Stereophile interviewed the designer a long time ago. A hint and some more useful info maybe
http://www.stereophile.com/interviews/1087fire/
"there's maybe a shotglass full of silicone lube—Dow-Corning 200 silicone fluid—in the spindle well."
Zach
Silicone fluid for tonearm
Zach,
Thanks for the response, but I had neglected to say it was the tonearm silicone fluid viscosity I'm looking for.
Jeff,
Thanks for the source of small quantities of silicone fluid. I would have never guessed at RC models.
Michael,
Can you please provide a source for your statement that it's heavy RC differential grease? The reason I think it's a fluid is because of the plastic bottle Well Tempered sells their silicone in. The RC grease comes in toothpaste type tubes or tiny tubs.
Gentlemen,
Lacking a positive description, I guess can always pay the tariff & buy the real McCoy from well tempered.
Frank
Zach,
Thanks for the response, but I had neglected to say it was the tonearm silicone fluid viscosity I'm looking for.
Jeff,
Thanks for the source of small quantities of silicone fluid. I would have never guessed at RC models.
Michael,
Can you please provide a source for your statement that it's heavy RC differential grease? The reason I think it's a fluid is because of the plastic bottle Well Tempered sells their silicone in. The RC grease comes in toothpaste type tubes or tiny tubs.
Gentlemen,
Lacking a positive description, I guess can always pay the tariff & buy the real McCoy from well tempered.
Frank
Hi,
well, I tried quite a few different silicone oils, and the one that had the same (well almost) viscosity was the locking fluid. But not the very heavy stuff but the lightest one I could get. (they had about 3 different viscosities there). The local store sells it in small bottles, if you turn the bottle around, it flows very slow, but it still flows. So it's not a paste!
I got the tip from someone, just can't remember from whom, it must have been around 1998 or maybe even earlier...
My Well is running since 1998 on this fluid, and no complaints yet.
Michael
well, I tried quite a few different silicone oils, and the one that had the same (well almost) viscosity was the locking fluid. But not the very heavy stuff but the lightest one I could get. (they had about 3 different viscosities there). The local store sells it in small bottles, if you turn the bottle around, it flows very slow, but it still flows. So it's not a paste!
I got the tip from someone, just can't remember from whom, it must have been around 1998 or maybe even earlier...
My Well is running since 1998 on this fluid, and no complaints yet.
Michael
Hi,
I have designed an arm for my DIY turn table. It is based on the clearaudio unify arm. I am not sure on the tonearm mounting point to be used. What is the distance that I need to choose from the turntable center ? How is that value computed ?
The arm details are:
> Overall Length : 335 mm
> Overhang : 15.48mm
> Eff. Arm Length : 265.45 mm
> Distance from pivot to spindle : 249.97 mm
> Tilt Angle : 20.61
> Null Points: 66.04, 120.9
The platter details are:
> Diameter: 300 mm
The table plinth dimensions are:
> Length : 450mm
> Breadth : 350mm
Best regards,
Bins.
I have designed an arm for my DIY turn table. It is based on the clearaudio unify arm. I am not sure on the tonearm mounting point to be used. What is the distance that I need to choose from the turntable center ? How is that value computed ?
The arm details are:
> Overall Length : 335 mm
> Overhang : 15.48mm
> Eff. Arm Length : 265.45 mm
> Distance from pivot to spindle : 249.97 mm
> Tilt Angle : 20.61
> Null Points: 66.04, 120.9
The platter details are:
> Diameter: 300 mm
The table plinth dimensions are:
> Length : 450mm
> Breadth : 350mm
Best regards,
Bins.
Silicone Fluid
For the record, I had to special order 100,000 cSt silicone fluid. A 50 ml bottle is $10.
They also sourced 120,000 cSt, but couldn't determine the quantity in the bottles.
Looking at the pulley Well Tempered used to suspend the fishing monofiliment leader from led me to epoxy three washers together & put it on a door hinge pin. Getting fancy with the support post, I found a file handle would serve well & allow me to use the original arm support hole in the plinth.
