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DIY Hockey Puck Record Weight Question

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Wally Swift

Super Member
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I bought a 10oz. weighted hockey puck and had a local machine shop put a hole in it for me. The hole isn't perfectly centered. It's not too off but it is a bit. Can I still use it? Will this cause problems?

If it's not a good idea can someone recommend a good weight/clamp I can use on a SL-1200MK2 with the lid down? I was going to buy the Bren1 clamp but I can't use it with the cover down.
 
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Wally , I purposely drilled the hole larger than needed so not to have the puck in contact with the spindle

So I tap the puck with my finger a couple of times to center visually while spinning but before dropping the needle
 
Frank Sol said:
Wally , I purposely drilled the hole larger than needed so not to have the puck in contact with the spindle

So I tap the puck with my finger a couple of times to center visually while spinning but before dropping the needle
Click to expand...

I just enlarged the hole and got her spinning centered. Thanks! My first impression is that the highs are clearer, more defined.
 
I made two hockey puck record weights, one for each of my tables. On both of them, after drilling the hole the size of the spindle, I had to identify the side that was "off center" and grind the hole a bit bigger toward that side. The oval shape hole that resulted makes for pretty close to dead center. I don't notice any speed distortion on my DD Kenwoods.

Does the hockey puck help the sound? Maybe, maybe not, but it does pin the record to the mat a bit. Certainly doesn't hurt.
 
I used a hockey puck at one time and purposely drilled the hole slightly undersized so it would clamp the spindle. Using an appropriate center gauge, I had no trouble getting the hole dead center.
 
Initially I assumed that the hole should fit snugly over the spindle thinking the puck would move while spinning otherwise. But that is not the case. I played several records earlier and the puck stayed right where I placed it.
 
The more snugly the puck is fit to the spindle, the more it acts like a clamp instead of a weight. I found this to be the case. However, the force required to get it on the spindle is also greater, causing stress to the bearing. There's likely an ideal tightness, where it would fit snugly but not tightly, and not be hard to put on or take off. But again, for the cost of a few pucks, it's fun to experiment.
 
Wally Swift said:
I bought a 10oz. weighted hockey puck and had a local machine shop put a hole in it for me. The hole isn't perfectly centered. It's not too off but it is a bit. Can I still use it? Will this cause problems?
Click to expand...

How in the world did a machine shop drill a hole off center in the first place.
 
I remembered that I had an LP that both labels had come off of. So I centered the hockey puck on the label, which coveniently had a circle just a hair smaller than the puck and I glued the label to the bottom of the puck. I reinforced the area around the label's spindle hole with several layers of clear tape. Now I don't have to bother trying to center the puck on each record I play, the hole in the affixed label does that for me.
 
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Panotaker said:
How in the world did a machine shop drill a hole off center in the first place.
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The guy I spoke to on the phone wasn't there when I got there. The guy who was there didn't speak English. He seemed to understand what I wanted but nevertheless screwed it up. I called the other guy back later on and he offered to redo it if I brought him another puck. No bother, I've got it just as I want it.
 
Hadn't realized you were in bk. the shop I used was in east new York. Good guy. Threw it on a lathe and let me go to town on a few pucks. I actually did my holes too big, so I was planning on heading back at some point. If you're up for a field trip I can see if he'd entertain a few vinyl heads.
 
Panotaker said:
How in the world did a machine shop drill a hole off center in the first place.
Click to expand...

That was my first thought. :scratch2:

The guy I spoke to on the phone wasn't there when I got there. The guy who was there didn't speak English. He seemed to understand what I wanted but nevertheless screwed it up.
Click to expand...

He must have thought you wanted to hang it around your neck on a chain. :D

Anyway I am going to drill a puck this week to use on my Empire table. I don't want as heavy a weight as the metal ones I have or a tight fit with the rather soft suspension on the 598. I betcha I can get it centred with a hand drill. If the hole is just barely larger with the centre of mass even a touch off I can't imagine it will have any noticeable impact on the speed or sound.
 
Montycat said:
That was my first thought. :scratch2:



He must have thought you wanted to hang it around your neck on a chain. :D

Anyway I am going to drill a puck this week to use on my Empire table. I don't want as heavy a weight as the metal ones I have or a tight fit with the rather soft suspension on the 598. I betcha I can get it centred with a hand drill. If the hole is just barely larger with the centre of mass even a touch off I can't imagine it will have any noticeable impact on the speed or sound.
Click to expand...

Standard pucks are 6oz. I found a Czech made weighted puck that is 10oz. My puck's hole is slightly larger and a little crooked but I hear no ill effects on speed or anything else. The most noticeable improvements so far are cleaner, more precise sounding highs, cleaner stereo seperation and a tighter bass sound. Glad I tried this.
 
Hey guys. I'm using a hockey puck clamp too. It's really surprising the difference it makes, even on my mid-fi system.

I drilled a 9/32 hole. It's just snug enough that I have to rotate it about once around to get it to press against the record. I have some pretty warped records so I need the extra squish. If it was just for damping I'd probably drill a bigger hole and just let the gravity do the work.

'round here you can't just buy one puck, so I had to buy a dozen of them in a pack from the sporting goods store who's name escapes me at the moment. I have 10 extra now, but I guess they'll last me forever, like my 4 pack of Magic Erasers.
 
I went to a local hockey specialty store near the end of the hockey season for two pucks for my second table (2 in case i screwed up the center hole on one - centering the hole is easier said than done using a hand drill). The guy was embarrassed as he was out of stock! He scrounged through his office and finally found one "out of the box." He gave it to me free. Can't beat that!

In addition to the hole, I slide mine over sand paper as the surface was not completely flat. I was ever so slightly conical to the center, so there was small gap around the edge where it didn't contact the record label. Using 400 grit sandpaper and a hard surface, I filed it smooth, now it make full contact with the record label.

At 6 oz/puck, I suppose you could mount one puck on the other and make it 12 oz. The height may hit some covers...I may try that when i get home.
 
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