday, August 21, 2020 11:58 AM

Hello Wayne: Can't tell if you've received my PM in response to your suggestions.  I used the lacquer thinner as you suggested and the VL is now unclogged and I'm back spraying again.  Thanks again for the advice.

Almost forgot....Have you sprayed any Tru-Color (acetone based) paint with your VL?  As I run out of PolyScale, that is what I'll probably use.

john

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