The pins in the side of the golf ball that the monofiliment ties to will probably be pop rivets with the 'rivets' pulled back from the pin heads to make a groove for the monofiliment. The flange of the rivets will press against the golf balls.
Whether I put a groove in the top of the golf ball, like Planet 10 did, or fabricate an adaptor , like Well Tempered did, remains to be seen depending on the table height during final assembly onto my TD150 turntable.
Now all I need to locate is fine silt like sand to fill the graphite arrow shaft, not the coarse beach sand I have outside my house. Maybe the aquarium shop can help, or a crafts store.
I wasn't sure that I could get away with a painted golf ball in the silicone fluid so I found a black golf ball on fleabay.
While I have a Shure V15II cartridge (I've had since they came out) , I'm thinking of getting an Ortofon OM5. Any opinions?
Frank
For the record, I had to special order 100,000 cSt silicone fluid. A 50 ml bottle is $10.
They also sourced 120,000 cSt, but couldn't determine the quantity in the bottles.
Looking at the pulley Well Tempered used to suspend the fishing monofiliment leader from led me to epoxy three washers together & put it on a door hinge pin. Getting fancy with the support post, I found a file handle would serve well & allow me to use the original arm support hole in the plinth.
The pins in the side of the golf ball that the monofiliment ties to will probably be pop rivets with the 'rivets' pulled back from the pin heads to make a groove for the monofiliment. The flange of the rivets will press against the golf balls.
Whether I put a groove in the top of the golf ball, like Planet 10 did, or fabricate an adaptor , like Well Tempered did, remains to be seen depending on the table height during final assembly onto my TD150 turntable.
Now all I need to locate is fine silt like sand to fill the graphite arrow shaft, not the coarse beach sand I have outside my house. Maybe the aquarium shop can help, or a crafts store.
I wasn't sure that I could get away with a painted golf ball in the silicone fluid so I found a black golf ball on fleabay.
While I have a Shure V15II cartridge (I've had since they came out) , I'm thinking of getting an Ortofon OM5. Any opinions?
Frank
Sand
I found the local ant hills were of very fine sand mined from below the clay surface. After baking & straining some I have an excellent fine grain sand to load the graphite arrow shaft.
For those not lucky enough to have a local source, the aquarium stores carry 'crab sand' that seems to be very heavy (maybe it's moist in the bag). It sells in 2 lb packages for $6.
There's a tonearm alignment guide for the Amadeus that's a one point plot for the needle & headshell alignment. They warn that the typical protractor type guides aren't to be used.
Reading about The Well tempered platter drive belt, I'm amazed to find it's made of 0.004 inch monofiliment & KNOTTED.
Does anyone know how the drive pulley is made to work with a knot & not jump each time the knot passes? How is the knot made?
Since the drive belt is 0.004 inches (I guess about 4 lb test) what size monofiliment is used for the arm suspension?
Frank
I found the local ant hills were of very fine sand mined from below the clay surface. After baking & straining some I have an excellent fine grain sand to load the graphite arrow shaft.
For those not lucky enough to have a local source, the aquarium stores carry 'crab sand' that seems to be very heavy (maybe it's moist in the bag). It sells in 2 lb packages for $6.
There's a tonearm alignment guide for the Amadeus that's a one point plot for the needle & headshell alignment. They warn that the typical protractor type guides aren't to be used.
Reading about The Well tempered platter drive belt, I'm amazed to find it's made of 0.004 inch monofiliment & KNOTTED.
Does anyone know how the drive pulley is made to work with a knot & not jump each time the knot passes? How is the knot made?
Since the drive belt is 0.004 inches (I guess about 4 lb test) what size monofiliment is used for the arm suspension?
Frank
Frank,
I use poly sewing thread for my belt. I think that the magenta color gives the best sound. I use a simple square knot and haven't noticed any jumping as the knot tends to run on the outside.
Best Regards,
TerryO
swab cleaner tip
I found that a rifle swab cleaning tip has the same thread as the arrow tip socket on the shaft I'm using.
