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Thorens TD-124/II restoration / upgrade

Evo said:
I knew you'd see that Tony! I had a go at fitting it properly after taking the pic. A lot of choice words later it's more snug than before but still not quite seated properly (it's been like that for ages tbh) and I gave up.
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I gave up trying to fit the new ones that came with the Hanze springs. The original ones were a bit more flexible and so went back on fairly easily. No idea how anyone manages to fit those solid Hanze ones.
 
Given your motor has apparently been serviced it is probably advisable to keep the motor pulley in place. You can clean the pulley quite effectively by taking the belt off and running the motor against a isopropyl soaked cotton bud. The step pulley is the one that needs to be removed to clean.
 
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Tony L said:
Given your motor has apparently been serviced it is probably advisable to keep the motor pulley in place. You can clean the pulley quite effectively by taking the belt off and running the motor against a isopropyl soaked cotton bud. The step pulley is the one that needs to be removed to clean.
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That’s basically what I’ve been doing up to now. I’ll remove the step pulley though, as you say.
 
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I've just played some good old JJ Cale and I'm very happy. The deck is near silent unless you put ear to chassis. I've also moved my Tannoys slightly, giving less toe-in. I think it sounds much better, even with Mr Cale's variable recordings. You can hear the differing quality of the recordings as he moved from one recording studio to another (probably when he was on tour). What a guy, coffee, cigarettes booze and reefer!
 
Evo said:
I've just played some good old JJ Cale and I'm very happy. The deck is near silent unless you put ear to chassis. I've also moved my Tannoys slightly, giving less toe-in. I think it sounds much better, even with Mr Cale's variable recordings. You can hear the differing quality of the recordings as he moved from one recording studio to another (probably when he was on tour). What a guy, coffee, cigarettes booze and reefer!
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With Tannoys and their deeper bass reach, how do you find the rumble? With my LS3/5a I don’t think I can hear any at all.
 
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Good question, prior to this upgrade rumble was prominent at volume. Cant say i noticed it just now but I'll pay attention at the end of this track.
 
Right, they do improve with some internal bracing for the cabs and bass port tuning. Let us know how it goes. They benefit from being off the floor by a couple of inches or alternatively angled back a little.
 
I just found a photo of the original Warranty for my 124. I bought it from the person who purchased the house after the occupant had passed away (I assume Mr Salinders). They found the 124 in a piece of furniture complete with Quad amps - which they broke!! anyway, the Warranty is a nice thing to have
2022-02-21_10-26-26 by Chris Eveleigh, on Flickr
 

Not a TD-124, but this quick 135 restoration from Blueglow gives a good indication on how the basic mechanics work for those unfamiliar with this era of Thorens decks. I’d personally have advised a lot of caution around the tonearm bearings, plus he actually had no need to remove the step-pulley bearing well, though I guess doing so aided cleaning, but there’s a lot of info there within 30 minutes for anyone new to the deck.
 
Well I've just secured a TD124 mk2 :) It has been in the family of a friend since new and is need of a good strip down and service but is fully working.

SME3009 pre improved arm with Ortofon VMS30.

It'll be interesting to see how it compares to my TD125 mk2, which is sounding splendid these days.

I've got a few jobs on the go for other people to get through before I can start working on it though. Details and pics to follow in due course.
 
Tony L said:
Excellent, I’ll be very interested to see how you get on. We need pics, obviously.
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OK here are a few pics as a teaser.

20220320_085905 by Michael Pickwell, on Flickr

The (my!) 124/ii has been living in this homemade cabinet made by my friend's uncle. On the middle shelf you can see a Tandberg TR1010 receiver and the Akai cassette deck slides out on drawer runners.

The Tandberg are Akai are both up for grabs and will be going cheap.

Anyway, enough about the rest. Here's a closer shot of the TD124.

20220320_085824 by Michael Pickwell, on Flickr

Ouch!
20220320_085835 by Michael Pickwell, on Flickr

I'm afraid he did the same to the Tandberg and Akai!
 
Congratulations, it looks lovely and well cared for. Mine isnt a million miles away from yours in terms of serial number- 81721.
 
Looks really nice aside from the engraving and wrong headshell (both are actually fixable should you wish!). Which sub-platter does it have? How is it structurally, e.g. have you dared take a look inside the motor yet? What is the wire thing on the armboard? The Tandberg receiver and Akai are nice too, a cool little system of its era. Any idea what speakers it had?

PS Mine is very late at 92683. I suspect one of the last.
 
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