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Prepping a Russco turntable..

MisterDK

MisterDK

Addicted Member
Hey folks!
I just acquired my first “real” idler drive table - a Russco Studio-Pro B, thanks to fellow AK member Bill @BillWojo. Thanks again, Bill!
I say “real” because I do also have a ‘50s vintage GE portable record player which my grandparents bought new..but that’s hardly a serious turntable.

This Russco is in pretty nice shape and just what I was looking for; it’s used but not beat.
Original paint still looks nice and just needed cleaning up, motor runs quietly, original armboard intact, etc. A perfect candidate to tame for home use..
For those of you who aren’t familiar with Russco tables, these were made for professional use by radio station DJ’s and made to run reliably 24/7 with minimal maintenance. They use powerful motors for nearly instantaneous 33/45 RPM platter speed. These are a high-torque turntable!
What these are not typically used for - is an audiophile turntable. They’re tough and durable - but from what I gather, have long been thought of as a bit too noisy and unrefined for serious listening.

With everyone’s help and constructive input, I hope to make this table something it wasn’t really designed for. I want this to be something that sounds as good or better than the classic, high quality consumer idler tables. I know this has been done by other AK members so I’m confident that I can make this one perform too. :)

For now, a couple pictures of the Russco as received:

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Just a little grubby but it’s cleaning up nicely..

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I’ll post more on this project as I go but that’s it for now.. :)
 
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Looks in very good shape. Just some muck and grime, but no big scratches, dents or corrosion.
Very nice for a professional device that is usually used pretty harshly.
That massive spindlebearing looks very well made.


and such interesting similarities:
Ferrari
95f70d0af093e3a58dbf50431d4323a6.jpg


Lamborghini
dia60se7.jpg


Russco
russco.jpg


:biggrin:
 
Looking good, that paint will clean up nicely. I'm not sure if you even need new motor mounts, they look to be in decent shape. As long as they still feel supple and not all dry rotted........

BillWojo
 
Really looking forward to your project….I’ll live vicariously through it, since another turntable project is out of the question ;)

However I’ve more tonearms than turntables and that’s with multiple arms per table for most. One could argue a case for a few more tables :dunno:

VR
Andy
 
BillWojo said:
Looking good, that paint will clean up nicely. I'm not sure if you even need new motor mounts, they look to be in decent shape. As long as they still feel supple and not all dry rotted........

BillWojo
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The paint is pretty clean now and in very good shape for it being a broadcast table. I’m happy it doesn’t need a respray!
Heck; the speed lights even work nicely!
I’ll have another look at them with a magnifying glass (eyes aren’t great) but I think the softer, rear mount is fine but the fronts may get swapped out, just so they’re fresh. I have some on the way which should work; those sold for ROK and Empire tables seem like they’ll pop right into the original Lord mounting plates.

A question for you guys with Russco tables - are you sealing the spindle bearing assembly and filling it with oil - or just running the Oilites with a drop or two?
 
adnick said:
Really looking forward to your project….I’ll live vicariously through it, since another turntable project is out of the question ;)

However I’ve more tonearms than turntables and that’s with multiple arms per table for most. One could argue a case for a few more tables :dunno:

VR
Andy
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Ha!
My reasoning for getting this Russco, which I didn’t really need.. was because I found a couple NOS Micro-Trak 303 tonearms! I wondered what to do with them and then thought “hmm, broadcast table arms..” ;)
 
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Don’t fill all the way just a little over the Grub Screw top..


Edit: That’s not to say I’m correct, Bill may do his differently.
 
adnick said:
Don’t fill all the way just a little over the Grub Screw top..
Click to expand...
Andy, is that ‘cause of drag from the oil’s viscosity or a difference in noise? It wouldn’t harm an Oilite to keep it immersed in oil, would it? I do have a pdf of the ‘82 Russco manual and it says to wipe ‘em out and “relubricate with standard 30wt motor oil”. Just wondering if it could run more quietly if there’s more oil it, giving a hydraulic cushion between the shaft and bushings.
 
