Height of VPI Stainless HW-19 LP Clamp?

High Jameswei,
Thank you very much for your response.

The measurement I get with my VPI black all Delrin 1 piece deluxe Clamp (Actually two pieces conjoined) is 1.766" tall with my dial indicator.

I gather then, that the newer Deluxe 1 piece Clamp with the Delrin Base, and Stainless Steel Top Knob is then slightly shorter in height then than the one I have?

Can you please perhaps confirm this for me, since you state you have both Clamps?

The reason I'm asking, is that I have recently upgraded my HW-19Jr with a Mk-IV Platter, and the supplied all Delrin Clamp that came with it is dangerously close to the inside of my stock height dustcover. I had to resort to slightly raising my Dustcover in the rear to prevent damage for the time being.

And my BDR two piece CF clamp (Which has a much shorter profile than the VPI Black Delrin Clamp) will not button up with some of my 200 Gram LPs with this particular Platter, so this will hopefully be getting sold shortly. I figure why keep the BDR Clamp if it won't play with the finest LPs of my collection?

I realize I do have one other option around this, and that would be buying the taller 4" HW-19 Dustcover, but if the newer Clamp is shorter in height, I'd like to go this route instead.

I have personally found that these are some of the little "quirks" that plagued the HW-19 series. Thanks again! Mark

In my attempts to lower the entire platter/plinth to gather more clearance with the 1 Piece Delrin Clamp, I have adjusted the bearing well plug as low as it can safely go, without causing rubbing between the Bearing Flangem abd Bearing Well Flange.

Then I discovered 1 spindle washer placed on top of each of my 4 sorbothane suspension Pucks. I removed these, and yes, I gained a little clearance, but then that created another problem. The Motor Pulley cover when buttoned up on to of the standoffs now touched the Motor Pulley, so I had to find some slightly thicker rubber washers to place in between the standoffs, and motor pulley cover. Too thick, and the little top nuts threads won't catch.

This is why I say the 19 series was quirky, and appeared to lack a little better design thought by the VPI team. Seems your always fighting to gain a 1/16" here, and a 1/16" there. Mark

I just measured my all black delrin two piece "One Piece" clamp, and the height is 1 13/32 inches. I stood it side-by-side with the stainless + delrin clamp and indeed the all black delrin was shorter, as the measurements would suggest.

This implies that my all black delrin clamp is different from yours. (Have you double checked your measurement with another measuring device? Sorry, I couldn't help asking.) The good news is that if your 1.766 inch tall clamp is just slightly too tall, there should be a good selection of VPI clamps that could fit OK. You could even get a short all black delrin like mine, and it might work out.

My all black delrin came with my VPI HW 19 Mark III, which I bought new in 1997. I vaguely recall that there was a choice of VPI dustcovers, a short and a tall, and I got the short one because the Mark III platter wasn't as thick as the Mark IV platter. I don't know if you are using a VPI dustcover, but perhaps the better solution would be to get a taller dustcover. (Obviously, you might prefer to avoid this expense.) If no one has the right VPI dustcover for this discontinued turntable line, Gingko Audio offers a selection of dustcovers and will do custom work. I've had good experiences with them, but they aren't real cheap either.

Hi, I must've been 1/2 asleep this morning when a measured with the dial indicator! lol

Re-measuring again, with a conventional Tape Measure, I come up with almost precisely 1-5/8"

So then, I'm gathering that the newer Delrin-Stainless one piece that I see advertised at MusicDirect is actually taller then than mine?

I tried calling VPI this morning, and they were closed?
I'll try again tomorrow, and perhaps if I can get someone to answer the phone, they can shed a bit more light on this for me, what Clamps are currently available, and what their measurements are. Thanks, Mark

You might try going clampless. I just demonstrated the merits of this to a HW-19 Mk 14 user yesterday, first with a DIY spotmat and then with my Boston Audio Mat 1. In both cases the sound opened up a lot without the clamp and there were no detectable downsides. YMMV and all that, but I gave up on clamps on my TNT Mk 2 quite a few years ago. Good luck, Dave