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Look what the cat dragged in (two Garrards)

sonddek said:
I'm now turning to the mechanics of the 301. Am I right in saying that the following are the areas for attention?
- platter bearing, checking wear, oiling/cleaning, upgrading thrust-pad
- idler wheel and bearing, oiling/cleaning
- motor bearing oiling/cleaning
- springs cleaning/checking

Does anybody know where I can find good online guides with pictures to each of these tasks?
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http://home.earthlink.net/~transcrubbers/index.html
 
hi guys. newbie from france to ground control. this is simply one of the best threads i ever read and the discovery pictures are amazing. nice job on the plinth. keep on groovin'!
 
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I love that picture. I can almost smell it.

Conversation yesterday in the car my little boy - said he knows where Swindon is (we have friends there). "It's over in Norway".
"What? It's down the M4!"
"No, I looked on my globe and it's over next to Norway"
"Err?? ! Ahh....No, that's Sweden!"
 
johnfromnorwich said:
Sonndek - If you do the motor and fancy describing the process...
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The motor was running quite smoothly to start with in fact. I followed the instructions in the service document which can be found in the link on this page. I poured a few drops of oil into the hole on the underside of the motor enclosure while rotating the motor spindle. I can't hear any improvement using a screw-driver as a stethoscope. The motor seems to idle quite well when spun by hand and there's no play in the spindle. The whole innards and motor casing seem very clean too, so there probably isn't much dirt in there. I have oiled the top motor bearing according to those same instructions, by adding a few drops through the holes in the magnetic break wheel. All looks very clean in there.

I have also removed, cleaned and oiled the idler wheel bearings, which look unworn, and run very smoothly. I've thoroughly cleaned the idler wheel, which looks in very good shape. I really can't believe all of this is 49 years old, considering how well it has weathered. It seems to me that these decks really were built to last, and to put up with a lot more punishment than they have actually received. I imagine that being built-in to a clean dry enclosure under a console inside a cupboard has helped too.

More pictures coming soon.
 
sonddek said:
The motor was running quite smoothly to start with in fact. I followed the instructions in the service document which can be found in the link on this page. I poured a few drops of oil into the hole on the underside of the motor enclosure while rotating the motor spindle. I can't hear any improvement using a screw-driver as a stethoscope. The motor seems to idle quite well when spun by hand and there's no play in the spindle. The whole innards and motor casing seem very clean too, so there probably isn't much dirt in there. I have oiled the top motor bearing according to those same instructions, by adding a few drops through the holes in the magnetic break wheel. All looks very clean in there.

I have also removed, cleaned and oiled the idler wheel bearings, which look unworn, and run very smoothly. I've thoroughly cleaned the idler wheel, which looks in very good shape. I really can't believe all of this is 49 years old, considering how well it has weathered. It seems to me that these decks really were built to last, and to put up with a lot more punishment than they have actually received. I imagine that being built-in to a clean dry enclosure under a console inside a cupboard has helped too.

More pictures coming soon.
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Sounds like yours is about the same age as mine. I've no reason to suspect that it's in need of attention, but overall I do get some low level mechanical noise from the deck if I listen up close. I think it's the eddy brake for the most part. Absolutely no breakthrough though, even via Tannoys, so the plinth is doing it's job.
 
If you decide to take the motor apart you will discover surrounding top and bottom bushes felt oil retaining washers. These are what supply lubrication to the bushes (top + bottom) and the bottom bearing. Often the nature of oil + felt + heat + time = deterioration of these washers. The bushes are made of sintered bronze (porous) and are often blackened / clogged. The felts can be replaced and with heat the bushes 'leached' and re-soaked.
if still in spec. The idler housing bearings can often be slightly oval (particularly the top) The idler housing grommets are rubber and after 45 years under screwed in pressure can loose elasticity or become dry / cracked.

Set up tip: use a light weight flexible power cord as the motor is suspended and stiff / heavy cables can pull on the motor causing uneven wear to the idler wheel but perhaps (and more immediately notable) cause noise and potentially vibration transference back up into the chassis. Hope this helps a little, you've got a great project there!
 
Thanks - invaluable info, and I'm very grateful to all of you who have provided vital info for me here.

I'm working on one of the arms now. I'm not quite sure how to disconnect the arm wires from the old-style SME arm plug. Do I need to unsolder them? If I'm going to replace them, which wire should I use? Are CAT 5 strands good enough or should I buy Litz/Cardas on ebay?
 
A little heads-up that one pair of Jorgen Schou transformers is for sale at a well known auction site.

Slow progress here, partly because I'm enjoying the 301/Ekos2/OC9II enough to put off doing more work even though it's some way from being finished.
 
Well, if you are dropping hints, I may as well link to them and get the affiliation fees! Will be interesting to see where they end up. They certainly cleaned up beautifully, nice pics too.
 
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Tony L said:
Well, if you are dropping hints, I may as well link to them and get the affiliation fees! Will be interesting to see where they end up. They certainly cleaned up beautifully, nice pics too.
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Thanks Tony. Yes, they look nice for someone who is in the market. I decided that I'm probably not going to be an SPU user as I don't get my kicks out of vintage kit, just good playback. I've no doubt that SPUs offer both, but at a price. So somebody who wants to run a bona fide vintage rig should have these Schous.

Gave the 301 plinth a couple more coats of undercoat tonight. It's a time consuming business this vintage d.i.y. malarkey.

Here's a question: if I'm not going to use an SME 3009 on the 301, what are the most sensible 9 or 10 inch alternatives, both in terms of appropriateness, and commensurate performance? I'm thinking along the lines of Ittok, Jelco 750, Rega.
 
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Tony L said:
Well, if you are dropping hints, I may as well link to them and get the affiliation fees! Will be interesting to see where they end up. They certainly cleaned up beautifully, nice pics too.
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Love the Altoids box chassis!
 
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Yank said:
Love the Altoids box chassis!
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Yes, it's authentic British post-war thrift, and very nicely done. The earthing is fanatical. But you're a yank - rationing is without your vocabulary ;-) BTW, I think it might be a cigarette or pipe baccy tin. Perhaps someone a little older can enlighten us.
 
Plinth one is nearing completion so I took some snaps:

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The piano gloss finish is coming on nicely but it has been a huge amount of hard work. Bearing in mind the probable resale value, I'm getting far less than minimum wage. Still, a couple more coats and it's polishing time, at which point I'm hoping it will start to look like real plinth porn. The paint colour comes from a "heritage 1950's" range. It's an eggshell blue. I've tried to be as sympathetic as possible to the original design, shape, style and era.
 
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