Build your own turntable

[ohbythebay]

Sounds daunting, right ? It isn't really. All you need is a good idea, a donor motor, platter, spindle and power and choose the high end arm you want.

I took the motorized parts from a Dual turntable that has a Dual EDS 500 motor. why ? Because the motor and board is self contained (no separate boards, etc.) so it was easy. Took the following:

1. Motor
2. power supply
3. strobe
4. speed pot
5. Platter and spindle

Added
Power on off switch
Tonearm
self made wood case

Steps with pictures
First laid out how I wanted the platter strobe and speed control on a board



Next, the underside wiring..I hard wired for 33 speed eliminating the manual switch for 33 and 45. You can see why I chose the Dual TT donor..Very minimal parts to work with and dead steady DD motor



Used cork to sandwich the material and deaden the plinth



Made a base out of poplar. You can do any base design you want. The top plinth will just fit inside



This was the original design with a Sanyo arm...Nice but not what I finished up with



Continued next post

[ohbythebay]

Now after that first design, I decided to make a better table by using a better arm. I choose a very low mass AT1100 (6 gram mass) with fluid damping...very cool...and changed the top plinth wood

Original design


New top and armboard to measure out for the new arm...



the Arm



Mounted



Final result including an AT popup that lifts the arm when it reaches the end of an LP

[Petro85]

Wow!!!! That's some beautiful work! How's it sound??
Great job !!

[Rayooo]

Fantastically cool! Being a Digital Junkie I generally avoid the vinyl threads... and glancing around I didn't really thing "make your own turntable" meant, "make your own turntable" well, silly me.

fantastic job, fantastic DIY project! Thanks !!

[Mike]

We have got some seriously talented people here. Wow. I love the classic look.

[Bill13]

We have got some seriously talented people here. Wow. I love the classic look.

I think this guy Rob is one of these!!!

[ohbythebay]

Thanks all...how does she sound? High end audiophile quality. It may not be suspended or damped like modern tables BUT I took that into account I needed two things

1) Rock solid speed...so solid I adjust the strobe once per several months (amazing)
2) A tonearm that was designed to be a perfect compliment to the table - 6 grams mass, fluid damped and designed by AT to eliminate the 10hz sweet spot...

You can read about the arm here --> Google
I also replaced the original tonearm wires with Litz wires and special connectors..

I have used high end MM and pretty decent MC carts...beautiful...compared to my Concept table ? Tied...I kid you not...

[dlb2]

We are so lucky to have you around Rob. I had an old Dual that I gave to my son. Apparently it has a channel out. After reading all of your DIY threads I'm planning on taking a look under the hood. I figure it can't be any worse than it already is.

[shelly_d]

To quote Darth Vader: "Impressive!"

[BobM]

Arrgh - the pictures are not showing up for me! Are there links to pictures at another site I can get to?

[ohbythebay]

Arrgh - the pictures are not showing up for me! Are there links to pictures at another site I can get to?

Really ? What browser are you using...?

[ohbythebay]

We are so lucky to have you around Rob. I had an old Dual that I gave to my son. Apparently it has a channel out. After reading all of your DIY threads I'm planning on taking a look under the hood. I figure it can't be any worse than it already is.

Doug, 90% of the time, the channel OUT issue is the DUAL SLED if yours has that. The contacts are horrible. What model do you have? I eventually rewired my arm and eliminated the sled contacts scheme ..worked wonders !!!

[BobM]

Looking at this site at work (shhh, don;t tell my boss) using IE8

[ohbythebay]

Looking at this site at work (shhh, don;t tell my boss) using IE8

Your browser default is set to not show pictures.

Go to TOOLS/INTERNET OPTIONS/Click the ADVANCED TAB (far right)

Scroll down to Multimedia and make sure SHOW PICTURES is clicked.



Tell the boss it is research

[dlb2]

Doug, 90% of the time, the channel OUT issue is the DUAL SLED if yours has that. The contacts are horrible. What model do you have? I eventually rewired my arm and eliminated the sled contacts scheme ..worked wonders !!!

Rob, mine is the CS627Q. I think I bought it back around 1980 and it was in my basement for a lot of years. I'll have to bring it to where I am and take a look at it. I think it had an Ortofon OM20 on it. The fingerlift was a lever that went to and fro which would release the cart. mech for easy changing. Ha! I can't tell you how many times the whole works fell right off onto the album.

Not my pic but this is what it looks like:

[BobM]

Well, I can see most others, but unfortunately I can't adjust my internet options (function is locked). I see the typical little box with a red X in it. It is entirely possible that the site that is originally hosting those pictures is blocked here at work. Bummer, I love DIY stuff.

[pdrummer]

Question the 2nd to the last photo you said "an AT popup" to lift up the arm what is it? can you post a photo of it. Other then that this look cool I have a few old TT that I always want to fix I might try something like this.

[joeinid]

Welcome to the forum pdrummer!

Thank you for joining.

[ohbythebay]

Question the 2nd to the last photo you said "an AT popup" to lift up the arm what is it? can you post a photo of it. Other then that this look cool I have a few old TT that I always want to fix I might try something like this.

