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Transporting a Gyrodec

Dave H.

Dave H.

Revolutionary relativist
I’ve bought a SH gyrodec from a seller about 125 miles away and need to get it here. The seller offered to dismantle and courier it, but mentioned that as it’s delicate & would require reassembly it may be better to collect it myself and keep it (mostly) assembled.

That sounded like a good idea, so I agreed to do so. But now I’m having second thoughts. Pretty long drive, suspension on the gyrodec potentially bouncing excessively if I go over a bump, that sort of thing.

Given that there are a few owners here, I thought I’d ask - any tips/thoughts? Am I right to drive over and get it? If so, is there anything that needs doing for transport? Should I have it delivered after all?
 
The deck breaks down to three parts trivially, without tools.

Remove the belt and the 3 covers over the springs, and store thee to one side. Lift the platter and weights off the sub-chassis. Next, the sub-chassis can be lifted from the base, leaving the springs + washers behind. At this point there is no sprung mass, so these three parts can be transported with the main concern being not to scratch them, and not to get muck into the bearing (stick a bit of tape over the top). You may have a separate motor or it may be mounted on the base, depending on age.

Reverse for reassembly. The main problem is to get the base level and the sub-chassis bounding correctly with the platter and arm added, it's just a case of turning the screws on top of the springs to adjust the height of these screws, and maybe rotating the springs if the motor and sub-chassis cutout doesn't align.

You won't need any special equipment to move it in a car, just a blanket or two and keep the parts separate to avoid them rubbing.
 
^^As Cesare says. Diasassembly and assembly is straightforward and you’d want to do it anyway in order to clean it and level it (levelling best done one “stage” at a time). They look a lot more complicated than they actually are.
 
When I moved mine to get a new cart fitted and when we moved house I took off the turntable, belt and gentle inserted folded pieces of cardboard around the suspension (or rather the dealer did) to cushion nay movement. I then drove like I'd got a new born baby on board. Mind you it was only a few miles. If it was a loner journey I'd have dismantled it a bit more fully as outlined above

I agree with @Cesare about getting checking the balance though.
 
Or just order and pay for a shipping box and packaging from Michell then pack it up for transit, that way you'll always be able to guarantee it's moved the way it's supposed to be moved , more or less in kit form.
 
As above easy to split and transport on back seat, put some none slip stuff on seats and use bubble wrap etc. Take some pics before you split it so you can confirm arm is still aligned and in same position. Drive home smoothly :)

Protect the cart if one is attached or get the seller to remove it and box up.

Plenty of guides and info on how to assemble and level.
 
I'm setting my Orbe up for the first time, here's my views:

Re-assembly is not tricky - you just need a screw driver and some spirit levels.
Once assembled, getting the "bounce" or vertical versus horizontal spring oscillation right is not straight forward until you finally understand what you are meant to be doing.

The deck will require to be fully setup if it arrives pre-assembled.
To do that, you'll need to take it apart anyway.
 
There's no way I'd transport a deck like the Giro or LP12 that far without dismantling it. In fact I'd be calling Michell and asking them to send me the correct packing.
 
Cesare said:
The deck breaks down to three parts trivially, without tools.

Remove the belt and the 3 covers over the springs, and store thee to one side. Lift the platter and weights off the sub-chassis. Next, the sub-chassis can be lifted from the base, leaving the springs + washers behind. At this point there is no sprung mass, so these three parts can be transported with the main concern being not to scratch them, and not to get muck into the bearing (stick a bit of tape over the top). You may have a separate motor or it may be mounted on the base, depending on age.

Reverse for reassembly. The main problem is to get the base level and the sub-chassis bounding correctly with the platter and arm added, it's just a case of turning the screws on top of the springs to adjust the height of these screws, and maybe rotating the springs if the motor and sub-chassis cutout doesn't align.

You won't need any special equipment to move it in a car, just a blanket or two and keep the parts separate to avoid them rubbing.
Click to expand...
Exactly this! It's how I moved mine. You really don't need to dismantle it completely imho. Only proviso may be if it has an arm on it, which I would carefully remove.

Excellent choice of deck by the way. I've had mine now for about six months. Apart from anything else most of the clicks and pops seem to have disappeared from my record collection :)
 
Thanks for the replies, folks.

I should probably have said, the seller has the original boxes, so no need to get new ones from Michell.

So from the sounds of things, it’ll need to be mostly disassembled and reassembled anyway, to make sure it’s all level and set up properly. And with a bit of care and patience that’s not all that much of a hassle.

Given the petrol cost and the fact that it’d take most of a day driving there & back to get it (it’s over 3 hours each way) the above has me leaning towards getting it shipped over instead. I’ll go back to the dealer & discuss.

Thanks again, guys.
 
When shipped it must be taken totally apart, each part packed properly. This also means that the bearing will be emptied of oil, and cleaned without contamination of dust and e.g. paper fibres. Then upon reassembling you'll need the correct oil. Failing an official source Mobil One 0-W-40 will do.

As John Michell taught me ...


Here is my old setup guide: https://www.angelfire.com/music5/michell_gyrodec/step_by_step/manual.html

And here is an alternative one: https://blog.audiot.co.uk/blog/2017/9/13/michell-gyrodec-turntable-build-and-set-up
 
Just dismantle it and have it boxed up properly whether you collect it or not.
They’re easy to set up, just follow the instructions. It’s almost self explanatory.
I own one myself so I know.
 
Cesare said:
The deck breaks down to three parts trivially, without tools.

Remove the belt and the 3 covers over the springs, and store thee to one side. Lift the platter and weights off the sub-chassis. Next, the sub-chassis can be lifted from the base, leaving the springs + washers behind. At this point there is no sprung mass, so these three parts can be transported with the main concern being not to scratch them, and not to get muck into the bearing (stick a bit of tape over the top). You may have a separate motor or it may be mounted on the base, depending on age.

Reverse for reassembly. The main problem is to get the base level and the sub-chassis bounding correctly with the platter and arm added, it's just a case of turning the screws on top of the springs to adjust the height of these screws, and maybe rotating the springs if the motor and sub-chassis cutout doesn't align.

You won't need any special equipment to move it in a car, just a blanket or two and keep the parts separate to avoid them rubbing.
Click to expand...

Oh and when removing the platter DO NOT loose the Ball Bearing...:)
 
Cesare said:
The deck breaks down to three parts trivially, without tools.

Remove the belt and the 3 covers over the springs, and store thee to one side. Lift the platter and weights off the sub-chassis. Next, the sub-chassis can be lifted from the base, leaving the springs + washers behind. At this point there is no sprung mass, so these three parts can be transported with the main concern being not to scratch them, and not to get muck into the bearing (stick a bit of tape over the top). You may have a separate motor or it may be mounted on the base, depending on age.

Reverse for reassembly. The main problem is to get the base level and the sub-chassis bounding correctly with the platter and arm added, it's just a case of turning the screws on top of the springs to adjust the height of these screws, and maybe rotating the springs if the motor and sub-chassis cutout doesn't align.

You won't need any special equipment to move it in a car, just a blanket or two and keep the parts separate to avoid them rubbing.
Click to expand...

Turns out that I will be going to collect it in the end, so thanks in particular for this.
 
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