beatcomber
AK Member
Dang, that's the nicest L-34 I've ever seen!
Rek-O-Kut Turntables - ROK
- Thread starter jcmjrt
- Start date
Dang, that's the nicest L-34 I've ever seen!
cmarti
Well-Known Member
I second that! the cabinet and acrylic cover must be new.
Greg Beckler
New Member
I know this post is very old but, loved what you did, very creative. I need to replace my oil lines as well and wanted to ask what you used (size and Make) if you even remember.
This is my first attempt at restoring a Turntable and really appreciate the assistance.
This is my first attempt at restoring a Turntable and really appreciate the assistance.
B 12H Rondine Deluxe, it lives!
I was bit by the vinyl bug and one of the finest of AK, Redboy, had this Rondine Deluxe waiting for a new home. I am the new Foster Dad of the R-O-K Rondine Deluxe. The table had some cosmetic issues, needed new motor plate grommets, and had a leaking cap. Nate was kind enough to supply the grommets and cap, along with new cork for the slip mat.
I've been working on the mechanicals and cosmetics for a couple of days and finally got her turning. The Ashland motor in this table has a fan but from two feet away, the small whir is all that is barely discerned. Nate mentioned that this Ashland is bigger than the usual ROK hysteresis motors. It seems very well built, and, upon tear down, looked pristine. I checked out the shafts, bushings, and general state and put it back together. Since I had heard of rumble being a problem for some owners, I tried to look at those points of possible vibrational transmission and dealt with them as I could. A gasket was fashioned between the bearing well and the platter, likewise, those mounting screws were washered with gasket material. If there was a space for an o-ring or non-metallic material, I hoped to use those. I measured the idler and it measured close to what I had read was the stock measurement so I decided to try and use it. I removed the idler, placed a fastener through the center bushing and chucked the fastener into the drill press. Holding a sanding block with 800 grit paper against the idler resulted in a fairly round wheel, it was not that bad to begin. I also replaced the oil lines, any old grease, and the motor-run capacitor.
The table seems to turn very well. I don't have a strobe disc but I'll check it with a tach, later. I know it is close. There is still a bit of resonance in the platter board and maybe the plinth I'm making will couple some of that down to be reasonable and within limits. I'm excited to have this beauty and thankful to know Nate.
I am looking for a tonearm for the Rondine so if anyone is looking to part with something or has any ideas about that, please, post them up
Edit: Had to bring the old girl back onto the operating bench. I was heaing some mechanical noise from the motor and, after a bit of a blick, I thought I heard the fan or something in the end of the motor "ticking". I opened it up and found that all the fan blades, save one, had their tips cut. I cut the last one, filed anywhere I thought might hit, and closed it up. That quieted it right down. I wonder if someone added this fan onto the motor at a later date. Any other users have a fan in their Ashland?
Thoughts on where to look for pitch wow on a B12H? I had the idler rebuilt a few years back, and I've rebuilt the motor myself, flushing out the sintered bearings and re-oiling. Ideas appreciated.
Wow, that's a nice surprise. TT on the right looks like an L-34, the one on the left looks like a 16" transcription table, not sure about the arms.
ROKs on Cinder Blocks
That double-decker Flexy plinth is perverse and I love it. What’s the idea behind it?
setup1
Super Member
Last year I used my Garrard 401 for a couple of months sans plinth and was quite impressed with its performance. It reminded me of the late 80s and 90s when I discovered the virtues of idler driven turntables, mass damped plinths were not yet in vogue.
The sound of an open plinth is akin to listening to speakers in open baffles. But in order to achieve this, the motor unit must be up to original spec - good bearings, idler wheel, motor mounts and etc.
Since the lockdown I've been going through my stash of idler drives. After cleaning, replacing the motor mounts and fitting a fresh idler wheel on my B12GH, I was inspired to build an open plinth ala EMT 930. I cobbled up the Flexy plinth, as you called it, from parts I found in my garage.
I think motor vibrations are being transmitted away from the cartridge and tonearm with this arrangement. But I'll have to live with it for a while.
Back to listening to MM/MI carts and going through my LPs.
JE
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Digging this
ROKs on Cinder Blocks
I have a ROK B16-H with the Ashland Electric motor with the two flanged copper pipes for oiling the upper and lower bearings. I don't have a manual and info is hard to find. If anyone knows of a manual I can download, that would be most appreciated.
For now my specific question is - how much oil should be added to the bearings? I am, at the moment, replacing the flexible rubber tubes that bring these copper pipes up to the top of the turntable under the platter to 2 oil holes. Should these tubes and pipes be filled with oil? Or is there a set amount to be added? and how often?
For now my specific question is - how much oil should be added to the bearings? I am, at the moment, replacing the flexible rubber tubes that bring these copper pipes up to the top of the turntable under the platter to 2 oil holes. Should these tubes and pipes be filled with oil? Or is there a set amount to be added? and how often?
cmarti
Well-Known Member
I fill 'em up until they can't take any more oil. I lube my motor every two years.
Thanks for that. I was a little worried because I put a little too much oil in the main platter bearing and it pumped oil everywhere
Good to know the motor bearings won't leak oil if I fill them up.
ROKs on Cinder Blocks
I'm really into the simple minimalist/experimental vibe of your builds
. Cinder blocks and a plywood box for the win! Thanks for sharing—I'm really into the simple minimalist/experimental vibe of your builds
I am currently considering plinths for my B16. It is still in the original thin boxy plinth it came in. I have already been thinking that it is so solid that maybe it doesn't need a full massive plinth that people traditionally put under idler drivers. I was thinking of something with a heavy brace through the middle to "support" the table and sink vibrations.
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setup1
Super Member
I'm really into the simple minimalist/experimental vibe of your builds
Thanks!
I lowered the center of gravity (less flex) for better handling.
I don't remember the seller's name/handle but IIRC, it was someone from the Baltic States - Estonia, Latvia or Lithuania. I haven't seen the seller in the past year though.
Another question if I may. On my B16 I figured out the grub screw arrangement for the two speeds. I find I get a very small amount of adjustment only, luckily it is enough. How does it actually change the speed? It seems to just adjust the movement of the main speed change lever. Is it just idler tension? with a synchronous motor?
Replying to myself, having had this thing further apart looking at how it works. What the grub screws appear to adjust is the distance the motor bracket is allowed to move to either side, and hence varies where it ends up sitting on a sloping metal "fence" underneath, as you release the spring that you push down with the big knob, when engaging a speed. What this changes is the vertical height of the motor, depends where it sits on the slope, so it adjusts the height at which the idler wheel will contact the stepped motor pulley on top of the motor.
It don't think they adjust speed at all. Any change was just coincidence, or because the idler was sitting differently on the motor pulley step (maybe on a less clean spot). As I said, it only changed a very small amount - less than one rpm.
On my B12H the pressure affects the pitch somewhat, but only lowering it. I don't think it's meant so much as a pitch adjustment as a fine adjustment for the correct pressure (I don't believe it's meant to be used with more than minimum pressure). I believe the sloping dial is more for changing between speeds than adjusting pitch within a speed.