Building high-end 'tables cheap at Home Despot II

This is one of my favorite threads to read with sort of anticipation what you guys are going to come up next.
I love to experiment myself, however finding time is a real problem for me.

I would like to see this thread to be as clean as possible and avoid another shut down by AgoN. (lot of info. down the drain)

Having a different opinion is always refreshing and I am all for it. Person reading this or any other thread won't be force to look at the subject from prefixed point of view but will be expose to the matter from two extreme sides of the argument or view. At the end you are given a choices.....and what it is true I leave it to You - Reader.

Now, to get back to the topic.

I have no expirience with slate or any other natural stone used in building turntables but I do agree with Johnnantais
in regards to mass as a solution (shortcut) to stellar performance and base for Lenco.

My own projects are as slow as a snail but I am getting some work done. MMF 7 with bamboo butcher block plinth, MOERCH UP - 4 tonearm and DENON 103R is long done and sounds way better then original version - hands down. Turntable "X" is almost finish ( I will upload some pictures to "my system" later tonight). The "X" is a combination of quality parts and different techniques are implemented to make it work.
Here are some of them:
Platter: Machined 67mm acrylic contoured to match record surface (indent for record label)
Bearing: Large diameter inverted fixed spindle with polished ceramic ball on Teflon thrust plate.
Motor: Belgium manufactured precision hi torque DC motor
Drive: Mono filament, non elastic drive belt
Plinth: 10 layers 3/4inch each. 5 layers of HQ MDF and 5 layers of HQ(13) Baltic birch.
Motor is not in contact with the plinth ( Almost like MMF7 design) to reduce vibration transmission & noise.
Arm-board is made out of acrylic (0.5inch also oddly shaped)
Separate base made out of the same materials as the plinth. (6 layers. Also a stand for the motor)
Iso-pads used between top 3 and bottom 3 layers of the base. Heavy brass cones for TT (3).
Last but not least, a dedicated stand - 95 pound (aluminium and marble. Fill-able with sand if desire)
Total weight - about 200 pounds.

I can not tell you if it is going to sound any good but I sure hope so.

I do apologize if some of you find it not on topic.
just sharing some ideas that worked for me. Not a Lenco project but some techniques will be implemented in that project as well. I left a Lenco build-of for last becouse a expirience and know how is little on this side of the face but after two smaller projects I am hoping to gain basic skills and knowledge to use in Lenco table building expirience.

Cost of this table is in the region of $1200 and not including arm and cartridge. Arm will be also MOERCH UP - 4 and DENON 103R cart. (arm-boards on all tables are made in such a way that switching arms is fast and easy = cheap)

Next time a little more on all out assault design for my Lenco project.

Cheers

Mariusz S.

Sorry for typo.
Pics are here.
Base will look the same, just thinner.
Stand was purchased from a company that also builds TT.
Materials and 2 stage system will be used in Lenco project.

Mosin, Yes I remember quite well the details of the argument between the Welsh and the US slate plinth-makers. The photo of the slate roof going to seed was a real hoot for its irrelevance and scare tactic. And I agree, from an empirical reasoning, one would think that a soft slate might actually be superior for plinths, even assuming that Welsh and PA slate differ appreciably in that quality. Personally, I don't have a problem with the price of these products; one always has the option of not buying and of DIY.

What struck me about Hxt1's idea of putting slate over MDF/plywood is the similarity to Jean's recent brief mention of using acrylic on top of an MDF/plywood plinth. There is a lot known about the properties of matter that relate to absorption and reflection of transmitted energy between dissimilar materials. One needs to know the values of certain constants for each of these materials to figure out whether these expts have potential. OR build and listen.

Lew,

To give a bit of background, I'll take you back several years. My first e-mail to Jean expressed an interest in building a turntable from cement or machine grout. I abandoned that project shortly after, but the idea always stuck in my mind. Later, when slate hit the scene, I remembered the idea, and looked for similarities. There were many, and working with slate appeared at first glance to be easier. Shortly after that, I started my current project which makes heavy use of slate.

What I have learned, so far:

1) If you combine plinth materials, (I haven't) be sure to study which one should go where. I say this because slate is astonishingly effective, and it should be used in those areas that generate the most noise and vibration.

2) Building with slate isn't an easy road to travel. If your project is complex, there are so many issues to be aware of that it boggles the mind. Is it flat enough? What glue should be used? The list goes on. Also, using slate is a lot harder and slower to work than wood or acrylic. Still, it can be done with normal tools, unless you require extremely precise cutouts in your design.

3) Most mistakes are expensive ones. A small error can quickly take you past the point of no return, so be very methodical in your approach.

4) Slate is the most effective constrained layer material that I have ever used. I mounted a motor directly on the surface, and could not hear it with a Litman pediatric stethoscope from less than a centimeter away. It is very impressive in that regard, but not dead like lead.

5) Soft slate works great. If you happen to lightly chip it, it is easier to fix than some harder material.

6) It's pretty, too. ;)

Regards,
mosin

Hi Everyone,
Well it certainly seems like old times a'brewin here.
Mr. JStark wrote:
"I do apologize if some of you find it not on topic.
just sharing some ideas that worked for me. Not a Lenco project but some techniques will be implemented in that project as well."
No apologies needed at all on this. Your experiences in other facets of plinth building or other "Non-Lenco" areas are quite welcome.
Not far back in the posting, Jean and I were discussing the merits of servo-controlled Direct Drives. So go for it, by all means.

After reading a good bit about the slate upsurge here and elsewhere, I'm certainly rethinking my intended use of a doctored marble surround in a traditional Baltic ply/mdpb plinth. The reclaimed marble, which I have tons of, was going to get internal bore-outs with epoxy fills before fitment to a reduced size traditional plinth. However these heroics with unknown prospects in reducing marble's resonant ringing properties might not be worth the effort.

Maybe a good compromise in choosing a slate quarry would be something along a "Baltic" pedigree. :)

Oh Lew, I believe Jean's use of use of acrylic is not aboard any of his plinths, but is used in conjunction with marble as an "underfoot" base.

Sail on, guys!

- Mario