(in 2010) who dared to awaken this slumbering thread?
I'm awakening it again.
A school in our neighborhood has a large collection of classical music LP records, in superb condition. They were a donation from a parent. I got a phone call from the school this week; they could not find their record player, and thought somebody threw it away. They wanted something that could play their records, preferably automatically, through their A/V receiver, which fortunately has a phono stage. And they wanted it cheap.
I found a Garrard 440 for next to nothing at a junk shop which wanted $10 for it; but when I showed them that the platter was frozen...would not even turn if you pushed it...they reduced the price to $2 "since we'll throw it away if you don't take it." Fair enough.
This one really is a junker. The overarm is missing and the old Garrard grease has ossified. In such condition it is a simple but extensive process to restore these Garrards to function. First to get attention was the platter, since it would have to come off to service the motor, the idler wheel and the trip mechanism. The platter would...not...budge. I put some oil onto its center, where it rotates, and it didn't do anything. I sprayed it with PB Blaster, a butyl cellosolve-based penetrant. An hour later the platter was still stuck fast.
I took my cheap soldering iron, plugged it in, and stuck it into the hole in the center shaft. Then I went to have a cup of coffee. When I got back the soldering iron had softened the old, dried grease and the platter lifted right off.
The rest of the process was to get to every pivot and linkage and see that it was free to operate. This series of Garrard, the "Unimech," is difficult to totally disassemble because its mechanical subchassis connects to everything else on the entire record changer. If the linkages can be serviced in situ, so much the better. With the extensive use of flexible nozzles and needle oilers bent to shape, I was able to do it.
As I said: this Garrard 440 is missing its overarm, probably because somebody else tried to fix it before, and lost it; so it can't be restored as a record changer. That's OK; it will make a perfectly good single-play automatic when all is fettled.
Luckily the cartridge doesn't need replacement. It's the stock Pickering V-15/ATE-4 whose stylus is still good under my microscope, and in listening tests in a Stanton 500 body on my Garrard Lab 80.
The school should have its "new-old" Garrard next week. I'll probably GIVE it to them for free.