REALLY hard to find Audio Technica Safety Riser

[o0OBillO0o]

Is there a set of standards or specs that one has to follow for tonearm placement, etc.. ?

[ohbythebay]

Yes, it is called spindle to pivot distance. On any given tone arm, there is an optimal distance and placement.

One does this with a template or a measurement by measuring from the spindle in a direct line to the pivot. See example below but note...not every arm is the same (though many are). Knowing that number can help you build your or table or add an arm to a table that allows it.

tonearm.JPG

[o0OBillO0o]

Very cool. Do stand alone tone arms come with spec'd spindle to pivot distance?

This appears very interesting, as long as I don't have to invent the wheel when it comes to motor control, tone arms, and platters. Just build a very inert base, measure and cut/drill for Motor, Arm, switches and output?

Are there any professional/published books on this topic, amazon appears dry?

[ohbythebay]

Most all standalone tonearms purchased have the template. If its used then you can probably find the template at vinylengine.com

I am sure there are books, but its not that hard. We are talking full manual though - to build an auto from scratch, you better have an engineering degree...LOL

Some turntables came with the ability to change an arm (thorens had some for example).

Building from scratch is not that hard though. For mine, I stole a motor, platter and strobe from a Dual Direct drive turntable. The EDS 500 motor lends itself perfectly to this because the circuit board is all part of the motor assembly. So I stripper the parts, built a base and plinth top, mounted, measured and cut my arm hole and voila, I had a high end table. Sonically, it was awesome....Pictures below

entire motor assembly on the bottom of MDF


top side corked to reduce vibration


built a simple base


I originally started with cocobolo wood for the top but note, the strobe is too far - eventually changed..see further pictures


Changed top wood, moved the strobe closer and note the arm board


Finished product






I added an AT popup which lifts the arm at the end of an album


and a dustcover from a Technics SL1200



LET YOUR IMAGINATION BE YOUR GUIDE - MINE WAS ULTRA SIMPLE

[o0OBillO0o]

Thank you for sharing. This is very motivating.

Now I have to find some tonearms (and the templates), some motor, and get a little creative with the rest.

I know what I am going to dream about tonight :-)

[MrAcoustat]

Question the 2nd to the last photo you said "an AT popup" to lift up the arm what is it? can you post a photo of it. Other then that this look cool I have a few old TT that I always want to fix I might try something like this.

pdrummer Welcome.jpg To this great forum

[o0OBillO0o]

So, given the snow over the east coast I shut myself in and read about Turntables.

Couple of thoughts:

Why aren't there more funky pivot to spindle distances? Like having a half meter tone arm? This way it would create an arc so large that it would almost seem like a linear tracking?

Are tone arms simply, I know it's not that simple, a free pivoting levers? Which connected to a needle that simply follows the groove of the record? I know there are things out there to control "skating"...

[ohbythebay]

Tonearm pivots vary..but most fall into two camps. Normal pivot - the arm rides on very small bearings on the horizontal plane while it has two side pivot points for the vertical.

Then there is a unipivot. Uses a single pivot point (think of balancing on a pin - you can go left, right, up and down all from a singular point)

There is also things like a magnetic unipivot (like my Clearaudio Concept table)

No matter how long you made the arm, you still have the same arc...and a super sized table...LOL..It would not emulate a linear tracker which has no arc

Antiskate is a slight counterforce to keep the arm from forcing inward as it riders the grooves which would cause IGD (inner groove distortion)

Some nice tonearms

Micro Seiki
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw...at=0&_from=R40

Some others
http://www.audioadvisor.com/Tonearms/products/77/

Grace tonearms
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=grace+tonearm

[o0OBillO0o]

Thanks, there is no real formal (easy) guide to building a turntable. So, with your help, I will investigate. While turnable tech seems, to me, super old, I am learning it for the first time. Most of all, it's fun.

[ohbythebay]

If you really want to build your own...there are other options

1) Get a sweet, top condition vintage table
2) Get a table that lets you change the tonearm - example
Kenwood Turntable with Grace Tonearm Classic Combination | eBay

You can also go with a Thorens TD 150 or 160 and do your own arm
http://www.theanalogdept.com/sme_td160.htm

If you do decide to build, consider this
Belt drive - You would have to find the right platter and motor combo so you get the proper speed. It means calculating the pulley to platter/belt etc. Doable but not for the faint of heart and no speed adjustment

Find a DD turntable to gut to use its parts - preferably like the Dual I used where the motor unit contains all you need ( no circuit boards to transfer or figure out)

From there its pretty easy. Figure where your platter/spindle goes, mount your parts, mount your arm, make a base...instant table..LOL

Here is a pretty cool project that sparked me to make my own...his is way above mine
DIY Turntable - Hi-Fi Phono Record Player

[MerrillAudio]

If you really want to build your own...there are other options

Here is a pretty cool project that sparked me to make my own...his is way above mine
DIY Turntable - Hi-Fi Phono Record Player

I wish I was that handly or delicate on the wood work. Very nice job on the turntable.

[pjs]

i can not see photos

[joeinid]

Welcome to the forum pjs, thank you for joining.

[pjs]

Welcome to the forum pjs, thank you for joining.

Are there parts for turn table for assembly instead of building?
I like to buy parts already made just for assembly.

Thanks