Need help with an Expanded Scale Meter

Nice build!
I found a nice vintage hours meter to keep track of tube life, but it makes a bit more mechanical noise that I'd like.
You can try to reduce its voltage: some models have huge operating margins and work happily at 1/3rd of their nominal voltage. A lower supply generally means less noise.
Try inserting various series resistors, probably in the 5K to 100K range, to see at which point it ceases to work reliably
 
I was very optimistic to insert a resistor and see what happened. Unfortunately, my hopes were dashed moments later. Any resistor greater than 10k results in the meter not moving at all - it just buzzes. Smaller resistors actually allow the meter to move and certainly reduce the noise, but still not to a level that I find acceptable.

Bummer. Thanks for the suggestion, though. I think I'll need to look into digital meters that I can find a way to mount inside the housing for the mechanical meter since all of the digital ones have a smaller diameter.
 
I feel like I cheated a bit by replacing a period hour meter with a new (silent) digital one, but here it is anyhow. I think it's time to call this project finished and move on to other things.

In order to make the smaller meter fit the larger cutout, I cut a circle out of some 1/8" Baltic Birch ply, made a hole for the meter, and sprayed it with some truck bed liner to give it some texture. Overall, it looks pretty decent.
 

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