The Downward Spiral - AR XA Restoration Begins.

[herbman1975]

Let me begin by saying I am aware that there have been a ton of posts about these lately.

That said, this thing came earlier this week. (eBay )The seller described it as having a "hum", but I went after it anyway. The cartridge is a BOTL Audio Technica, one of those P-Mount/Standard universal carts. I put one in a NOS el-cheapo Technics a long time ago and got a hum too, so that may be the problem. I am just praying it isn't bad wiring. I immediately ruined the headshell when I cross threaded it and ground off the threads on the base of the headshell. I was lucky enough to jump on one of those NOS headshells described in a post here yesterday.

Anyhow, here it is.

Came in the original box.





From the top looks like there may have been some platter rub.


Badge


Underneath




The one Haydon motor variety. Stamp in corner reads June 20, 1969 in black lettering.


Headshell I ruined. Note the ground threads.


Bill from the repair shop. Can't decypher the bottom of the page. Says something about a cartridge. From the looks of the bill, the guy couldn't fix the table. Then again, it could have been crappy AT cart.


It is in good pyhsical shape for the most part. Small dent in wood on the top right. Textured finish, not sure what color it used to be. Looks like a grey/black/brown. No dustcover, mat, tube of oil, or 45 adaptor. But pretty much everything else.

I feel the money evaporating from my wallet as we speak. I have a feeling this could be a long, expensive, process. I look forward to it's conclusion. I am sure I will be in here pestering everyone with questions. My thanks in advance.

What do you think Divotdog? How many junk units will I have to combine to make a working one?

herbs

[Divotdog]

Herbman, it looks like you have a heck of a lot better start than I did (yours turns!), I can’t really tell what color that used to be, mine was in about the same shape, some elbow grease, 400 grit sand paper, primer, and a little more 400 grit, and color of choice (I used satin finish black) will go a long way on the metal top, just be very careful of the tone arm wires, they are very fragile, I would check those TA wires and see if that is where your hum might be.

[Eunomians]

Welcome to the AR Turntable fold. I've done a few XA restorations in my time. All of them looked worse than yours - which is good news.

Just take your time. You need not spend lots of cash to get her up and running. You just need paint, sandpaper, stain(?), oil, and a brush.

Cheers!

[Divotdog]

Do a thread search and take a look Eunomians table it looks outstanding, and he has your mat problem covered

[Nakdoc]

The hum broblem is broken braid in the tonearm wires. Look at the wire exit point at the pivot and see if the braid is continuous. Then follow it to the underside. If that looks ok, then you have to deal with the wires inside the arm tube. In the old days we used to replace the arm as a unit, but there must be a way to get the headshell connector out. Any guidance from AK?

[Calypte]

Fortunately, I don't have this frayed wire problem. However, I do have a problem with what might be noise from the main turntable bearing. If I remove the belt, I can make the platter spin freely and silently for several minutes. I don't hear any rubbing when I put my ear close to the spinning platter. I have thought that maybe the noise I hear is being mechanically transmitted to the arm and cartridge via some other route -- say, through improperly dressed wires, but fiddling with the wires doesn't seem to fix the problem. If we assume that the noise I hear is coming from the main bearing, then am I correct to assume that the only cure is another AR turntable? I bought this turntable at a thrift shop in San Diego about 20 years ago. The shop was gutted by fire not long afterward. At that time I was able to get a genuine headshell and arm rest from AR.

[Divotdog]

Herbman don't sweat it, it is a difficult job but by no means impossible, I did mine following the instructions on VE

[herbman1975]

Do you know anything about replacing the silver, braided wire? It doesn't seem like something that would be impossible.

[Divotdog]

It's really not a bad job, the hardest part is removing the plastic piece from the end of the TA tube, but if you use some care it will come right out

[herbman1975]

Are you speaking of the wires in the tone arm, or the silver, braided wire that runs underneath the table? I think I pull off the fix on vinylnirvana, but what about that other wire? I have heard if the siver wire goes, you might as well chuck the entire tone arm. What say you?

[Divotdog]

That's all one piece of wire from the headshell connection to the solder connection under the table.

[Divotdog]

Originally Posted by Calypte

Fortunately, I don't have this frayed wire problem. However, I do have a problem with what might be noise from the main turntable bearing. If I remove the belt, I can make the platter spin freely and silently for several minutes. I don't hear any rubbing when I put my ear close to the spinning platter. I have thought that maybe the noise I hear is being mechanically transmitted to the arm and cartridge via some other route -- say, through improperly dressed wires, but fiddling with the wires doesn't seem to fix the problem. If we assume that the noise I hear is coming from the main bearing, then am I correct to assume that the only cure is another AR turntable? I bought this turntable at a thrift shop in San Diego about 20 years ago. The shop was gutted by fire not long afterward. At that time I was able to get a genuine headshell and arm rest from AR.

It sounds like you might just need to do some leveling, is your tone arm riding against the plinth?

[Calypte]

Originally Posted by Divotdog

It sounds like you might just need to do some leveling, is your tone arm riding against the plinth?

No, but thank you for the suggestion.

[herbman1975]

Well, I am slowly but surely rehabing this thing. Right now it is disassembled except for all the stuff wired and stapled to the inside of the base.

I screwed up and lost the ball bearing at the base of the tone arm. Fortunately, my local hardware had a replacement. I guess I lost it, but then again, it may have never been there since it arrived in the mail from eBay.

Presently, I am sanding the plinth and preparing for paint. I will post more large pictures to slow down your web browser soon.

[herbman1975]

Well, this took a whole lot of elbow grease and man hours. That stuff they put in the paint to make the surface textured melts and sticks to your sand paper and is a real pain in the a$$. If my friend didn't have a cabinet shop and a grinder I would have never got it off there. Then there was the paint and primer to sand off.

I used 60, 100, and finally 220 grit sand paper. I then used two grades of steel wool to finish it off. It actually looks pretty cool stripped down like this.



Anyone out there know if that replacement bearing I got for the tone arm is going to be ok to use? The first page of the owners manual says: "DO NOT LOSE THE TONE ARM BEARING". Am I screwed? Or will this substitute bearing do the trick? There is very little play in the space where it goes, not too snug or loose.

I also sucessfully removed the plastic headshell recepticle from the tone arm. I used the 5/16 drill bit trick I saw on vinylnirvana. I did not use pliers to pull it out, I wrapped the collar in a napkin, clamped it in a vise, and pulled straight back on the tone arm, wiggling ever so slightly from left to right.

Thanks to everyone who has helped me up to this point. So much more work to do. More pics coming...

herbs