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Thorens TD-150 Project

Divotdog said:
All I can add to this is, I didn't solder the new headshell leads on, I just cleaned the pins up and now I can slide new leads on the existing pins.
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:thmbsp: This works well for me too, a quick and dirty image is attached (my TD is "on break" at the moment while my idler spins away). Left to right headshell leads: silver, soldered to pins and shrink-wrapped; purchased Jelco litz leads on cleaned up pins; Cardas, soldered to pins.
 

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Divotdog said:
Not a clue Scott! I just tear the h*ll out of it and hope I remember how to put it back together. :D
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Quoted from page #32, paragraph 21 of the turntable refurbish/modification guide, if I remember correctly. But I would have to check to make sure. :smoke:
 
ZebraBlvd said:
Quoted from page #32, paragraph 21 of the turntable refurbish/modification guide, if I remember correctly. But I would have to check to make sure. :smoke:
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You are correct sir, I believe that paragraph 20 covers "Oh Sh*t I lost that tiny screw" :scratch2:
 
scootchu said:
Oh crap my dear mother always told me I had "more balls than brains"
What's the copyright date on that manual?
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Mine has a publish date of 1903, but I'm sure there are later publications as TT designs progressed.
(I truly hope you know we are kidding about the manual, scootchu. This manual is as non-existent as the Mans Handbook.)
 
hey divotdog,
thanks so much for posting this thread, i just bought a td-150 mkII today at a thrift store as my first leap into the hi-fi world and this is going to be such a wealth of knowledge once i start to really dig into it.

any ideas on where to pick up a headshell for one, other than waiting around for ebay to turn one out?
 
They are pretty tough to find and when they do show up they tend to be expensive, keep in mind that the more common TP-16 headshell will not work.

Do you have a headshell now?
 
This is a fantastic thread! Now I feel like going out and buying a mint td-150 Kk 2 that I saw last week at a local store...
 
beef_rainbow said:
any ideas on where to pick up a headshell for one, other than waiting around for ebay to turn one out?
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I picked up a spare TP50 headshell by being patient and watching ebay. IIRC, it took about 3-4 months to find one in decent shape and cost ~$40. They seem to be quite precious.

Good luck...
 
Divotdog-

Congrats on the rebuild. You did a masterful job ,and your progress photos are excellent. My only complaint is you did this AFTER I did mine LOL.
I did the same rebuild last year (1st time) and finished up on my birthday.

My TD-150 came without an arm so I put a SME 3009 on it. I also made a armboard from some nice red oak I had. It turned out really nice and the sound is wonderous.

Here is a couple of shots of my table with the arm, still not done yet. Still want to rebuild the plinth with a nicer wood and replace the cart with a Shure V15 Series III. But that is down the road. For now she sounds really sweet and was a blast to rebuild.

Sir B
 

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Sir B, Looks great! nice job. :thmbsp:

Keep your eyes open, I have to knock a couple of other projects out then we will build a plinth for the 150, I am still trying to decide if it will be a constrained layer or another one of my sand filled plinths, either way we will get as much performance out of this table as we can.
 
Thanks for the compliment.

Please keep the progress photos coming. This a great thread to watch and learn from.

The pay off is something special. Never heard music like this before.

BTW when turning the adjustment screw for the pulley how far can you go? I can't seem to get my belt to move up. My TT runs a tad slow as a result.


Sir B
 
great thread

How's it going guys, i found this thread while searching for a way to quite a noisy motor on a Thorens TD 150AB, which i got from a professor at Boston University (he was going to throw it away...), brought it home, stuffed in my basement and completely forgot about it ( this was 3 years ago) anyway, in February i looked at it and decided to work on it.
Poor thing was in bad shape, not taken care of at all, i did my best to restore it, even though i had no clue as to what i was doing, but after finding this thread i am confident that i can do better, and i am going to gice another crack at it, since i am not completely satisfied with the results, so a warm thank you goes to Divotdog for making this thread. I only have two questions, the outer platter is badly pitted would having it machined ruin the way it sounds? (perhaps by making it lighter) and and type of oil should i use on the inner platter "shaft"? When i first got it it was bone dry, but there is no visual damage to the bearing or shaft so i guess i am good, motor makes some noise, which causes an annoying rumble, but a good soaking should take care of that.
I'll attach some pics tomorrow as i need to resize them and i have to go to work now.
 
A light sanding on the platter certainly won't hurt anything, and a light machine oil in the bearing well is a good place to start. :thmbsp:
 
Zodia said:
How's it going guys, i found this thread while searching for a way to quite a noisy motor on a Thorens TD 150AB, which i got from a professor at Boston University (he was going to throw it away...), brought it home, stuffed in my basement and completely forgot about it ( this was 3 years ago) anyway, in February i looked at it and decided to work on it.
Poor thing was in bad shape, not taken care of at all, i did my best to restore it, even though i had no clue as to what i was doing, but after finding this thread i am confident that i can do better, and i am going to gice another crack at it, since i am not completely satisfied with the results, so a warm thank you goes to Divotdog for making this thread. I only have two questions, the outer platter is badly pitted would having it machined ruin the way it sounds? (perhaps by making it lighter) and and type of oil should i use on the inner platter "shaft"? When i first got it it was bone dry, but there is no visual damage to the bearing or shaft so i guess i am good, motor makes some noise, which causes an annoying rumble, but a good soaking should take care of that.
I'll attach some pics tomorrow as i need to resize them and i have to go to work now.
Click to expand...


Just an initial thing, make sure you put a drop of light oil on the top and bottom motor bearings. This thread is a good one for more hints, also check the information at the analog dept site, and register at Vinyl Engine so that you can download a copy of the owners manual as well as poster Violette's document on rehabbing these gems.

Platter...before trying to resurface the platter edge I think it might be worth cleaning it up with a series of polishes. I used MAAS and Brasso (forget the order) followed by Mother's to get a near mirror like shine on mine. The first time I did this it seemed to take forever but in the end what I thought was pitting was not. Now it takes all of two or three minutes every few months.

Jim
 

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dean man jim said:
Just an initial thing, make sure you put a drop of light oil on the top and bottom motor bearings. This thread is a good one for more hints, also check the information at the analog dept site, and register at Vinyl Engine so that you can download a copy of the owners manual as well as poster Violette's document on rehabbing these gems.

Platter...before trying to resurface the platter edge I think it might be worth cleaning it up with a series of polishes. I used MAAS and Brasso (forget the order) followed by Mother's to get a near mirror like shine on mine. The first time I did this it seemed to take forever but in the end what I thought was pitting was not. Now it takes all of two or three minutes every few months.

Jim
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Good tips Jim. :thmbsp:
 
Thank you for the tips guys, i actually have all the documents for this TT, including the owner's and "service manual", i also added the drop of oil on each end of the motor shaft (bearings) but it still seems noisy with the belt on, not so much with he belt off, tried longer belt still does it (unless i change the mat to a thicker one, or try the cork mat), i'll have to try a thicker oil, as far as the platter, trust me it is pitted, at first i thought it was just tarnish, and i would be able to get rid of that with noxon 7, but it made it worse, because some of the polish residue stayed inside the craters...Also have violette bookmarked for when i am ready to get the oil and a new belt.
sorry for the bad quality pic. :stupid:
platter closeup.jpg
 
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