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Subject: Re: Novatron rebuild.

From: lsf5275@aol.com
Date: 2010-06-04

I have posted some photos of the completed White Novatron on the home page in the photos section. This project turned into a full-blown restoration due to the terrible condition of the machine. The owner purchased it as a restored machine in excellent condition from Streetly back in 2003 and then let it go completely to waste because of poor storage, handling and zero maintenance. It became a rotted, rusted and corroded mess. It turned out to be a lovely machine and with the new Streetly tapes it sounds wonderful and plays great. I will be taking it and (hopefully) the formerly blue Mellotron to NEARfest this year.
 
For those that can view them, here are some photos of another machine I have also just completed. M400S # 438. UPS crushed the lid in and broke the cabinet as well as breaking the Mellotron frame off its wood mounts and putting compound bends in the main frame and the keyboard frame as well.
 
I will upload a whole series of photos of this machine to the home page as it was an interesting project.
 
 
The frame side rails were badly bent and because the were "L" shaped, it was difficult to get them perfectly straight again. It was necessary to completely disassemble the frame.
My camera lens makes all close of photos distorted.
This frame is absolutely straight.
Ready for the cabinet
The left side was nearly completely broken away.
Glued and rescrewed
Rear frame mount reglued and with two screws added.
Primed and ready for paint
The front of the lid was sheared off.
Main frame reinstalled
Room for a small child
Ready to go home
I like black wire looms.
Finished keyboard. No matter how much you do to recondition old rollers, new ones make all the difference in the world and are a great investment.