Say it aint so--- Teres quality question

The bearing, motor and speed controller are top drawer. The plinth, platter and armboard design is simple which is a good thing. However, I noticed the same woodworking issues with this 265 plus a couple more. The armboard that was supplied was almost 42 mm tall as opposed to the specified 27 mm. This dimension is not posted on the Teres website as far as I could tell and only found this out after prolonged correspondence. Of course, this has caused a lot of stress trying to establish VTA. Hopefully this will be resolved soon. The armboard bolt that was supplied was much too short. The mating surfaces of the plinth/armboard exibited a lot of daylight which led me to check the top and bottom surfaces of the armboard and what I found was not good. These sufaces are not flat and is very visible with the naked eye in every plane, ie; length, wide and diagonal. The holes that are drilled for the tonearms are done with Forstner bits of inch increments. Since tonearms are fabricated in metric and Forstner bits are readily available in metric sizes I wonder why they don't use them. It would make fitting the VTA collar to the hole a much easier and cleaner job. The irregular wooden surfaces are the result of running short pieces through a planer plus sanding techniques. It's the nature of the process. The platter with this table is cupped from the outside toward the spindle by a considerable degree (perhaps 1/8") but seems to rotate true. I may have a slightly biased opinion about this type of manufacturing that is in disagreement with the manufacturer. I realize that you could take a coffee table and drill three holes in it and probably have a great table but I expected machined surfaces. That is what they say in their description of the platter although the pictured platter is acrylic. Once you get your hands on one of these you understand that there is very little that is critical dimensionally. The holes need to be perpendicular to the plinth. The armboard surfaces need to be parallel to the platter. Of course, the armboard needs to be close to the correct height. Cocobolo may be the best thing that ever happened in the analog world and I doubt that warpage or delamination will ever be an issue BUT I feel strongly that the surfaces should be machined in a mill. I'm not a happy camper and this isn't my table. I did recommend it though and feel very bad for that but I'm also confident that it will be fine in the end. For my money I would buy the bearing and motor/controller and build my own. Perhaps the worst part of this whole thing is writing these words. I hate to do it and I fear I may become very unpopular very quick. I do have photos to back up my claims.

The lamination process used is the same as wooden boat builders use. Cocobolo is a very dense hardwood, which is harvested from the South American Rain Forests. IMO there a better chance of the acrylic platter warping, than their wooden platters. Just beware of termites, & sparks from your fireplace. And don't be tempted to place it atop a clear acrylic sandbox, doubling as a Carpenter Ant Farm :-)~

Thanks Lugnut for your sincere post. I for one always enjoy you posts because of your honest, straightforward answers, and enlightened suggestions.
Ron

I too am bulding my own turntable, using a combination of cocobolo wood and brass. And while i have no direct experience with the Teres TT, I absolutley agree with Lugnut, that the term accuracy for a wood-worker is totally different that of a machinist. Every piece of wood on my TT is finished on a lathe or mill, its the only way to get the wood to close enough to my definition of accurate.

My .02.

OK, Once again, most of you here know what I am doing.

I agree with Patrick about the quality of the bearing, etc. I will also say that the quality of the acrylic platter is top notch. The only problem I can see with the acrylic platter is some VERY FINE scratches, which I doubt 99% of people out there would notice. If I thought it was a problem, I'd call Chris, and I'm sure he would take care of it.

If you have an issue with Teres (the company) woodwooking skills, try this: DO IT YOUR SELF! I am. Then you can find out just how hard it is to do properly. You can get it perfect, if you want, I know I can. But, a very big but, why spend the energy to make it absolutely perfect if it does not have to be? There are parameters that need to be met, but outside of that you just get ridiculous. I can build you one that is absolutely perfect in every aspect, but it will cost you 10-12k. And that's for just a wood one, no inlays, no bells and whistles, no veneer. End grain on the edges. Do you want to spend that? If you do, it will be perfect. Flat, level, no gaps, no cup. Wanna know something funny; it will not stay that way. Wood is affected by temperature, humidity, and other factors. IT MOVES. It's organic.

I consider myself a very accomplished woodworker. I do very high end work. For those who are willing to pay for it. I am very expensive. I can't imagine how Teres builds the table for the price they get for them. I am willing to bet that if you take a look (physically take a look) at a 300 series, the quality will be higher than the 200 series, which is higher than the 100 series. More money = higher quality, period.

BTW, I don't feel at all guilty about using exotics. The denser the better, and I am not in the least worried about ants, termites, fire, or any of that goofy crap.