That makes a very good looking attachment for the cartridge. The long slot also enables adjusting the overhang of the stylus.
I'll be using only one bolt to support the cartridge to the arm. That way the stylus will be inline with the arm rather than offset.
I'll use the other cartridge bolt to attach the lift handle.
I'm waiting to get the actual turntable to assemble the parts for the correct elevation since I won't have the elegance of an adjustable arm height.
I've shopped for a suitable used tonearm counterweight without luck. I can't find one that will fit the slightly (1/32" ) over 1/4 inch shaft O.D. I may just use lead fishing weights & hang them from the back of the shaft.
I carved the side of a small wooden thread spool to fit the curve of the golf ball & epoxied it to the top. I drilled & screwed a short bolt into the side of the thread spool to grip the arrow shaft. That willallow me to adjust the length to suit. (I may decide to go with a long tonearm.) Two small screws into the golf ball make the attachment points for the monofilament "sling".
I found that a rifle swab cleaning tip has the same thread as the arrow tip socket on the shaft I'm using.
That makes a very good looking attachment for the cartridge. The long slot also enables adjusting the overhang of the stylus.
I'll be using only one bolt to support the cartridge to the arm. That way the stylus will be inline with the arm rather than offset.
I'll use the other cartridge bolt to attach the lift handle.
I'm waiting to get the actual turntable to assemble the parts for the correct elevation since I won't have the elegance of an adjustable arm height.
I've shopped for a suitable used tonearm counterweight without luck. I can't find one that will fit the slightly (1/32" ) over 1/4 inch shaft O.D. I may just use lead fishing weights & hang them from the back of the shaft.
I carved the side of a small wooden thread spool to fit the curve of the golf ball & epoxied it to the top. I drilled & screwed a short bolt into the side of the thread spool to grip the arrow shaft. That willallow me to adjust the length to suit. (I may decide to go with a long tonearm.) Two small screws into the golf ball make the attachment points for the monofilament "sling".
I need set-up help
Gentlemen,
I've been struggling to set-up the arm.
To avoid a mess, I'm not adding the oil until I get the needed adjustments & modifications made. I have the pulley on the overhead 'gallows' as seen on the original WTA.
I have two major problems that I don't think the oil would completely cure:
The arm rotates easily about it's axis in either direction & when the arm is placed in the playing position, it won't stay in the record groove but swings too forcibly back to the 'rest' position.
Will the addition of the hi viscosity oil stop the above problems?
I have the attachment points to the golf ball at about the 9:30 & 2:30 positons on the sides. Should I move them up & closer together ? It seems there is too much weight above the attachment points making it top heavy.
I've noticed some use a rubber grommet on the 'gallows' to hold the thread in place that's wrapped around the shaft. Should I remove the free wheeling pulley & gain the friction of the shaft?
I copied the dimensions of the Ortofon RMA309i tonearm that's 309mm to the spindle & used a graphite arrow shaft filled with fine sand The anti skating effect is still severe without the oil.
Frank
Gentlemen,
I've been struggling to set-up the arm.
To avoid a mess, I'm not adding the oil until I get the needed adjustments & modifications made. I have the pulley on the overhead 'gallows' as seen on the original WTA.
I have two major problems that I don't think the oil would completely cure:
The arm rotates easily about it's axis in either direction & when the arm is placed in the playing position, it won't stay in the record groove but swings too forcibly back to the 'rest' position.
Will the addition of the hi viscosity oil stop the above problems?
I have the attachment points to the golf ball at about the 9:30 & 2:30 positons on the sides. Should I move them up & closer together ? It seems there is too much weight above the attachment points making it top heavy.
I've noticed some use a rubber grommet on the 'gallows' to hold the thread in place that's wrapped around the shaft. Should I remove the free wheeling pulley & gain the friction of the shaft?
I copied the dimensions of the Ortofon RMA309i tonearm that's 309mm to the spindle & used a graphite arrow shaft filled with fine sand The anti skating effect is still severe without the oil.
Frank
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