Tonearm identification

[Blue Shadow]

I asked him to hold it all for me. "You know I can't do that," he said, but he liked me and smiled "But I feel a cold coming on, a bad one. I'll probably have to close for a few days... I'll lock up as soon as you leave."

When I arrived, cash in hand, the store was locked, empty, with a FOR RENT sign.

There is a lot more to that story. wonder if it was a fencing operation that needed to move, right now.

 

[bimasta]

There is a lot more to that story. wonder if it was a fencing operation that needed to move, right now.

Ah, clever suss. But I suspect not, and I think if you'd met him you'd agree. He was the least "goodfella" type you can imagine, more like a nerdy rabbinical student.

"Good front," you might think, but again I think not. When I walked in and started looking, and then asking very specific questions that showed I had some audio suss, he greeted me like a brother. He was excited that I was knowledgeable and, like us, he really enjoyed talking about it. When he said the tube gear had been recapped — and I asked which caps he chose — he loved the question, he knew it mattered.

Also this was 1993: old tube stuff and turntables were not "hot" products (in either sense) thieves would steal, or fences fence.

He was also very open about himself, too open for his own good; I even cautioned him about it. Example — After 20 minutes or so he said, "Sorry if I sound a bit scattered" (he didn't) "but I'm bi-polar and I'm on tons of meds." He even recited a list: Prozac, Seroquel, etc etc.

When I showed interest in that gigantic Class A amp from UK, he said "You can try it, but I don't think you'll like it. You're a tube man, and even though it's Class A, it's shrill and strident. You'll lug it home, hate it, lug it back, it weight a ton and all you'll do is hurt your back."

He was happy to loan me anything for home trial, no with deposit, no card-swipe, not even my phone number — hardly the behavior of a fence. I even said "You're way too trusting of someone you just met." He just smiled, "My Mother always told me 'The eyes are the windows of the soul.' Is that mob-talk? I did take the Magus on loan, but he was so generous and trusting I drew the line there, I didn't want to take advantage or even feel like I was.

After I bought what I bought, he helped me carry it to my car, parked at a meter in front. Big parking ticket: $85! He said, "Oh ****, that's my fault! I should've have warned you. I'll pay it." I said No, he was already giving me great deals — but he insisted, he even took the ticket off the windshield so I couldn't pay it — and he DID pay it!

I think he was just a really nice messed up guy, and wanted to be my friend. The abrupt closure of the store worried me — I thought something bad must have happened.

Meanwhile, he was gone but I still had his Magus. I wanted to pay for it. I called many times, never a reply. I slid a note under the door, with my number, asking him to call. Nothing. I even called the rental agent named on the For Rent sign and asked if there was a forwarding. No. And the agent knew nothing about him, or the closure — to him it was just a vacant shop on a prime street, with no story behind it.

 

[tdwpgtp]

Hey everyone, back on subject, I finally got around to checking this thing out and.... Well take a look. The threaded part of the pivot is broken. I noticed it was wobbly when I went to buy it, but assumed that's how it was supposed to be from previous remarks about it. I heard it play briefly, too, and it somehow played pretty well. Anyway, how screwed am I? Is there any way to salvage this thing?

 

[bimasta]

Looks like an easy fix to me. Find a thin bolt with the right thread (probably a fine metric thread) — cut it to the right length — sharpen one end to a point — screw the other end into the clear plastic top, and tighten with the lock-nut.

I can send pics and measurements — I have a Mayware IV. And you already have the broken-off part: it gives you the diameter, and enough thread to measure with a thread-gauge.

My only concern might be: it looks like it was broken off — that implies force was applied — did it damage anything else?

Doesn't seem so. The plastic top looks OK (not cracked). Look for damage down into the shaft — if the plastic wasn't harmed, I doubt hard steel would be.

The repair will take you half an hour, and cost 50¢. It'll be good as new.

