Dover
Ct0517 - when I do VTA adjustments I always loosen the 4 bolts slightly to release pressure on the arc block, and then retorque. Indeed if you loosen the bolts too much alignment goes out, but you can loosen them slightly whilst arm is mounted if you are careful.
This gives new meaning to ET2 VTA On The Fly.
Before I drive down the road in my car, I make sure that the rubber has been mounted properly on the rims, and that the wheels have been properly installed and torqued on the car, before it hits the road. I don't touch the bolts after that. This is no different and the reason for the analogy.
Dover
By the way in your original post you suggest using the short end of the allen key - in fact using the long end in the cap screw, and turning the short end to turn will put less torque on the bolt.
The wording I posted is direct from Bruce. I took "use the short end" to mean the person "holding" the short end, which is what is implied. However you took the meaning differently, and maybe others did too, so lets clear this up. Here are Bruce' instructions again and @ Dover, note the wording below "'We would not attempt this adjustment with the tonearm installed on a turntable. "
Chris,
My first rule would be to use the short end of the Allen wrench as the lever for torquing any screws on the ET-2. The short lever arm will limit the applied torque.
For the two bearing blocks that mesh the pinion to the rack in the arc block we first adjust the blocks so that they are parallel to the manifold housing with a .060 -.090 gap between the bearing block and the back adjacent surfaces on the manifold housing.
The friction between the manifold housing and the arc block define the feel of the VTA mechanism lever action. We want this to offer some resistance, but not too much when a VTA adjustment is attempted. Turn the 4/40 x 3/4 bearing block screws so that some friction is encountered when adjusting VTA but not so much that the VTA mechanism locks up. We would not attempt this adjustment with the tonearm installed on a turntable.
The main failures we see with the arc blocks are:
1.The threaded insert on back surface of the arc block is cracked due to over torquing of 8-32 stainless steel button head post mounting screw.
2.The bearing blocks on either side of the arc block which support the pinion gear are over torqued which crushes the pinion into the rack and binds the mechanism, if a VTA change is attempted with over torqued bearing blocks the pinion turns and the rack does not move, stripping the teeth on the rack.
I hope the above helps
- brucet
