Woodsong Garrard 301, Artisan Fidelity 301, Shindo 301, SME 301, or etc.?

Chris Harban advised me not to switch to a much heavier platter.
That the 301 motor was not designed to move that much weight.

Yes I agree with Chris on this. The 301 motor is not as powerful as the later 401 and in my experience the timing and coherence of the bass deteriorates with heavier platters on the 301.

Of course the 301 motor was not designed for a heavy platter. That is inarguable. But what does that mean? Is Chris Harban stating that the motor will be damaged by being asked to turn a 25 lb solid brass platter? The Shindo 301 solid brass platter has been used for many years by many 301 fans with no reported failures though it does require a heavy duty after market bearing, preferably solid brass as well. Manually spinning the platter at the same time one engages the power lever helps alleviate start-up stress on the motor.
Again, I agree that the sound changes depending upon which platter one chooses. The descriptors for those changes in sound are subject to debate. I agree that common sense dictates that the OEM platter is the "easiest" for the motor to spin. There is not a motor known to mankind that won't eventually need servicing. 
It seems several people above are implying their particular implementation (plinth, platter, accessories such as bearings and idler wheels, tonearm, mat) are the best. News flash; there is no best and there is no optimum. It is all like making a pot of chili in a chili cook off. All subject to the variations in taste among the judges. 

Heavy stuff on a 301 are a main issue.
Starting with a heavy platter. I will stay with Woodsong’s version of an appropriate platter. Not the original but not very heavy either. Think it is about 6 lbs. 
Think the slate and iron plinths are questionable. Woodsong’s plinth is a very carefully layered ply and panzerholtz affair. Not very heavy but appropriate for the rebuilt 301.
Then it is a question whether or not to use a platter weight.
I use a 2 lb Stillpoints weight and don’t notice any change.
Anyone getting good effects with a weight?

I use a Helox clamp from Acoustical Systems which is very light, in conjunction with a Shindo platter/bearing/mat system. The Shindo is heavier than the stock Garrard platter, but I didn't weigh it so not sure how much heavier. The Shindo components were a significant improvement in my system

https://www.arche-headshell.de/accessoires/helox-reflex-clamp-system/

mglik

Chris at Woodsong does a complete rebuild including new platter.
In addition to highly developed plinths. Mine was $11K. Artisan Fidelity seems to go to a higher, but not necessarily better, level.
They are a few thousand more but Chris says that they farm out much accounting for the extra cost. Chris does everything himself and does an excellent job. I am thrilled with mine.

Some truth here and a little misinformation.  An artist woodworker (albeit a good one!) who restores turntables and apparently began tinkering with machining small parts a few years ago cannot be compared to Artisan Fidelity.  They both have different ideologies.  With Woodsong, and I really do like his work, I even borrowed one of their Classic 301's from a friend a few years ago for use in a second home for almost 6 months. Nice, hand cut veneer, furniture type finish and good quality product. This was before my Dobbins tables arrived during my exploratory period of vintage analog front ends. :)  Flash forward a spell, prior to purchasing my final vintage based analog front end(s), when researching, I discovered that AF partners with iso 9001/9100 machining facilities and privately contracts Rose Hulman engineering consultants to aid in designing their parts for the Garrard 301 Statement and others.  What a person then begins to understand is why these products are expensive to manufacture domestically in limited quantities.  From my understanding, the rest of their team is comprised of a small group of local specialist tradesmen.  Personally, I was seeking someone able to take these vintage machines into the 21st century by way of playback and no compromise engineering while retaining the heart and soul if you will of the original design without modern homogenization.  In the end, the musical satisfaction is top priority and from my perspective and I am very satisfied, to put it mildly.  In reality, two different companies with similar goals, contrasting methods and different philosophies at "play", no pun intended...  All really depends upon your personal system goals and expectations.  In the end, all are solid choices.