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You can certainly experiment with different viscosity oils but I’d stick with the synthetic iso hydraulic oil or at least a non detergent oil
 
Definitely a non-detergent oil like Andy said. Not unless you like rust on your spindle.
I seal the bottom threads with Teflon liquid tape. Works in hydraulics under pressure, easy life in this application.
Lots of different schools of thought on that bearing question.
I run fairly light oil (AW-32 hydraulic oil) in my spindle bearing, just a bit over the bearing pad and I lube the shaft and bearings as well on assembly.
I might pull the spindle bearing and drain/clean it soon. I'd like to see if maybe AW-46 might work a bit better because it's more of a medium weight oil. I'm thinking this way because of the generous clearances that were built into these turntables. Maybe a 68 weight way lube might be worth experimenting with.
I'd really like to run the lube all the way to the top but it's hard to determine how much oil that takes.
I have my own ideas for a custom bearing for these tables, wish I had the resources to develop it.

BillWojo
 
Haven’t tried filling it to the top with oil, although I do fill my Thorens to the to, go figure :confused: and my big ROK has a oil spiral cut into its shaft, so there’s probably benefit to it.

Have observed that the Russco’s W&F numbers will change with oil viscosity, that’s with a real tube W&F tester hooked to the tonearm output. Haven’t had the time or inclination to pursue this further because the W&F is well below the perceptible levels and my old W&F lost one channel, just haven’t the time right now.

Andy
 
Are you saying it's just a little bit bigger than the shaft on a Lenco? That whole platter is pretty heavy as well. They really engineered these things to last.
At 3/4" that spindle shaft is huge but there are a few tables with even bigger spindle shafts!

BillWojo
 
BillWojo said:
Are you saying it's just a little bit bigger than the shaft on a Lenco? That whole platter is pretty heavy as well. They really engineered these things to last.
At 3/4" that spindle shaft is huge but there are a few tables with even bigger spindle shafts!

BillWojo
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Never really looked at Lenco shafts.
Bill - don’t tell my wife; I told her this one’s the biggest.. ;)
 
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Believe the grub screw that @BillWojo made has 2 inherent advantages to the original, one it replaces the steel ball bearing thus eliminating steel on steel rubbing. Next is the change of material the screw is constructed.

Those of us who upgrade TD 124s know of the advantage replacing the shaft well cap with a bronze/brass replacement, Bill’s screw serves the same type of function.

Bill also talks about tightening up the tolerances of the shaft well bearings with new bearing, that’s obviously an advanced DIY project but it’s certainly doable. When faced with changing the bearing is my very early TD124 I happened upon a discussion by Steve at theanalogdept.com reference using Delrin bearings as replacements. After a few message exchanges, placed an order for some custom made Delrin bearings to the same specifications of Oilite replacements. This might possibly be an option for the Russco’s or others, Bill is much more experienced in these type modifications than I but it’s an intriguing possibility.

There’s also someone selling a spring motor mount kit for the Russco’s, QRKs etc, which might be worth experimenting with, it’s a variation of the option for Thorens TD 124s. Full disclosure, my TD124 has the new fangled mount material, didn’t go for the spring mounts on my TD 124.

Another modification I’ve considered is sorta a constrained layered Armboard for the Pro, this concept came to me after the discovery that a wood Armboard was a bit quieter than the original aluminum one.

If I’m thinking out loud too much just let me know ;)

Andy
 
adnick said:
…Another modification I’ve considered is sorta a constrained layered Armboard for the Pro, this concept came to me after the discovery that a wood Armboard was a bit quieter than the original aluminum one.

If I’m thinking out loud too much just let me know ;)

Andy
Click to expand...

I was planning to make a couple sandwich armboards for mine. That’s an easy one. ;)
 
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