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Building high-end 'tables cheap at Home Despot II

“For those who want the moon but can't afford it or those who can afford it but like to have fun and work with their hands, I'm willing to give out a recipe for a true high-end 'table which is easy to do, and fun to make as sky's the limit on design/creativity! The cost of materials, including 'table, is roughly $200 (depending, more or less), and add to that a Rega tonearm. The results are astonishing. I'll even tell/show you how to make chipboard look like marble and fool and impress all your friends. If there's interest I'll get on with this project, if not, I'll just continue making them in my basement. The next one I make will have a Corian top and have a zebra stripe pattern! Fun! Any takers?”

The Lead in “Da Thread” as posted by Johnnantais - 2-01-04

Let the saga continue. Sail on, oh ships of Lenco!
mario_b
ianll
3 posts
 
Hi,
That experiment over on Lenco Heaven is mine, an idea I've been toying with for ages ever since I saw a Lenco been used to drive a Linn via a long belt! That I thought was not the way to get the benefits of idler drive but the idea of isolating the motor further did appeal. I've tried using an intermediary idler to link the two platters and also driving the passive platter direct from the other by fitting an O ring around the driving platter. (The motor coils have been turned to make it go backwards.) I intuitively like the direct drive but it has a few problems regarding lack of compliance in the system so it's quite difficult to get the sweet spot regarding the pressure on the O ring but when it's "on" it sounds very nice indeed. It's a work in progress and a friend is helping me with some more elegant solutions regarding the drive mechanism but it's fun and to my ears is showing real promise.
Regards, Ian
lewm
13,019 posts
 
Re isolating the motor: that is one of the major benefits of the PTP3 in a slate plinth, IMO. And that solution does not require any Rube Goldberg devices in between the motor and everything else. (Rube Goldberg was an American cartoonist who made his mark by depicting unnecessarily intricate devices, often involving animals, to be used for simple tasks, in cartoon format.)
ianll
3 posts
 
Hi Lewm,
You may well be right, I have a PTP3 on a slate plinth:

http://www.lencoheaven.net/forum/index.php?topic=250.0

and it sounds excellent. Your Rube sounds like our Heath Robinson who did the same thing in the early part of the last century. I am not out to prove this is the best way to build a Lenco, it's my Heath Robinson machine which is turning out to be a lot of fun and sounds great too.
Regards, Ian
lewm
13,019 posts
 
Hi Ian, Very nice job on your slate plinth. I see you are also using an RS-A1 tonearm. I have one, too. It's a great choice for a slate plinth, because no drilling is necessary to install one, not to mention that the sound is excellent despite or because of the weird mechanics. I have my slate cut, and I have the PTP3 kit and a "donor" Lenco L75. I just need to seal the slate, paint the PTP3, and then bolt it all together.

I wonder what Jean is up to these days.
musicfile
341 posts
 
Last I heard Jean is working on a bearing upgrade
and has discovered the ideal mat and clamp for our Lenco's
More to discover