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¿ new idler ? and grease for grey-grease 301

Joe P

Joe P

Memory Alpha incarnate | mod; Shatner number = 2
I've been sitting on this 301 for far too long and I'd like it to be my audio project for 2011, but before I start pestering people for advice on plinths and arms I need to start with the basics.

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Would someone recommend a source for grease for an early grey-grease 301?

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Also wondering about the idler — the table is 50+ years old and the idler appears to be original. Is it a given that the idler would need to be replaced, being half a century old? If so, recommendations for a source of new idler wheels would be graciously accepted.

Joe
 
The idlers are very well made and tend to be fine unless they have suffered actual abuse e.g. the deck has been stored for decades in the 'on' position which can in some situations lead to a flat spot. Chances are it's still perfectly round and has plenty of milage left. Mine's 51 years old and is fine! I do have another spare, but I plan to live for at least 175 years.

Tony.
 
Joe

I spoke recently to one of Loricrafts "tekkies" and he confirmed that idler wheels are usually ok if they look ok.

You have bought a quality product, so relax. At the end of the day, if it sounds good it is almost certainly fine.

Regards

Mick

PS Treat yourself to a Loricraft cork mat, they do the business and improve the looks.
 
I'm using the original idler on my grease 301 too - although (like Tony) I have a spare as well. You can 'freshen' an old idler by spinning it in a drill against a piece of emery paper, and some people recommend boiling them if they've gone a bit hard.

I have a tube of the original grease, but I actually used a bicycle grease in mine - I couldn't find a definitive answer as to what the grease should be, but the bike grease was designed to be high performance at low temperatures, yet low resistance - which seemed to fit the bill. That it was waterproof was just a bonus.
 
I would use Castrol LM grease or an equivalent. LM is a standard lithium based grease used in car wheel bearings and bicycles the world over. If it looks after your car wheels, holding up a ton of metal for thousands of hours at several hundred/a thousand rpm, it will do your record deck.
 
Mick — I'm leaning toward a Loricraft plinth, but they are rather expensive. Is there anything out there that's almost as good but at half the price?

Patrick — Waterproof grease would be a bonus because that's why the 301 restoration project had been derailed. (We had another basement flood after the flood of 2008.)

Joe
 
Joe - I can point you at an easy DIY skeletal plinth based on Ikea chopping boards. It costs peanuts and if I can knock it together in my back yard when I'm still recovering from a bicycle accident, you can build something better. There are a few pics up on Classic, posted this summer after the bake off.

Steady though, I think mine cost as much as £30, with the varnish and metalwork I bodged, sorry, crafted.
 
Thanks, Steve. You have greatly overestimated my DIYabilities, but I appreciate your confidence in me. :)

Any ideas on how to fashion an Ikea-based 12-inch arm? Maybe something from the curtain rods and rails aisle?

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Joe
 
Ask yourself Joe, what would Spock do?:D

This is easy. Your daughter could do it. OK perhaps not but if I can when damaged you certainly can, esp if you get a DIY savvy mate to help and promise free food and beer afterwards.

The 12" arm is tricky. I have one in the wings but it's so far Ikea free. Think redundant golf club, golf ball and lots of swearing.;)

You know you want to. You will be soooo manly. Every woman in the street will want to sleep with you, even Mrs Joe.:p
 
Joe Petrik said:
Mick — I'm leaning toward a Loricraft plinth, but they are rather expensive. Is there anything out there that's almost as good but at half the price?

Patrick — Waterproof grease would be a bonus because that's why the 301 restoration project had been derailed. (We had another basement flood after the flood of 2008.)

Joe
Click to expand...

Joe

You are still a young man with a good few years left in you. Therefore you should adopt the policy of just buying something that will last forever and only buying the best.

Buy your Loricraft plinth in the knowledge that it is the best there is. If you buy something else you will be miserable and kicking yourself for being a miser.

You know what to do ... do it.

Regards

Mick
 
Steve

Unless you are a very experienced and skillful cabinet maker, you will not be capable of making anything as good as a Loricraft plinth.

You may be capable of making something that is ok but don't you think that a good TT such as a Garrard 301 deserves the best plinth going.

Regards

Mick
 
I have done Mick. :)

I cheated a bit, I bought in a subassembly in the guise of a chopping block, 2 off, and I made my own spacers. This generated a skeletal design and got me away from needing to be a cabinet maker and cast me into the realms of engineering, where I feel at home. I've finished up with s design that's somewhat like modern architecture, it may not be to all tastes but I love it. Le Corbusier would be proud. It sounds great too, it was well liked in its almost-finished form at the bakeoff, and it's been much admired since.

I'll post up some pics, As for my deck, it does deserve the best and it's got it. I'm not swapping it for anyone's bit of ply on squash balls, even if it is well made and looks nice.
 
Chaps

I admit it is a bit of a cop out but I am always prepared to take the advice of experts who know what they are talking about and who have experimented with everything under the sun.

Terry and Nigel at Loricraft spent years perfecting the Loricraft plinth and the design as it is now is probably the best thing going as regards to the sound.

They did they work and I was happy to reap the rewards.

I have a good arm (Naim ARO) and a Loricraft PSU fitted to the 401 and I am happy that my system is good because of the efforts of those who know what they are doing.

DIY is fine but it is unlikely to match professional standards.

Regards

Mick
 
The problem with Garrards is there are at least four expert schools of thought e.g. Loricraft, Bastin, Shindo, Oswald Mills etc, all of whom have arrived at very different solutions, all of whom are greatly respected. Knowledge is by nature never static, people discover new things, otherwise we'd still all be using the sprung SME 2000 plinth system of the 1960s. There are no simplistic "right" answers here, only alternatives from which to choose.

Tony.
 
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