I just found this in the crawlspace of a home I was inspecting...
Owner said I could have it.
All the pieces appear to be present (except for the head shell & cartridge). The drive belt is even in good condition.
The plinth is dust (almost literally) but it will be easy to build a new one.
Can I restore it? We'll see.
Is it worth it? Of course!
Cheers! 🍺
Owner said I could have it.
All the pieces appear to be present (except for the head shell & cartridge). The drive belt is even in good condition.
The plinth is dust (almost literally) but it will be easy to build a new one.
Can I restore it? We'll see.
Is it worth it? Of course!
Cheers! 🍺
It will be a labour of love.
The platter, inner hub, bearing, substructure, motor are useful. It has a metal top piece IIRC?
A new plinth, belt and a good cleaning, a new belt, and a new arm.
dave
The platter, inner hub, bearing, substructure, motor are useful. It has a metal top piece IIRC?
A new plinth, belt and a good cleaning, a new belt, and a new arm.
dave
Yeah, it's a real simple machine. Much simpler than the last TT repair (not resto) I did on a Pioneer PL-530. My one concern is the white crusty oxidation on the aluminum, or rather the pitting beneath it.
OK, I didn't intend for this to be a chronicle of this restoration, but now that I've gotten a bit into it and have some direction as to where I want to take it, I figure why not?
So here's my progress so far...
The plinth - There's only one thing to do with it:
The T-bar - Really only needed a good cleaning. Used a brass brush for the exterior surfaces, and cleaned and polished the insides of the platter and tonearm shaft - uh - tubes? Not sure of the proper nomenclature. Picked up an exercise floor mat from a thrift store for $5. It's about 6' x 2' of ~1/4" dual-density neoprene... I used it to dampen the T-bar. I'll also use it to dampen the top plate, and maybe the platters...
The platters - I used a random-orbit sander with 120 grit sandpaper to clean up the oxidation on the top of the platters and to give it my preferred finish. The inner platter I mounted in the drill press (tape on the record spindle to protect it from the chuck, the spindle bearing lightly pressed into a piece of softwood clamped to the drill press table), and cleaned up the outer rim with some fine sandpaper. The outer platter's outer rim will be polished once I get some polishing compound...
I also polished the spindle bearing...
This is getting long...
So here's my progress so far...
The plinth - There's only one thing to do with it:
The T-bar - Really only needed a good cleaning. Used a brass brush for the exterior surfaces, and cleaned and polished the insides of the platter and tonearm shaft - uh - tubes? Not sure of the proper nomenclature. Picked up an exercise floor mat from a thrift store for $5. It's about 6' x 2' of ~1/4" dual-density neoprene... I used it to dampen the T-bar. I'll also use it to dampen the top plate, and maybe the platters...
The platters - I used a random-orbit sander with 120 grit sandpaper to clean up the oxidation on the top of the platters and to give it my preferred finish. The inner platter I mounted in the drill press (tape on the record spindle to protect it from the chuck, the spindle bearing lightly pressed into a piece of softwood clamped to the drill press table), and cleaned up the outer rim with some fine sandpaper. The outer platter's outer rim will be polished once I get some polishing compound...
I also polished the spindle bearing...
This is getting long...
...so I'll continue in a new post.
I disassembled the tonearm. I think I'm going to keep the tonearm and refurbish/mod/improve it as much as I can to get the best performance out of it. Since the head shell is gone, I'll replace the headshell socket with an SME type. Just need to find one that's decent quality and not too costly.
The Haydon motor works, but I'll probably take it apart for a good cleaning, polishing, and re-lubing. I'll be replacing all the wires and the two capacitors, and disassembling and cleaning the switch as well...
Getting back to the plinth - Obviously, I'll be building a new one. I have a nice walnut board that'll do the trick. I'm going to make it a little deeper than stock, and maybe add some embellishments. I'll also be replacing the phono cable with RCA jacks on the back of the plinth.
That's it for now....
I disassembled the tonearm. I think I'm going to keep the tonearm and refurbish/mod/improve it as much as I can to get the best performance out of it. Since the head shell is gone, I'll replace the headshell socket with an SME type. Just need to find one that's decent quality and not too costly.
The Haydon motor works, but I'll probably take it apart for a good cleaning, polishing, and re-lubing. I'll be replacing all the wires and the two capacitors, and disassembling and cleaning the switch as well...
Getting back to the plinth - Obviously, I'll be building a new one. I have a nice walnut board that'll do the trick. I'm going to make it a little deeper than stock, and maybe add some embellishments. I'll also be replacing the phono cable with RCA jacks on the back of the plinth.
That's it for now....
