Very pleased with this... :)

[RichShortland]

I've been keeping myself sane during the lockdown by playing with the idea of a DIY Well Tempered Amadeus tonearm, to go on my modified Lenco GL75.

There's a thread here in the DIY section of the planning and building the proof-of-concept prototype.

I was sufficiently encouraged by the mock up to build a proper one, and it has definitely been worth it.
It's by FAR the best tonearm I've had on this deck, seeing off a modified RB250, Linn Akito and recently a Roksan Nima. The separation and the space around instruments and voices is stunning. I do also think there's more to come with some tweaking.

Any of you who are also motorcyclists may recognise some of the parts... The majority of the armboard is built from some alloy rearset footrests and a polyurethane crash bung off an old race bike, plus a bit of bling carbon sheet. I quite like that there's more than one of my hobbies in this project. The arm wand is a carbon/alloy arrow tube and the counterweight is the original Lenco.

Here's the end result:

and the first go:

 

[Rockmeister]

Brilliant. Machining skills 2/10, but otherwise, top result

 

[hifinutt]

love the golfball !!! very innovative

 

[Snufkin]

Love it!

WT arms tend to work better with just a small amount of silicone in the 'golf ball bath'; might be worth experimenting with.

 

[RichShortland]

Brilliant. Machining skills 2/10, but otherwise, top result

Yeah, hand tools only I'm afraid... I may tidy some bits up over time

 

[RichShortland]

Love it! WT arms tend to work better with just a small amount of silicone in the 'golf ball bath'; might be worth experimenting with.

Yes - this is fairly light weight stuff (I couldn't find out anywhere what viscosity the proper WT stuff is...?) so I've used a decent amount. It probably needs more damping tbh.

 

[Snufkin]

Yes - this is fairly light weight stuff (I couldn't find out anywhere what viscosity the proper WT stuff is...?) so I've used a decent amount. It probably needs more damping tbh.

The WT stuff is pretty thick and gloopy but I have no idea what its viscosity is. Thinking about how it behaves its probably significantly more viscous than hypoid 90 gear oil.

 

[Tw99]

You'll now have people suggesting that Titleist balls aren't the right ones to use and Callaway will sound much better !

 

[Woodface]

I love that, really like the look of the TT. Always fancied an older deck like that.

 

[Whaleblue]

You'll now have people suggesting that Titleist balls aren't the right ones to use and Callaway will sound much better !

Callaway good for distance (LPs over 40 minutes), but Titleist every time for accuracy and feel.

 

[stevec67]

Yeah, hand tools only I'm afraid... I may tidy some bits up over time

Which tool, an axe? Joking aside, that's a great bit of development.

 

[deebster]

Loving your work Rich

 

[cj66]

Crikey, very well done.
Not the easiest DIY project by a long shot AND result in an arm your chuffed with.
Take a bow.

 

[awkwardbydesign]

That crash bung was a bit pristine. Not trying hard enough! I damaged mine dropping the bike in the garage.

 

[jan tomczak]

very nice, reminds me of the 17th at sawgrass

 

[Whaleblue]

All joking aside that’s impressive. W. Heath Robinson would be proud of it.

 

[Darren]

That's ace! I've always felt that WT are having a laugh with their pricing. Love your take on it.

 

[VTA]

So much more rewarding than plonking down another pile of cash. Looks great. Well done!

 

[stevec67]

That's ace! I've always felt that WT are having a laugh with their pricing.

They absolutely are. It's about a £500 tonearm, isn't it? The deck is £1500 for the Simplex, IIRC. No way, José. Not for something that looks like a 6th form design project.

 

[RichShortland]

I love that, really like the look of the TT. Always fancied an older deck like that.

These Lencos are a really accessible deck to have a play with. Nowhere near the financial commitment of something like a Garrard for example. Mine sounds superb but took a lot of tweaking to get there. It has an upgraded main bearing which is also braced from below and there was also a lot of trial and error in getting the plinth right, but worth it