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Stuck tonearm base on SL-1200MK2

T

tobraham

New Member
I received a pair of Technics SL-1200MK2's for a great price. The only problem is that one of the tonearm bases is stuck at the lowest point and cannot be unscrewed to raise the tonearm. I've read about heating the base up and various other methods of unsticking the base. The previous owner had these in a storage unit, covered with a blanket for 10 years... and were not lubricated or taken care of during that period of time. Being fairly new to turntables, I'd rather not try those options until I get some advice.

My questions are:

I have a Technics SL-1800MK2 that is in bad shape (donated from a friend). The tonearm base works great and looks just like the SL-1200MK2 tonearm base. Is the SL-1800MK2 base compatible with the SL-1200MK2?

If not... what are your suggestions on how to unstick the SL-1200MK2 base?

Any advice is greatly appreciated. I don't have a lot of money to spend on new parts.
 
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yes the base is the same, but just put some type of lubricating oil such as Liquid Wrench or something similar and it should unstick it. I'd let it sit for say 24 hours and then try it. Someone awhile back posted with your problem and he had to work with his but he finally got it to loosen
 
Thank you. I did some research and wasn't able to find out if the bases were compatible. I think I'll do some work today and repair the 1200MK2 with the 1800MK2 'parts table' I have. Liquid Wrench is an interesting idea though, so once the parts are swapped, I'll lubricate the stuck base and hopefully everything will work.

Anyone else? I'm waiting a little bit to start repairs so I can get a bit more advice. More the merrier. Thanks again.
 
How bad is the 1800MKII? If it were me Id put the 1800MKII aside and work on the base from the 1200. Once you get it loose your on your way.
 
I had that problem with the base of my 1600 MK2 last January. I used WD40, let it sit overnight, and it took a bit of persuasion, but I got it free. Just be patient.
Also, make sure the lock button is off.
 
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