Picked up a Thorens TD 124 junker. Just got it in the mail.

Once I get the part that makes the record go roundy-roundy dialed in, I think I will temp install a Grace 747 that I have on the shelf. I shall then set my sights on the Jelco-Denon set up for a more permanent rig. It seems like an awful lot of bang for the buck!
As for a base: I have crazy thoughts of a plaster-like pour, filling the existing Vintage walnut base for mass. I did my Empire with clay and was happy with that. I just love this original walnut base and it cleaned up really well.
* of course all these plans will get cast aside when I rabbit-hole down the drain of a digressed new idea... I love it!
 
I second the 12" Jelco option. I'm pretty sure this arm will play well with fat elliptical MMs, if not the super pointy light VTF jobs. Shoot for the 1-3g trackers from Shure, Stanton, etc. I'm messing with these right now on various long arms with good results.

I snagged a Premier MMT/Jelco yesterday for such experiments, in fact. That's a 10", I think. I know these totally work with typical MMs, because I sold and installed many during the 80s. A 10" might not fit on the landing zone of a 124 armboard though. Might need to go 9" or outrigger a 12"

The collector value premium on most early vintage 12" arms is just too high. And many of the old arms need work. And then, with many of the old designs, you are pushed into the low compliance corner...a good place to be, but say I want to hook up this V15 type II I came across?

I would go Jelco on the medium price scale and Schick for higher priced spread, bang-for-buck wise in today's market. The difference between my Schick and my tweaked up SME 3012s is huge, more than I expected until I heard it, l and the prices are meeting like the election polls! I'm selling my 3012s, even though I loved them for a long time, and buying another Schick.

That's paying market prices for recognized trendy items. Vintage phono is an international audio hipster thing now, not a fringe element dumpster diver pursuit like it used to be. Well, it is fun and rewarding, so be it. At least Jelco isn't a collector marque.

A good old-fashioned estate sale scroe is another story...a $200-$300 SME 3012 or similar class arm is worth playing with. $100 Grace...use it! $250 Premier MMT, snag it! $200 ATP-12, hook it up! $1500 Ortofon in unknown condition...PASS!
 
A TD124 deserves the best tone arm you can afford to put on it. I personally have a bit of a love/hate relationship with an Eminent Technology II arm on my 124. It sounds superb, but its general use is a bit involved and needs to be checked and cleaned from time to time.
JOHNS - WIN_20151224_090307.JPG

For a trial I had an Audiomods Classic II on the TD124, and it was a mighty fine combination. The best bang for the buck new arm I know of. Also the SME M2-9 can be had at a relatively decent price, but not cheap. I have also used an ADC LMF2, which is a great arm for not a lot of money. Heck I would also look for a Fidelity Research FR24, or an Audiocraft AC3000.

The TD 124 deserves the best arm and cartridge you can afford to put on it. What I took off of mine was an ESL S2000. Not an arm I would have considered using for serious vinyl playback. Mine was missing the head shell, so that made my decision easier. The head shell is hard to fine, has a non standard pin pattern, and they are expensive. But I did get an Ortofon Hi Jack arm lift off it, which I installed on my Marc Morin modified AR XA. That thing is worth more than a few bucks, which I really don't understand the why of.

Build a nice stacked birch ply plinth. Get a quality arm. Put a great cartridge on it. The table is worth the investment. Here is the real kicker though. The Morin modified AR XA which 1/5 the cost of the updated 124 and has a cartridge that costs 1/4 of the one on the 124 is every bit as good. It's slightly different, but when you tally the score card, the difference between overall sound quality is almost a dead heat. The 124 edges it out, but only by a nose.

Regards
Mister Pig
 
Whereas my other TT travels have led me down the road of just other decks, I am sure the 124 will lead me down the road of many different arms...

A big reason that I sent one of my AR XAs to Marc was because of all the threads that I read, and because of Mr. Piggys ^^^^^^ reviews... And I do love it.

Thank you all for info and advice!
 
I received the motor rebuild kit yesterday, I hope to have time this weekend. Hopefully my Hanze springs come in soon! Come on get them mail-man-drones up and running!
 
I should have chimed in earlier, but I have a BOATload of leftover nuts and screws (you'll drill out the rivets holding your bearing caps on, and need to refasten them) from when I did my rebuild and bought bags of each. If you PM me your address, I'll drop some in the mail.
 
jgordon said:
I should have chimed in earlier, but I have a BOATload of leftover nuts and screws (you'll drill out the rivets holding your bearing caps on, and need to refasten them) from when I did my rebuild and bought bags of each. If you PM me your address, I'll drop some in the mail.
Click to expand...
You are awesome! Let me dive into it first... I have access to an industrial rivet machine and I was going to see if the sizes matched up to the available dies/stems... But if they don't I will take you up on that offer! Curious, are they a metric?
 