...And here's how it came out:
I made the plinth out of maple with walnut splines (to match other walnut accents). Painted the metal top dark blue. Converted the tonearm to an SME-style mount, and got a generic aluminum head shell with an AT VM95E cartridge. Had to shorten the tonearm a bit to get the required 9" pivot-to-needle distance with the new SME mount and head shell. Stuffed the tonearm with 3/8" foam backer rod to add dampening. Re-wired everything:
Replaced the power switch with a 2-pole switch so both the hot and neutral are switched. While I was at it I made a walnut "cap" for the switch, and mounted it with the proper orientation (i.e., Right + On):
Also made a new tonearm rest out of walnut, aluminum. and leather:
To my ears it sounds great. Using the original belt, which I should probably replace. I didn't do anything with the motor; I may take it apart at some point and clean/polish/lube it. I know P10 recommended upgrading the tonearm, but that would take way more $$$ than I'm willing to spend at this point. I need to get a new platter mat for it (the one in the pics is borrowed from my SL1200). I may make a wooden head shell for it (just need to find a donor head shell for the connector). Finally, I may add anti-skate at some point, but I'm pretty happy with how it performs without it.
Overall, I'm pleased with how it came out and I'm glad I was able to save it from going to the landfill...
I made the plinth out of maple with walnut splines (to match other walnut accents). Painted the metal top dark blue. Converted the tonearm to an SME-style mount, and got a generic aluminum head shell with an AT VM95E cartridge. Had to shorten the tonearm a bit to get the required 9" pivot-to-needle distance with the new SME mount and head shell. Stuffed the tonearm with 3/8" foam backer rod to add dampening. Re-wired everything:
Replaced the power switch with a 2-pole switch so both the hot and neutral are switched. While I was at it I made a walnut "cap" for the switch, and mounted it with the proper orientation (i.e., Right + On):
Also made a new tonearm rest out of walnut, aluminum. and leather:
To my ears it sounds great. Using the original belt, which I should probably replace. I didn't do anything with the motor; I may take it apart at some point and clean/polish/lube it. I know P10 recommended upgrading the tonearm, but that would take way more $$$ than I'm willing to spend at this point. I need to get a new platter mat for it (the one in the pics is borrowed from my SL1200). I may make a wooden head shell for it (just need to find a donor head shell for the connector). Finally, I may add anti-skate at some point, but I'm pretty happy with how it performs without it.
Overall, I'm pleased with how it came out and I'm glad I was able to save it from going to the landfill...
Excellent work! Your attention to detail really shows. And what's more impressive is that you resisted the temptation to overdo it (which I'll admit to doing more often than I care to admit).
I may be in the minority here, but I'd say don't sell that tonearm short. It might look a bit "Elmer Fudd", but in my experience it seems to work quite well indeed even with the original headshell. The SME mount is a nice touch that should make it more versatile, too. I'm interested in learning more about how you accomplished that.
Somewhere on another forum there are some detailed instructions on how to convert the pivots to jeweled bearings, and that might be a worthwhile mod (it's simpler than it sounds at first). But anything more than that is likely in the realm of diminishing returns.
I have one down in the basement somewhere that needs some attention. Hmmm...
I may be in the minority here, but I'd say don't sell that tonearm short. It might look a bit "Elmer Fudd", but in my experience it seems to work quite well indeed even with the original headshell. The SME mount is a nice touch that should make it more versatile, too. I'm interested in learning more about how you accomplished that.
Somewhere on another forum there are some detailed instructions on how to convert the pivots to jeweled bearings, and that might be a worthwhile mod (it's simpler than it sounds at first). But anything more than that is likely in the realm of diminishing returns.
I have one down in the basement somewhere that needs some attention. Hmmm...
Yes, I've heard that with some work incl. new bearings the tonearm is worth keeping. Too bad Marc Morin is no longer around (RIP) but a google search should his wealth of information on restoring a XA/XB.
I've read most if not all of Marc Morin's content and learned much from it. It's sad when someone who's become the one authority on a particular arcane subject passes on... at least his knowledge lives on in the ether.
I restored the tonearm (well, the pivot part at least) to its original state, with the original damping mechanism. Converting the "pivots" to jeweled bearings only makes sense if you're removing the damping pin and somehow fixing the pivot core to the outer cylinder. With the original damping mechanism intact, the "pivots" aren't really pivots; they only ensure proper centering of the pivot core to the pivot housing. It makes little difference what their composition is. All the pivoting occurs between the pivot core, which is coupled to the pivot housing with the damping pin, and the outer cylinder, which is coupled to the tonearm post. I made a new neoprene foam washer to go under the teflon washer at the top of the post, and used a light coating of grease on the pivot cylinder. The pivot/damping works pretty much, I suspect, as it was originally intended; which is to say--not great, but not terrible either.
If I had the original AR headshell, I would've used it. But I didn't, and I wasn't willing to spend $50+ on a replacement one, especially not a 3d-printed one.
Adding the SME style coupler required reaming out the tonearm (with a 5/16" drill bit, IIRC) and drilling a hole for the mounting screw on the bottom of the tonearm. Due to the length of coupler as well as the dimensions of the headshell/cartridge combo, I also had to shorten the tonearm a bit at both ends. I also had to drill another hole at the pivot end and extend the indentation a bit so that the tonearm could be properly mounted to the pivot housing. A little nerve-racking knowing that one little mistake could ruin the tonearm, but in the end it turned out well.
