Tips On Tuning Up An Animated Guilford Platform

I suppose they still exist, but I have never seen one operate correctly after being in storage.  Here are some bullet points on what I have done to get them going.

• Make sure the mat is not stuck down to the metal base anywhere.  The mat must be completely floating on the metal base
• A mat can be made to look “like new” again with a coating of liquid black shoe polish.  When it dries, make sure it isn’t stuck down anywhere
• The metal guides are there for a reason.  Oftentimes they need re-bent a little to keep the little people on track.  Especially critical is the turn they make to go down the ramp.  There needs to be a little curl at the end of that one guide
• The mohair or fiber “feet” of the little people sometimes gets so worn it needs replaced.  Our parts dealers have that material.  On the one I just installed, I needed to stroke them down the face of a steam iron at a slight angle to “set” the fibers in the correct direction for them to travel forward and hug the guide rails
• The intensity of the vibration needs to be regulated.  Some guys use a small, dedicated vintage AC transformer, which is a great idea.  There should also be an adjusting rod coming through the one side.  Turn that rod with a pair of pliers to adjust the coil so the mat is vibrating with the correct amount of robustness.  Too gentle and the little people won’t move well.  Too much and they go spastic.  If there is no adjusting rod, then you can make one with wire from an old coat hanger
• The Platform must be level.  Use small shims on one or more sides if it is not
• Sometimes, but not often, the coil needs rewound.  Those coils are pretty robust and engineered to work for long periods of time.  But they are also 60+ years old by now.  Rewinding is easy.  Just discard the old enameled wire and match it to gauge at Radio Shack.  You can go a wee bit heavier and it will take a few less turns, but I wouldn’t go lighter.

The action car that comes with a Guilford Platform usually always works “as is”.  Test yours with leads from a transformer to make sure it does.  The linker couplers can be adjusted and made to work reliably.  I have a post on that elsewhere on my blog.  I use a drop of oil on a Q-tip on the axels, then a wire wheel on my Dremel to remove any corrosion on the axels.  A hair dryer turns the white residue into a transparent substance.  90% rubbing alcohol on an old rag removes crud from the plastic wheels.  A wire wheel on my bench grinder shines up the metal wheels and the underside of the activation lever.  Some oil on an old rag goes a long way to remove corrosion and helps to protect against further corosion on the metal chassis.  Pledge spray furniture polish restores a nice shine to the painted shell.  Floquil maroon paint is an exact match for any paint loss.