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Weathers The Townsend turntable?

MisterFishey

MisterFishey

Super Member
http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/ele/1693542416.html

Stumbled on this on the Pittsburgh CL, very interesting looking turntable. I found nothing about it on the internet, aside from that it can only play at 33 1/3 rpm and that Weathers turntables are "well regarded". The wooden tonearm looks very interesting as well. Does anyone know anything about this?

I have no affiliation with this listing.
 
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Kim G said:
There was a thread on these just a week or so back, you might try a search.

Kim
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Celt said:
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=287863
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I missed that thread somehow, thanks for the link! The tonearm in that thread looks different from the one on CL, and the TT looks different too... the one on CL looks a bit newer IMO. It looks like a nice TT and a nice tonearm. I'll just have to ask if the tonearm has a standard 1/2" mount... it isn't immediately apparent if the one on CL does or doesn't.
 
MisterFishey said:
The tonearm in that thread looks different from the one on CL, and the TT looks different too... the one on CL looks a bit newer IMO. It looks like a nice TT and a nice tonearm. I'll just have to ask if the tonearm has a standard 1/2" mount... it isn't immediately apparent if the one on CL does or doesn't.
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I thought the same thing; newer and different tone arm, for 75 bones it would be fun to play with, but I have too many projects already.
 
Looks like I'll be getting it on Monday, I can't wait. The linked thread lead me to believe it was a very nice turntable, and certainly one that doesn't come up too often. :yes:
 
Keep us posted, MisterFishey, I bought the other (different, slightly) Weathers that the recent thread was about. Haven't done anything with it, though! Yet!
 
Urchinn said:
Keep us posted, MisterFishey, I bought the other (different, slightly) Weathers that the recent thread was about. Haven't done anything with it, though! Yet!
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I shall keep you posted! I think it would be interesting to compare differences between the two models. If I get it, however. People on CL here seem to flake a lot. :thumbsdn:
 
Hmmm, there was a free one that was offered on the Ithaca CL. I didn't jump on it because lack of info and the fact a rubber disc needed replacing. I don't see the ad anymore...
 
That "soft disc" or "rubber disc" those ads mention are the IDLER WHEELS! Weathers are old broadcast-studio-type idler-wheel TTs, and with some work, may be almost in the same bracket as the better old Garrards, Lencos, etc... The idler wheels can be rebuilt (search online) with new rubber to as-new standards, and the results of an overhaul-and-tweak can be very good. :music: I'd recommend grabbing them, when you have the chance. Wish I had one!

Looking forward to your impressions after you get it on Monday! :thmbsp:
 
Just picked it up today... VERY interesting turntable, and much different from the one in the linked thread - the most significant difference being that mine only has 1 motor, instead of two! And it's not that one is missing, I opened up the bottom, and it is clear there was only meant to be one motor. The rubber disc is bent and odd, so I will need to find a replacement or get it rebuilt somehow. I'll have to send an email to Terry DeWitt, I don't know if he would do something such an odd shape. However, the motor does work and it does spin the platter. The tonearm is indeed solid wood, and seems very well balanced. Mine isn't level, though, so I'll have to figure out how to get it level. The headshell mount thing is very clever, and awesome in its simplicity. It came with an AT cart and (broken) stylus, but I don't know the model number yet. I don't think I'll replace it until I get the tonearm level again. The turntable and platter are almost shockingly light, as expected, but the wood is well finished and the suspension seems excellent. I'll post some pics after I get it cleaned up and I procure a camera from a friend.
 
Weathers the Townsend Drive Wheel

Hello. I've got a Weathers that would work fine if I could find a drive wheel. The wheel is a semi hard rubber 16.5 mm in diameter and friction mounts over a 1.5 mm drive pin. I've attached some pictures. Thanks. Rob
 

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robandjeanne said:
Hello. I've got a Weathers that would work fine if I could find a drive wheel. The wheel is a semi hard rubber 16.5 mm in diameter and friction mounts over a 1.5 mm drive pin. I've attached some pictures. Thanks. Rob
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Terry over at Terry's Rubber Rollers will build you a new drive wheel for $40. I sent mine there and he made a perfect new wheel. Terry is a great guy, you won't be disappointed. :thmbsp:
 
I had the one with only one motor.
As to rebuilding -- the rubber of the tire is/was very soft, unlike any other idler I've ever seen. Idlers work by being jammed between the motor pulley and the platter, so they need to be pretty stiff -- only enough resilience to minimize rumble. The Weathers, on the other hand, was directly on the motor pulley and only the weight of the motor held it in place (and it wasn't pulled away from the platter when not in use) so it had to be very soft in order to have enough friction to make the platter move (and even so, there was so little torque that you couldn't use a dust bug.
So unless Terry is used to making them for Weathers, I don't think the result is likely to be satisfactory. But I might be wrong, or he may be used to making them.
 
Nat said:
I had the one with only one motor.
As to rebuilding -- the rubber of the tire is/was very soft, unlike any other idler I've ever seen. Idlers work by being jammed between the motor pulley and the platter, so they need to be pretty stiff -- only enough resilience to minimize rumble. The Weathers, on the other hand, was directly on the motor pulley and only the weight of the motor held it in place (and it wasn't pulled away from the platter when not in use) so it had to be very soft in order to have enough friction to make the platter move (and even so, there was so little torque that you couldn't use a dust bug.
So unless Terry is used to making them for Weathers, I don't think the result is likely to be satisfactory. But I might be wrong, or he may be used to making them.
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Mine only has one motor as well. Terry did rebuild my tire so that it is fairly stiff, it works extremely well to turn the platter. Unfortunately, I'm having issues with the tonearm (too much friction on the bearing) and the spring suspension (can't keep it consistently level), so I can't comment on the sound quality or wow/flutter at the moment.
 
What is/are the arm bearing(s)? I have a memory of a unipivot done in rubber, or at least the vertical bearing done that way, which if correct would be unusual.
 
Nat said:
What is/are the arm bearing(s)? I have a memory of a unipivot done in rubber, or at least the vertical bearing done that way, which if correct would be unusual.
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Excuse me, perhaps I miswrote, I mean the pivot point where the metal hinge on the tonearm contacts the plastic top of the tonearm mount support base. It is snagging on the tonearm wires coming out of the base, and I haven't been able to angle the wires so that they don't rub. I might put on a thin plastic washer to solve this.

The tonearm itself doesn't really have a bearing - there is a metal shaft that is connected to the hinge pivot on the tonearm (that tilts the tonearm up or down) that goes into a plastic base surrounded by a slanted rubber housing. The metal on plastic is "self-lubricating", so horizontal stabilization comes from the metal shaft inside the plastic base and vertical stabilization comes from the base of the hinge on the tonearm resting on the top of the plastic/rubber base, both of which are intended to be "frictionless" surfaces.
 
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