Motor and spindle bearing for DIY turntable

If you are trying to save money, just buy a pre-built table (pro-ject, rega, et al.) - you are not going to be able to build something better for much less $.

the point of DIY is not to make it cheaper, but to make it better. IMNSHO. For a few grand you can have a table that equals stuff that sells for $10k+. (e.g. a DIY teres in this example).

the truly high-end level of vinyl reproduction is not easily achievable via DIY. E.g. things like vacuum record hold down, air-bearings on the platter, air-bearing linear tracking arm, etc.

-Ed

Ed,

Speaking for myself, the point of DIY is to make it better for less AND to have fun along the way.

Cheers,

- Harald

I used pre-owned VPI bearing and platter, Jr. or MKIII for $200 or less. Then I use the Luxman PD-121 turntable to drive the VPI platter I have to make room for 2 turntables sit side by side. I adjust the pitch on the Luxman TT to get correct speed on the VPI platter. If one use lighter platter than VPI then one can use lesser torque direct drive to drive the platter. Direct drive has super quiet motor.

Depending on how much of the turntable you want to build, the Lenco is a great project, and cheap to boot. However, it comes with its own main bearing and motor and drive system. It is an idler-wheel 'table, very quiet, and with unsurpassed speed stability, the key to good performance. The project entails building a plinth from scratch, finding a tonearm, and depending on the tonearm, cutting the corner off the metal top-plate. To go on the cheapie-cheap, match it to a Decca International tonearm (75 euros I believe from Ah! Tjoeb, if still available), very musical; to extract a stunning performance, match it to a Rega tonearm. Usually go for around $100 to $150 on ebay, depending on the week. Check out the "Building high-end 'tables cheap at Home Despot" thread. Whatever the project, DIY certainly introduces a good dose of fun and pride into this hobby!

Here's where I'm at now. I've got a couple of old Pioneer
tts a PL-50 and a PL-35. I've taken the PL-35 apart and I think I can use the motor, spindle/bearing and platter to construct a TT using my own design for the platten and SAMA. I own a small sign shop and I do a lot of work with acrylics so that's the material I will use for the platten, base and SAMA. I will draw the whole thing up on my CAD system and than pull what I need from that to make the files for the CNC. I'll post some pictures when I get along far enough to have something to look at.

Thanks for all the advice.

George (Winggo)