Bent Dual 1019 Tonearm or Not?

[Gstein43]

Picked up a Dual 1019 and while cleaning and lubing I noticed what appears to be a potential bent tonearm. Any Dual experts out there that can weigh in on this?

Based on pictures of the Dual 1019 it looks like the top of head shell is parallel with the record when on the tonearm rest, but hard to confirm. On my 1019 the head shell is at a slight downward angle while on the tonearm rest.

Got the TT to fully operate correctly, now concerned with tonearm. If bent, any suggestions other than to replace?

 

[Montycat]

It's very obviously bent and quite a bit. Something heavy ended up on the headshell end when it was on the rest.

I have straightened arms but that is worse than most I have done. You might break it by bending it upwards and you will certainly have a crimp in it forever.

 

[Nat]

Unless the clamping screw was loose, and the headshell is shiften forward and tilted. If you can, loosen the locking screw on the underside of the part of the headshell that circles the arm tube, shove the headshell back and shift it so its top is parallel to the arm tube, and tighten the locking screw.

 

[Gstein43]

I don't see any headshell clamping screw of any sort on the underside. Maybe my headshell is not original?

 

[Montycat]

That headshell is original. There is no alternate model that is plug and play. The cartridge holder or "sled" is available aftermarket from a couple of vendors but that's not the issue.

There is a screw but it's inside the aluminum tube through that slot from the underside. Removing it won't help much as the tube is pretty mishaped. If you do you also risk damaging the tonearm wires.

When I encountered a similar bend downward I simply used a firm grip on the arm tube with one hand and with the other hand, thumb on top of the black portion, fingers wrapped under it (sled removed) and while holding my breathe pulled up with fingers, and pushed down with thumb.

As I mentioned, it wasn't this bad but I was successful. The headshell ended up parallel to the arm tube. The end of yours looks more deformed so you might need to try to squeeze the tube round again after flexing it.

Or not, it might be not a good idea to do it at all. I wouldn't use it as it is so the alternative is to source a compatible arm tube or complete arm and prepare for some work.

 

[Gstein43]

Although I have some technical repair abilities, I think a tonearm replacement is out of my area of expertise. I think I am going to carefully attempt to bend the tonearm back. Before I do this, what damage can be done by playing the TT in its current condition?

 

[Montycat]

Well, it puts the cartridge and stylus at a very odd angle to the record. It might sound bad, lead to mistracking and potentially cause excessive or unusual wear on the records or stylus. Hard to say exactly.

As I said before I would try to straighten it, but it's a crapshoot. Good luck with it.

 

[Nat]

You don't have much to lose. Be firm but gentle, and all that.

 

[egellings]

Pretty badly bent at headshell. The top of the headshell would normally be parallel to the tonearm's length.

 

[Nashou66]

You could do what I did here

https://audiokarma.org/forums/index...al-1015-but-now-it-has-sme-head-shell.824494/

Nashou

 

[Gstein43]

Well I’ve had some success by making very very small adjustments, hardly bending the tonearm on each attempt. After each adjustment I examined the tonearm both up/down and left/right to make sure I wasn't doing more harm than good. I’d say i’ve corrected about 50% of the issue.

Before and after photos attached.

Before I attempt to bend the tonearm anymore I have a question - is the top if the headshell perfectly level with the platter or is there a slight downward angle to the headshell?

 

[BOUXY]

Before going/doing any further bending,how does it sound now as compared to before:

 

[BilboBaggins]

Well I’ve had some success by making very very small adjustments, hardly bending the tonearm on each attempt. After each adjustment I examined the tonearm both up/down and left/right to make sure I wasn't doing more harm than good. I’d say i’ve corrected about 50% of the issue.

Before and after photos attached.

Before I attempt to bend the tonearm anymore I have a question - is the top if the headshell perfectly level with the platter or is there a slight downward angle to the headshell?

I just checked mine and the top of the headshell is slightly higher sitting and totally parallel with the tonearm. No downward angle on the top.

I can see why you are asking. The way your cartridge is sitting in there, It looks way off. Can you remove the headsled from the cartridge head and lay it flat upside down? Take pictures of the sled and cartridge with stylus.

 

[Gstein43]

Pictures attached

 

[Doug G.]

Typically, with a 1019, the headshell is tilted down a bit toward the front with the stylus on the record. That's because there are very few cartridges tall enough to hold the headshell up high enough so the top is parallel to the record surface. Dual should have designed the arm/headshell with more typical cartridges in mind but, in those days, VTA/SRA wasn't addressed as seriously as in later years.

The top of the headshell needs to be parallel to the arm tube, regardless of where it ends up in relation to the record surface.

Doug

 

[Montycat]

But, since most of us don't play stacks of records, any downward angle on the cartridge gets worse on single records. There is a downward slope on a single record from the fact that the tonearm angle is meant to be optimized for a stack of 5 or 6 records. I would remove some or all of the spacers or whatever is causing the nose down aspect of the cartridge as it makes it worse.

And I would try to get the top of that headshell bent up even more. You're almost there.

 

[Gstein43]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. Worked on the tonearm to take some more of the angle out of it. Was able to also significantly straighten out the cartridge which did seem to have a very aggressive angle on it as well. Attached a picture of the latest. I may work at it a little more but going to perform an audio test to see how it sounds.