Don't know where you got your motor rebuild kit, but most of us have bought it from Jim Campbell, and his kit includes the nuts and screws you'll need. You might want to check the kit you received before looking elsewhere, regardless of the kind offer from jgordon.
 
Lapslah said:
Don't know where you got your motor rebuild kit, but most of us have bought it from Jim Campbell, and his kit includes the nuts and screws you'll need. You might want to check the kit you received before looking elsewhere, regardless of the kind offer from jgordon.
Click to expand...

I sent my entire motor off to Jim for rebuilding, and it's been working like clockwork for the past few years. I highly recommend his services.
 
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Lapslah said:
Don't know where you got your motor rebuild kit, but most of us have bought it from Jim Campbell, and his kit includes the nuts and screws you'll need. You might want to check the kit you received before looking elsewhere, regardless of the kind offer from jgordon.
Click to expand...

Well damn. At this rate, I'll have 500 tiny metric screws and nuts with me forever.
 
biscuithead said:
You are awesome! Let me dive into it first... I have access to an industrial rivet machine and I was going to see if the sizes matched up to the available dies/stems... But if they don't I will take you up on that offer! Curious, are they a metric?
Click to expand...

No worries. Let me know. They are metric.
 
Lapslah said:
Don't know where you got your motor rebuild kit, but most of us have bought it from Jim Campbell, and his kit includes the nuts and screws you'll need. You might want to check the kit you received before looking elsewhere, regardless of the kind offer from jgordon.
Click to expand...

I didn't buy a kit. Bought some ceramic bearings, drilled the caps out, refreshed the felt washers, and rebuilt each assembly.
 
jgordon said:
I didn't buy a kit. Bought some ceramic bearings, drilled the caps out, refreshed the felt washers, and rebuilt each assembly.
Click to expand...
I've been rebuilding 5-10-50-300hp electric motors for the last 20 years in manufacturing/utility environments so I like DIY attack. I ended up going with a cheap kit that has the sintered bearings... but I thought about applying real effort and going with a Boca-bearing ceramic... I took the easy road.
How are the ceramics working for you?
 
A word of caution, A lot of those bearing kits DO NOT have sintered bushings. They do not and will not hold oil. So when the felt washers dry out the bearings are no longer being lubed. If your lucky just the bronze bearing will wear out and not the shaft on your motor. I would use the original bushings if not to worn. Or come up with a better plan. JM2C
 
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biscuithead...I have an original arm board and tonearm that was included in some other gear that I got. PM me is you are interested in having it for 'authenticity' at any point.

Cheers and enjoy....That's a TT I have always wanted to find.
 
biscuithead said:
I've been rebuilding 5-10-50-300hp electric motors for the last 20 years in manufacturing/utility environments so I like DIY attack. I ended up going with a cheap kit that has the sintered bearings... but I thought about applying real effort and going with a Boca-bearing ceramic... I took the easy road.
How are the ceramics working for you?
Click to expand...

I did exactly that. Baked out the original sintered bronze bushings as well.

Just looked back through my build thread - I put a ceramic under the platter, but NOT in the motor. When @JP and I rebuilt my 124, he said it was the smoothest 124 motor he'd seen, and he used to own a few and work on them for others.

Here's the build thread:
http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/my-thorens-td-124-build-thread.682375/#post-9106140
 
bob06 said:
A word of caution, A lot of those bearing kits DO NOT have sintered bushings. They do not and will not hold oil. So when the felt washers dry out the bearings are no longer being lubed. If your lucky just the bronze bearing will wear out and not the shaft on your motor. I would use the original bushings if not to worn. Or come up with a better plan. JM2C
Click to expand...

I haven't dove into the motor yet but when I do, I will check out the original bushings. The kit I chose was a Audio Silente kit from Italy. This was taken from their ad on ebay:

" No other process produces a part with the same porosity, the ability to hold as much oil as the Thorens original (22%).
Porosity is only part of what assures proper lubrication. The capillary system of the bushing
must be perfect through-and-through to assure maximum, even flow of oil from the felt washers,
through the bushing and finally to the motor rotor. The full running surface of the rotor MUST have an uninterrupted oil film.
This is key to achieving optimal performance,low friction and lower operating temperature.
There is ZERO chance of a production drill smearing the inside of our bushings and closing the oil pores because
NO DRILLS are used in creating AudioSilente bushings! "

I have installed sintered sleeve bushings on many other motors, and those usually come pre - impregnated with oil. With these bushings, should I choose to use them, I will use my vacuum sealer to "soak" them in oil prior to use. Does anyone out there have Manufacture specs on shaft diameter so I can judge wear if it isn't visually apparent?
 
I did receive the Audio Silente kit and the Hanze spring kit.
The Hanze spring kit came with the longer MKII motor mounts. I am curious how the springs react to the belt pull...
 
The audio silente heat pressed bushings are the closest you will get to the original ones. I have a set here but have not tried them as of yet. The springs also work great and I use the springs on my Ultimate Edition 124. IMG_0708.JPG
 
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