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Pioneer PL-514 Restoration

Z

Zork

Pioneer Spec 4
Well I was trying to stay away from Vinyl as I don't need to be spending any more monies, but I am a sucker for deals and I love knocking out little projects.

Found this Bad Boy on the Bay, and seller happened to be 3 miles away. I know what are the chances. I got it for $60- everything functions, but it needs a needle, and the feet are dry rotting.

Here are my plans:

1. New Needle (recommendations please. I am new to Vinyl)

2. New Feet

3. Paint Table Gloss Black

4. Paint section with controls Graphite Gray

5. Polish cover

On to the Snaps!















Cut the bubbles/smudges out. Plan on filling them with some automotive filler.



 
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Good luck. The PL-514 is actually a pretty decent turntable.

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John
 
peterfranks said:
that's beautiful - did you veneer that or was that a standard finish?
Click to expand...

Believe it or not, it's Contact Paper. Later on I recovered it in the walnut grain vinyl that Parts Express sells for recovering speaker cabinets. It was more durable than Contact Paper but really didn't look any better except close up.

John
 
peterfranks said:
nice, nice, nice.

don't get much better looking than that - well done!
Click to expand...

The funny thing is you can get self-stick real wood veneer so the contact Paper really wasn't any easier than real veneer. I just happened to have the Contact Paper here.

John
 
correct. I've used the PSA wood veneer for quite a few projects - I love working with it.

Still - you did a really nice job. Those higher end 70s Pioneers are some of the best looking TTs ever designed.
 
That dust cover will come up like new with a little work....My self ,ide be tempted to keep the deck original...overall the unit looks to be in good condition, painting it if not done right could be a disaster...you could also cover those bubbled sections with some small round cork pads for the dust cover to rest on, as far as feet go there are plenty of threads on here regarding feet options...

What's the cartridge? it may be worthy of a new stylus....

Though I will say Boreas has done a nice job of his...
 
These tables are nice tables that can be had for few money. I used to have one myself and still own the 516 and 518.
The vinyl around the plinth (especially the grey version) does not age very well. Often people redo this with real wood veneer with stunning results.

Good luck and enjoy!
 
RuffzGuts said:
That dust cover will come up like new with a little work....My self ,ide be tempted to keep the deck original...overall the unit looks to be in good condition, painting it if not done right could be a disaster...you could also cover those bubbled sections with some small round cork pads for the dust cover to rest on, as far as feet go there are plenty of threads on here regarding feet options...

What's the cartridge? it may be worthy of a new stylus....

Though I will say Boreas has done a nice job of his...
Click to expand...

Yes overall the Table is in good condition. I personally don't like the Grey color. I like to pride myself in my work, and if the paint does not look like it came from the factory it will get Veneered.

Not sure what stylus is on there. I'll check when I get home.

Agreed Boreas did a swell job.


Essay said:
These tables are nice tables that can be had for few money. I used to have one myself and still own the 516 and 518.
The vinyl around the plinth (especially the grey version) does not age very well. Often people redo this with real wood veneer with stunning results.

Good luck and enjoy!
Click to expand...

Thanks- can't wait to get her going.
 
Slowly Making Progress

A little update for anyone watching this Thread.

I wasted time rattle canning over the vinyl laminate. It looked OK at best- quickly peeled the vinyl and went with some Birdseye Wood Veneer. I am very pleased on how it is turning out.





























Still have some work ahead of me.

Going to start playing with some Wood Dye to come to a decision on what Colour to go with.

Thanks for looking
 
That's coming along really nicely! Can't wait to see it when you flip the platter mat right side up! ;)

Birdseye maple looks best to me in a lighter color, even just varnished without stain. Whatever you decide, I'm sure it'll look great!

John
 
Very nice!

I restored one and had to remove and replace the spindle bearing oil with fresh. That plus a new belt and it's speed was rock solid.

Cheers, Bob
 
Finally Done

well it took me a long enough to get r dun, but here she is. I'm pretty pleased on how it turned out :smoke:









the table needs some adjustments, the pitch is high, and it skips.
 
You even turned the tonearm base black!

And that reddish stain....with the birdseye design still bleeding through...

Top Notch!
 
That looks really great!

For the skipping, check to see whether there are some wires out of position inside and interfering with the tonearm. I had that happen when I reassembled my PL-514. The pitch is probably a belt that's a bit too thick.

John
 
Beautiful work! I was going to do this with my last PL-518 but I gave it to my niece for her first system instead. I like the black tonearm base, same thing I was going to do. IMO silver/gray never looks quite right on that part for some reason even with wood veneer (not enough contrast maybe?).
 
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