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So the SP25 Project Is Officially Underway

M

Mister Pig

Pigamus Maximus
A couple of weeks ago I went over to a friends place, and we cut a full sheet of birch plywood into a bunch of blanks, got ten of them I believe. These panels are larger than I need for a finished plinth and a ten inch arm, but I can cut them down if I choose to go with the smaller footprint.

A trip to Harbor Freight found me a large arc protractor, and a sanding drum set. This afternoon I cut the circles for the drive motor of the SP25. On this plinth I am going with 4 sheets stacked, for a total of 3 inch plinth. I cut the top two panels, and glued them together. I then glued the two bottom together, and gave everything some time to set up. This evening I joined all four panels together, and its sitting in the garage drying. Claming was done with a a half dozen bar clamps and some lengths of wood.

If I have the time tomorrow I can drill a hole for the power cord, and at least set the SP25 in place. I am trying to devide if I should set some brass inserts into the base and then bolt the table down to the plinth, thats the option I am leaning to. I am not sure if I want to place any rubber grommets in between, or directly couple the table to the plinth.

Then all I have to do is drill the hole for the VTAF bushing, and I can drop an arm on it. With any luck I can duplicate the mounting length from my other table, and the Pete Riggle arm can be dropped onto the SP25 and no set up parameters besides VTA have to be changed.

If things sound great, then I will look to trimming the edges up, and giving it some sort of finish. Got no idea what I want to do in this regards, as birch is such a plain looking wood. A wet look poly-urethane might be interesting, or possibly a light stain with a clear coat over it. Anyone had any stunning results finishing birch?

Well at least we are on our way with this project. Its going to be interesting to see how this table compares to my current "pottery wheel" table.

Regards
Mister Pig
 
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Woo-Hoo! Looking forward to some photos. Rebuilding the plinth of my 25 is on my To-Do list. I look forward to seeing your approach.
 
Looking forward to what you choose, and how it will compare to your other table.

To me a partly veneered plinth like this (original plinth?) looks very attractive with the SP25;
sl1025.jpg


Versus a completely painted plinth (which also isn't that bad looking ;) );

SP-25.JPG


But it's all a matter of taste..
 
Curious to know what others have done in terms of the cooling slots on the bottom of the SP25. Have you drilled one single large hole? Or have you drilled multiple holes for each set of slots?

Regards
Mister Pig
 
Nah not Ready Yet

Frank Sol said:
Pig, pictures please ;)
Click to expand...

Nope no pictures right now. I just got the base pulled from the clamps, and brought it into the house. Surprisingly heavy for four layers, but then this is a big plinth. I think the rough cut dimensions are 23.75 W by 19 D. The 12 inch arm means I need to have a lot of plinth on the right side of the table, and the back part. I left myself some extra room on the right side, in case I decide to mount a second arm. Dimensions will increase a bit when I cut trim pieces.

Regards
Mister Pig
 
Good to hear this project is underway. I did something similar with my SP15, using two pieces of MDF (scrap kitchen countertop material) laminated and edged with solid oak strips. My plinth measures: 1.5" thick x 17.5" x 21".

I used four "T-Nuts" or "Blind Nuts" driven into & epoxied on the underside of the plinth to facilitate mounting the SP-15. I believe I used 3/16" machine screws.... or maybe 10-24? It's real easy to intall or remove the unit if need be. I did not use a rubber spacer or grommets between platter chassis and plinth as you're considering and don't understand how/why it would be beneficial? I'm under the impression that a solid and direct mounting to the plinth would be preferable.

I've done a fair amount of woodworking projects. I like tung oil for projects such as this. Real easy to apply, very smooth and great looking. I'd probably leave the birch natural, without stain. Personally, I don't care for seeing the exposed edges of birch plywood. Maybe rip down some 3/4" hardwood (oak or walnut?) to 3" and use that to finish the edges. That would look really nice.
 
Thanks.

This is my next project in queue, so I will be anticipating your next steps. I have no Idea where I am going with my SP-25. Thanks for posting.:lurk:
 
More than anything I can't wait until you get around to listening impressions. I'll happily follow along until then. I have a Sony TT with a removable motor unit that I may do something special with someday.
 
Watching this with interest. Finally pulled my SP-10 Mk. II apart today, and the motor and guts look just fine. Just have to do some serious cosmetic work on the exterior.
 
Mr. Pig yesterday I was checking out a blog where a multi layer birch ply plinth was mounted to a Target wall shelf. I would hazard a guess this made the two units, the plinth and shelf, even more sturdy/solid.
 
Ok Here Is the Temporary Set Up Playing

Ok arm is in place, and hole drilled in the bottom for power cord and venting the cooling slots.

Cartridge alignment is roughed in, although VTA is not set up.

Also the table is only temporarily attached, I need to get some brass inserts on next days off, and finish this.

This is a big plinth! I might have to trim it down a tad.

Sorry for the crooked picture, guess I should have edited it. But this isn't a finished project yet.


Regards
Mister Pig
 

Attachments

  • TechnicsSP25Plinth.jpg
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Wel I happened to locate a set of inserts for mounting the table, and its quite secure.

I also made a couple of measurements, and found proper vta for the technics. With the arm location duplicated on each table, I don't have to reset alignment when I move the arm. Comes out perfect on my protractor, absolutely prefect. Since I know how many turns up from bottom I need on the VTAF adjuster wheel, I can move the arm from table to table in less than thirty seconds, don't even have to shut the stereo down.

I ran two sides of a couple of my reference records, and there are noticeable differences between the Technics and the Galibier. The attack and decay of notes is lost with the Technics, and to a lesser extent, the image clarity s auffers bit. Now I have only gone through a few sides, but I know these albums real well.

Now the question of value comes into play, and the Technics comes out well in this regards. After living with the Galibier for quite awhile, I couldn't see going back. But you certainly get alot for your money with the Technics. But the Serac base gets more info out of a record, and that is the only variable here. I plan on listening more, but as quick as I can make these swaps, and how consistent these differences are, I am skeptical to see where any major changes are going to occur.

Regards
Mister Pig
 
Mister Pig said:
Wel I happened to locate a set of inserts for mounting the table, and its quite secure.

I also made a couple of measurements, and found proper vta for the technics. With the arm location duplicated on each table, I don't have to reset alignment when I move the arm. Comes out perfect on my protractor, absolutely prefect. Since I know how many turns up from bottom I need on the VTAF adjuster wheel, I can move the arm from table to table in less than thirty seconds, don't even have to shut the stereo down.

I ran two sides of a couple of my reference records, and there are noticeable differences between the Technics and the Galibier. The attack and decay of notes is lost with the Technics, and to a lesser extent, the image clarity s auffers bit. Now I have only gone through a few sides, but I know these albums real well.

Now the question of value comes into play, and the Technics comes out well in this regards. After living with the Galibier for quite awhile, I couldn't see going back. But you certainly get alot for your money with the Technics. But the Serac base gets more info out of a record, and that is the only variable here. I plan on listening more, but as quick as I can make these swaps, and how consistent these differences are, I am skeptical to see where any major changes are going to occur.

Regards
Mister Pig
Click to expand...

"How ya gonna keep 'em down on the farm after they've seen Pay-reee?"
 
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