I restored the tonearm (well, the pivot part at least) to its original state, with the original damping mechanism. Converting the "pivots" to jeweled bearings only makes sense if you're removing the damping pin and somehow fixing the pivot core to the outer cylinder. With the original damping mechanism intact, the "pivots" aren't really pivots; they only ensure proper centering of the pivot core to the pivot housing. It makes little difference what their composition is. All the pivoting occurs between the pivot core, which is coupled to the pivot housing with the damping pin, and the outer cylinder, which is coupled to the tonearm post. I made a new neoprene foam washer to go under the teflon washer at the top of the post, and used a light coating of grease on the pivot cylinder. The pivot/damping works pretty much, I suspect, as it was originally intended; which is to say--not great, but not terrible either.
If I had the original AR headshell, I would've used it. But I didn't, and I wasn't willing to spend $50+ on a replacement one, especially not a 3d-printed one.
Adding the SME style coupler required reaming out the tonearm (with a 5/16" drill bit, IIRC) and drilling a hole for the mounting screw on the bottom of the tonearm. Due to the length of coupler as well as the dimensions of the headshell/cartridge combo, I also had to shorten the tonearm a bit at both ends. I also had to drill another hole at the pivot end and extend the indentation a bit so that the tonearm could be properly mounted to the pivot housing. A little nerve-racking knowing that one little mistake could ruin the tonearm, but in the end it turned out well.
Drawing a sketch is beyond my capabilities (or rather, motivation) right now, but I'll try to explain based on this photo:
Note: the names of the parts are what I came up with. I'm too lazy to look up the proper nomenclature.
The pivot core slips into the outer cylinder, and is free to rotate within it. The cylinder/pivot core is fitted into the bottom of the pivot housing. Two conical set screws are screwed into the threaded holes in the sides of the pivot housing, and engage teflon-like bushings that are inserted into holes in the center of either flat end of the pivot core. In addition, the damping pin engages a slot in the side of the pivot housing (on the opposite side and not visible in the photo), which locks the rotational movement of the pivot housing with the pivot core. The tonearm post is screwed into a threaded hole in the bottom of the outer cylinder. The pin at the top of the post fits between the groove in the middle of the pivot core, keeping it centered laterally in the outer cylinder. When the tonearm post is screwed in the correct amount, the teflon washer at the top of the post rubs against the raised inner ridges on the pivot core, but there is a flat machined into the raised ridges so that there is no contact with the teflon washer when the tonearm is in the horizontal or near horizontal position (i.e., when a record is playing). So, when properly adjusted, there is some resistance in the pivot when the tonearm is above or below a certain angle, hopefully helping to prevent damage to the stylus if one is a bit clumsy. (phew... would have been easier to draw a sketch).
That is how it was designed to operate. What most people seem to advocate (if retaining the original tonearm) is to remove the damping pin and lock the pivot core (either by physically connecting it to the outer cylinder, or tightening the tonearm post so that it binds the pivot core). Then the conical set screws become the pivots, at which point replacing the teflon bushings with jeweled bearings becomes an option. Note: The official XA service manual mentions disabling the damping mechanism in this way as an option.
Hope that all makes sense... it makes perfect sense to me😉
Note: the names of the parts are what I came up with. I'm too lazy to look up the proper nomenclature.
The pivot core slips into the outer cylinder, and is free to rotate within it. The cylinder/pivot core is fitted into the bottom of the pivot housing. Two conical set screws are screwed into the threaded holes in the sides of the pivot housing, and engage teflon-like bushings that are inserted into holes in the center of either flat end of the pivot core. In addition, the damping pin engages a slot in the side of the pivot housing (on the opposite side and not visible in the photo), which locks the rotational movement of the pivot housing with the pivot core. The tonearm post is screwed into a threaded hole in the bottom of the outer cylinder. The pin at the top of the post fits between the groove in the middle of the pivot core, keeping it centered laterally in the outer cylinder. When the tonearm post is screwed in the correct amount, the teflon washer at the top of the post rubs against the raised inner ridges on the pivot core, but there is a flat machined into the raised ridges so that there is no contact with the teflon washer when the tonearm is in the horizontal or near horizontal position (i.e., when a record is playing). So, when properly adjusted, there is some resistance in the pivot when the tonearm is above or below a certain angle, hopefully helping to prevent damage to the stylus if one is a bit clumsy. (phew... would have been easier to draw a sketch).
That is how it was designed to operate. What most people seem to advocate (if retaining the original tonearm) is to remove the damping pin and lock the pivot core (either by physically connecting it to the outer cylinder, or tightening the tonearm post so that it binds the pivot core). Then the conical set screws become the pivots, at which point replacing the teflon bushings with jeweled bearings becomes an option. Note: The official XA service manual mentions disabling the damping mechanism in this way as an option.
Hope that all makes sense... it makes perfect sense to me😉
