More TD-180 Pics

At the suggestion of a few friends and coworkers I'm adding some variations of the Thorens TD-180 photos that highlight the glossy top suface of the turntable a little better.  Being surrounded by photographers, who also happen to be self-promotion experts, can't hurt when you're trying to show off something you've done.

Not a big change, but it adds a little dimension to the surface.

This one really shows it off in the reflection of the tonearm.

Thanks to everyone for your input and support!

Thorens TD-180 Restoration

I've been building, rebuilding, and refurbishing turntables for a couple of years now, and in my constant striving to improve each new build I have learned a lot about woodworking and finishing.  This latest rebuild maintains all of the original functionality of the Thorens TD 180 that was its foundation, and adds improved vibration dampening, a hand polished gloss black lacquered top and beautiful zebra wood outer frame.  The pictures below will walk you through the process of transforming this basic black production unit into a highly customized show piece.

The final product - more final images below.

Zebra wood and a hand-miter saw.

A comparison between the old and new.

I learned a lot about joint work in trying to
make the zebra wood striping appear continuous.

The top plate was duplicated with a router
using a circle-cutting jig, and then a
pattern-cutting bit.

Test assembly before finishing.  I've decided on a lustre finish
lacquer for the zebra wood, and a glossy black for the top plate.

The piano-gloss black had to be wet-sanded using eleven progressively
finer sandpaper grits, and then three stages of polishing compound.  All
together, the finish took me about 30 hours of labor.

Finishing in progress - you can't see it from here but at this stage there was
still a fine orange peel texture to the black lacquer.

Here are some additional final photos.  A few minor tweaks such as adjusting the speeds for accuracy, and setting up the cartridge properly, will get this beauty ready for delivery.  I'm not sure I will pursue the piano-gloss black in the future, but I am much more informed about professional finishes, and that will improve each new turntable project.

Thanks for stopping by,

Brian

Detail of the speed control switch.

The zebra wood plinth contrasts very nicely with the gloss black.

I added a Grado moving iron cartridge to ensure quality audio reproduction.

Brian's Turntable Manufactory

After lots of construction and reworking of my space this past 6 months, I'm finally back up and running.  It feels good to be back in the shop!  I have one major rebuild nearly complete and will be posting it within the week.  With another refurbished classic and a completely redesigned vintage Thorens on the way I should be pretty busy for the next few weeks.

This 9'x9' space actually works out fairly well.

Repurposed Ikea Furniture is now workbench and shop storage.
(And a sneak peek at the new turntable!)

A little organization goes a long way.

The light is good during the day, though I
need a couple of shop lights for evenings.

Soldering Station

iPod and Phono interface for the
shop stereo.

More to come.  With so many projects in progress I'll be posting weekly over then next month or so to update and show off the new turntables.  Stop by for a look and let me know what you think.

BC

Simple Restorations

There is a lot to be said for a good, classic turntable that works.  The problem is that so many of them have quirky little problems that condemn them to life in a box in the attic.  I've recently rediscovered the joy of restoring these little jewels in a couple of small projects.

An old Marantz 6100 that I put a good bit of time into in the past, and a recent repair job on a Dual 1246.

The Marantz 6100 was one of my first turntables, and I put a lot of time and effort into it.  I disabled the automated functions and removed some of the parts, overhauled the tonearm bearings and cable, and then installed Dynamat on the sub platter and inner plinth for resonance dampening.  After that I put in a new motor and belt to complete the restoration.

Marantz 6000 Series are really sharp looking and well built.

Overall, the Marantz is a very capable turntable with a full and rich sound.  I used it for almost 2 years before passing it on to a friend.  When his turntable got upgraded this one came full circle, back to me.

Marantz's early stock tonearm remains one of the better mass-produced arms available.

The second project was the recent repair of a Dual 1246 for an acquaintance.  While these are much more complex and have way too many moving parts for me, they also have a reputation for being some of the best automatic turntables around.

Dual 1246 - One of many excellent models from this maker.

Mostly this turntable just needed lots of adjustments.  The tonearm would no longer move into place when using the automatic start and stop, and the way the system is designed makes it difficult to use it manually.  A couple of hours, and a few Google searches later got this back up and running like a champ.

Thorens TD-316 Rebuild

The TD-316 - Reborn!

I had it in my head that I had to stay on track with the production turntable I'm working on when this great, but damaged TD dropped into my lap.  With my shop now set up and ready to go, and a really beautiful slab of flamed maple in my possession, I got the bug to build!

It came without an arm, and with a giant chunk
of one corner of the plinth missing.

It wasn't difficult to get measurements from the old plinth and transfer them to the blank maple slab.  I did, however spend a good bit of time deciding which surface would be the top, and then which would be the front.  With that part sorted out I cut the slab down to size, and then used my router table and a straight bit to plane the edges.  Then, I drilled out the motor and spindle holes, and sorted out where the electrics would be located.

The maple is still pretty much intact, and gives a good weight and solid feel to the turntable

After that I used my random orbit palm sander to do an 80-120-220-320 sanding on all the surfaces of the plinth to prepare it for its lacquer finish.  For this project I chose a spray gloss lacquer with no staining to reveal the natural beauty of the wood.  After 15 coats of lacquer, with very light buffing using   a 000 steel wool in between each coat, I was ready to finish the build.

Sub-Platter in place.

From there, the only thing left to do was to determine which tonearm to use.  I had recently rewired and refurbished this old Acos/Rega R200, and it seemed like the perfect candidate for the job.  After a few careful and precise measurements, and a little work with the drill press, the arm was in place!

This arm originally came on the Rega Planet turntable from the early 1970's

After some testing, a little work on the grounding, and several hours of just playing time, the rebuilt TD-316 is ready for service.  I just can't decide if I should keep it, or try to sell it.  (Eventually that's the whole point - to make a little side money doing something I really enjoy.)

I added the platter dampening rings, then auditioned it with my
Dynavector 10x5 cartridge and the sound is simply amazing!

You can see two feet in the three-point stance in this shot.  Very stable,
and sonically preferred by many audiophiles.

Hello

As the first post to this blog, this will be brief.  As many of you know, I've been working on building turntables for some time now.  The first was successful, if not anything particularly amazing to look at, and now the second turntable is completed!

My first attempt.

As I move forward I'll give you all continuing updates on my projects, and a look around the shop.

The latest - a Thorens TD316 rebuild - more pics to come.

Thanks for taking a minute to check out the Pivot to Spindle!

  Brian