 

[Nat]

I seem to remember it is a ruby bearing at the point of the pivot - I could be wrong. Easy to check - just look at your broken off piece (assuming the tip was't destroyed by the incident that caused the break. I am quite sure that the point needs to be a specific size and radiused accurately, and again the point you have might be a guide. I'd be concerned that plain steel might wear, since the weight of the arm rests on a very small area.
So I would suggest trying to fix what you have (assuming that the bottom bearing in the well is not broken - if it is, forget it). I think you might be able to remove the top threaded part, and use a v block and some JB Weld or other epoxy or super glue to glue the post back together and then set it up again.
Remember that the pivot is supposed to be a exactly the height of the ring around the clear plastic part, into which the antiskate thread fits, so that the antiskating force doesn't deflect the arm.

 

[tdwpgtp]

Looks like an easy fix to me. Find a thin bolt with the right thread (probably a fine metric thread) — cut it to the right length — sharpen one end to a point — screw the other end into the clear plastic top, and tighten with the lock-nut.

I can send pics and measurements — I have a Mayware IV. And you already have the broken-off part: it gives you the diameter, and enough thread to measure with a thread-gauge.

My only concern might be: it looks like it was broken off — that implies force was applied — did it damage anything else?

Doesn't seem so. The plastic top looks OK (not cracked). Look for damage down into the shaft — if the plastic wasn't harmed, I doubt hard steel would be.

The repair will take you half an hour, and cost 50¢. It'll be good as new.

I'll have to look again when I get home, but I figured the threaded shaft was integral to the pivot and couldn't be replaced. How does it come out? Does it just pull out?

It looks like nothing else was damaged, and what is left of the shaft seems to pivot smoothly.

I seem to remember it is a ruby bearing at the point of the pivot - I could be wrong. Easy to check - just look at your broken off piece (assuming the tip was't destroyed by the incident that caused the break. I am quite sure that the point needs to be a specific size and radiused accurately, and again the point you have might be a guide. I'd be concerned that plain steel might wear, since the weight of the arm rests on a very small area.
So I would suggest trying to fix what you have (assuming that the bottom bearing in the well is not broken - if it is, forget it). I think you might be able to remove the top threaded part, and use a v block and some JB Weld or other epoxy or super glue to glue the post back together and then set it up again.
Remember that the pivot is supposed to be a exactly the height of the ring around the clear plastic part, into which the antiskate thread fits, so that the antiskating force doesn't deflect the arm.

Can you elaborate (and/or provide pictures) of what you are referring to? Can the pivot height be changed? Also, is there a way to determine if it is the same height or not? It is enclosed in the steel cup shaped part. Maybe I'm missing something, I will look when I get home.

That sort of leads me to my next issue, anyway. My antiskate weight is missing, and the thread is broken. What is the original weight supposed to look like? I have seen a few different ones. Additionally, how is it adjusted? I see the bearing that the thread rides on, but I don't understand how the weight is adjusted or why the bearing is even necessary. Again, I'm probably overlooking something.

 

[Nat]

The pivot is attached to the clear plastic cap and thus the arm. All of this rests on the bearing in the main pillar. You may have thought it was attached because there is viscous damping fluid in there. But the pivot just pulls out. The pivot must be at exactly the height of the groove around the plastic piece in which the antiskating thread lies.
The antiskating thread goes around the plastic cap and over the little wheel. A rod with a shelf at the botttom hangs from the thread and various weights slip around the rod to adjust antiskating.
The manuals for all models of the Mayware are in the library at Vinyl Engine and will tell you all you need to know.

 

[Blue Shadow]

The pivot should come out with the perspex cap. So it should come out easily. Hopefully the ruby bearing isn't damaged which would make the repair a bit more complex. The damping fluid might benefit from being cleaned out and the well cleaned to see what is going on. Filling up the well again is explained in the manual and is an adjustment feature of the arm. I don't know the centi-Stoke of the fluid but someone here probably has some ideas. My guess is around 60,000cSt. Most any value is available on the bay or from some turntable supply houses would have heavy for cuing, 100-500k and light for damping fluid.

Time to dive in and have a look around. The arm was shipped disassembled and folks filled the well with the supplied tube of silicon fluid.