2. analog
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Building high-end 'tables cheap at Home Despot II

“For those who want the moon but can't afford it or those who can afford it but like to have fun and work with their hands, I'm willing to give out a recipe for a true high-end 'table which is easy to do, and fun to make as sky's the limit on design/creativity! The cost of materials, including 'table, is roughly $200 (depending, more or less), and add to that a Rega tonearm. The results are astonishing. I'll even tell/show you how to make chipboard look like marble and fool and impress all your friends. If there's interest I'll get on with this project, if not, I'll just continue making them in my basement. The next one I make will have a Corian top and have a zebra stripe pattern! Fun! Any takers?”

The Lead in “Da Thread” as posted by Johnnantais - 2-01-04

Let the saga continue. Sail on, oh ships of Lenco!
mario_b
mosin
410 posts
 
Lew,

A few points... First, the cost is inline due to the reasons I stated earlier. Second, the meaning of "well coupled to the platter bearing" is different from what everyone has come to accept. The reason is because the constrained layer nature of slate is so efficient that sounds actually change when they travel through it. They don't go far with thick slate, so the coupling becames sheerly a mechanical one. If the mount won't allow the tonearm to become misaligned, it has done its job because there are none of the resonance coupling issues that exist with wood and other materials. It really is that different. That said, Weiss will make one however you like because slate can be cut in virtually any way you can imagine...for a price. I don't know about the other guy, though.

mosin
lewm
13,254 posts
 
I was worried also about (i) how to bolt my Triplanar onto a slate surface, and (ii) whether the slate surface of the tonearm mount can be made perfectly flat and plane parallel to the turntable chassis. If I did it, I would use the "Reinderspeter" (4mm-thick flat steel) top-plate that I recently purchased, and that engenders another question (mentioned by Hxt1) of how to affix the plate to the slate surface, which again has to be as flat as possible. (Do you have an opinion on how to do this?) I am anxious to see the results of your own efforts to incorporate slate in a plinth.
mrjstark
1,112 posts
 


John, I am not promoting belt drives or anything like that.
All I am saying is, that :
plinth design is extremly important
If possible, more mass is better IMO
wood works and is DIY friendly
it is more practical and economically a better choice

Is slate better then combo of MDF, ply baltic birch ???
I do not know.

What I do know is that making plinth for Lenco or any other turntable from slate can and probably is pain in the A$$ to execute successfully and effectively. That is of course only my opinion.
mosin
410 posts
 

Hello again,

"Is slate better then combo of MDF, ply baltic birch ???"

There is absolutely no contest. Slate has properties none of those materials can match. Wood can be used to make a very nice plinth material, but slate has it beat.

"What I do know is that making plinth for Lenco or any other turntable from slate can and probably is pain in the A$$ to execute successfully and effectively."

True, but worth the trouble.

Using slate is a simple case of careful planning, and proficiency with tools. It is definitely not a material for those who do "get by" work, however. Still, I believe it can be handled by most who possess rudimentary skills, and have a few decent tools at their disposal. A $300,000 water jet CNC and a crew to run it does help. ;)

mosin
mrjstark
1,112 posts
 
Well, I have the water jet. All I am missing is the CNC and $300,000 to prove you wrong. LOL
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