Building high-end 'tables cheap at Home Despot II

I expect the sonics of the material will be less significant due to the fact it will be glued to a very massive stack of ply and mdf. I think the sheer mass of the steelplate will be a bigger advantage.

Well I have already decided to use the same plinth formula for my Garrard 301. My friend has a Thorens TD124 and we will be doing the same with that too. Should be a very interesting shoot out when all are completed.Incidentally has anyone tried stepping the voltage down on the Lenco. I know that stepping down from 240v to 180v on the Garrard helped improve things.What do you guys think?Nigel

Jean,
The main reason I took the standard speedadjustment system out is because that way you greatly increase the contact area between plate and plinth in the important area around the bearing. speed adjustment will still be possible, but with a little more hassle.

Came back home last night after a month of travels to find a package (with postage stamps!) waiting for me on the hall table – the plastic idler rebuild for my Bogen/Presto Lenco-L-61. It was performed by a semi-retired gentleman in Mississippi named Ed Crockett to whom I have no affiliation other than being a very satisfied customer. The rubber rebuild is identical in both plane profiles as the original. (Note: Always save as much of the original rubber as possible to send into any rebuild service) The tire is supple, yet firm. It takes about three weeks and costs $25, which includes return shipping. Anybody interested in this service can e-mail me for details.

My next step is to rethink the material for dampening the wheel. Unlike Lenco metal wheels, the plastic ones have (4) 90-degree pie wedge recesses on one side that just beg for some kind of treatment. Initially, I applied a self-adhering rubber butyl called “Kool Patch”, but I think this may have added a little too much mass to the wheel. Lately I’ve been thinking of using the roofing product called “Ice Guard” (kind of a poor man’s Dynamat) – a thin matt that is rolled on roofs in place of felt over eaves (under shingles) to prevent ice damning. It has an adhesive on one side and can be cut with scissors. The big drawback with this product is that it has a tendency to spew out tiny bits of mica, asphalt and fiberglass – hardly the stuff you want dropping into a Lenco motor. So I’m thinking of sealing it once in place on the plastic idler wheel. Any suggestion for a sealant? An enamel lacquer?

After my older brother’s jaw was retrieved from the floor while listening to the humble little analog system that I set him up with a few days ago (headed by a Garrard Zero-100 rim drive), I could almost swear that there were tears welling up in his eyes as he grooved to his old beloved Stan Getz LP. Reaching around his back, I grasped his far shoulder and intoned, “I know… I know. It’s the long lost sound of analog that’s come back like an old friend”.

Hey Mario, you might want to avoid sealing the plastic wheel with anything that has a lot of solvent in it. It probably wont melt the wheel but could possibly weaken/warp it.

Mike