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LAB-395. 'Crunchy' tonearm movement.

Mattwizz3

Mattwizz3

Web-er-web user...
I am quite happy with my LAB-395 but I haven't been able to resolve the skipping issue. No amount of stuffing with the tracking weight or anti skate fixed it.

I noticed that alot of the time it got so far into a record and start skipping, turns out that the tonearm movement is a bit gritty. Moving it by hand slowly you can hear crunching noises (I'm not forcing it) and it resists a little. With my other TT's they move freely. So my question is... how do I fix it?? Since I finally have something decent I dont want to go blindly into it and end up wrecking something. Am I gonna have to remove the tonearm?

Remember, this is my first TT in my system and I'm a noobie at this stuff. Thanks for any help!
 
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The TA bearings got crunched in shipping. Not too sure if that can be repaired easily. You might have to get a new TA.

File a damage claim with the shipper.
 
I bought this from a 'op-shop' for $20 and I was the one who drove it home... So the bearings are stuffed... dang. If this is difficult to fix or expensive, I may just sell it and get a new stylus for my Garrard TT.

PS: I may just try spraying a small amount of RP7 or WD-40 in the bearings and see if that does anything helpful.
 
R395b.jpg
 
Cleaning the bearings may help. or the bearing might be gone. it's worth a try...

Question, is it a bearing or a bushing?
 
That's essentially a rebadged Technics. Open it up and check the mechanicals that are attached to or moved by the arm as it swings. That may be all it is.
 
The parts involved with what ever auto functions it has may be misaligned so that they bump into stuff, so after removing the platter and anything else that can get loose, turn it upside down and remove the bottom and see if anything bumps or catches as you move the arm back forth.
And it might be worth flushing the bearings from the top and the bottom with Coleman fuel or Ronsonol (naptha). A bit of grit can cause all sorts of havoc.
 
I actually had a Kenwood top-end turntable that originally came from a coastal area. The ball bearings in the tonearm support had corroded and the balls were no longer exactly "round". It would randomly start skipping on every record. All was not lost though, I found a way to remove the supporting structure with the ball bearings still intact, and via a Dremel (evil grin) ramped up the speed of the inner sleeve slowly over a few thousand RPM. I figured I had zero to loose if it didn't work. It was a DD fully automatic, so the tonearm wasn't exactly replaceable. This action let the bearings grind for a bit and repolish themselves back into roundness. A little occasional WD-40 to wash away the grit produced, and the trick worked perfectly. Never had another problem with that tonearm again. No more skipping, no dragging, no nothing.

HA1156W
 
over a few thousand RPM?!!!

Donna Summer never sounded so good!

:banana:



(I don't actually know what that's spossed to mean...)
 
I know that this thread is ancient, but your remedy for the corroded ball bearings is one that deserves a place in a closed forum, general troubleshooting section. I recently acquired a LAB-395 from a very generous fella I "met" on fb's fsbo listings and happened to read through this thread. My tonearm has no bearing issues, but I need to adjust my tracking force.....
 
Most of the service recommendations I've seen want the TA bearings to be dry. I'm not saying this is the case with the OP's TT, but beware of adding oil unless an expert says it is ok. Oil tends to coagulate, collect dust/dirt and provide drag via viscosity (no matter how light is the oil) and can cause more problems down the road. Just be thoughtful about it.
 
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Coleman fuel (Naphtha) will still leave an slightly oily residue, and worse, the dregs of the green dye used. Brake/clutch cleaner would be better.
 
Hmm - haven't noticed any residue, and have been using coleman fuel to clean camera shurtter diaphragms for decades, and any lubricant on the blades glues the m together - the reason I was using Coleman fuel was to clean off lubricants that had migrated from shutter mechanism to the blades, making them sluggish or even locking them in place.
Nor have I noticed problems with tonearm bearings.
But readers should consider your warning.
On the other hand, while short (or even long) exposure to Coleman fuel is perfectly harmless to all the plastics and paint finishes I've encountered, my impression is that brake cleaner can craze and mar both plastic and paint. So if using it, do so judiciously.
 
Depending on the plastics I agree, brake cleaner may be too harsh. I was assuming metal bushings or bearings

Get Crown Camp Fuel (Walmart brand) instead; perfectly clear Naphtha...

While Naphtha is a great degreaser, its not drying without a little residue. Maybe that residue isn't harmless to metal shutter blades?

DNA or 91% ISO alcohol may be a better final de-greaser. Those don't leave a residue.

I do know for a fact the Coleman dye will, over time, clog lantern generators, and you can see it when you clean them. Was never an issue with old school "White gas" (the original "Unleaded" and the base for the stuff they sell for pump gas today. - Naphtha.
 
I also may have been thinking of carburetor cleaner, not brake cleaner - because someone damaged an ESL/Ortofon headshell of mine while using one or the other, I don't use the stuff, so not well versed.
And being cheap, I often actually use the off brand stuff, not Coleman. I'll admit I hadn't thought about the dye, but I think it is an issue if you are going though a lot of fuel, not just a few flushings. I hope so.
I hesitate about Isopropyl alchohol - the stuff most people have around has a fair amount of water in it, and I can see potential for rusting if trapped in bearings - obviously not an issue if you have access to lab grade. Methanol attacks plastics, I believe.

I hope this back and forth is seen not as a disagreement between us, but as a discussion about our experiences.
 
Nat said:
I hope this back and forth is seen not as a disagreement between us, but as a discussion about our experiences.
Click to expand...
Agreed Nat:

On the Alky, I specified the 91% for that reason. Agreed on Methanol, its harsher. DNA (Denatured)" shouldn't be an issue, Assuming you can get it (NLA in CA...).

And Yeah Carb cleaner is nasty stuff.

Wow, real short edit window! Typo correction for yesterday's post above: Maybe that residue isn't is harmless to metal shutter blades?
 
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