McIntosh MT-5 spindle problems

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Shempster1965

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Aug 30, 2015
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Hi all,
Anyone having trouble with the McIntosh MT-5 spindle not fitting the vinyl hole? About 70% of my vinyl won't fit. McIntosh sent a new spindle, but it was the same exact one. ALL the vinyl fits fine on my Rega P3.

thx
brandon
 
Clearaudio (who makes the spindle) are much bigger. I keep a knife and I twist on small shaped vinyl holes. You can also buy Clearaudio drill bit or make your own:

Search: Clearaudio LP Drill

It makes for a tighter fit and the record isn't bouncing around.

Shempster1965 said:
Hi all,
Anyone having trouble with the McIntosh MT-5 spindle not fitting the vinyl hole? About 70% of my vinyl won't fit. McIntosh sent a new spindle, but it was the same exact one. ALL the vinyl fits fine on my Rega P3.

thx
brandon
Click to expand...
 
AM123 said:
Clearaudio (who makes the spindle) are much bigger. I keep a knife and I twist on small shaped vinyl holes. You can also buy Clearaudio drill bit or make your own:

Search: Clearaudio LP Drill

It makes for a tighter fit and the record isn't bouncing around.
Click to expand...

I would buy a new turntable with a correctly sized spindle before I would take a knife or drill to all of my LPs.
 
mep said:
I would buy a new turntable with a correctly sized spindle before I would take a knife or drill to all of my LPs.
Click to expand...

It isn't "all" your LP's, just some new repressings by companies like Doxy, etc. All vinyl should be 7.3mm or 7.24mm. Some new pressings are smaller for some reason - bad presses, etc.

I would suggest getting a 7.3mm drill, if it is too tight, screw it in and you will now be at the proper size. Look at the outside edges of these records as well, you will see, that they overpress them.

You want that spindle tight, and not loose and off center. Look at what happens when you place a 45RPM off center without a adapter, well that is what happens (to a lesser degree) when you put an oversized record on a small spindle.
 
By the way, I had an MT10, Clearaudio Innovation and now I have a Clearaduio Master Innovation. All have the proper sized spindle.
 
AM123 said:
It isn't "all" your LP's, just some new repressings by companies like Doxy, etc. All vinyl should be 7.3mm or 7.24mm. Some new pressings are smaller for some reason - bad presses, etc.

I would suggest getting a 7.3mm drill, if it is too tight, screw it in and you will now be at the proper size. Look at the outside edges of these records as well, you will see, that they overpress them.

You want that spindle tight, and not loose and off center. Look at what happens when you place a 45RPM off center without a adapter, well that is what happens (to a lesser degree) when you put an oversized record on a small spindle.
Click to expand...

The OP said 70% don't fit and thus my comment.
 
Tight is good. Sometimes it's a tight fit on the MT10 but never an issue. A heavy weight will help it down.

A gentle wriggle is all it takes to pull it off.
 
Shempster1965 said:
Hi all,
Anyone having trouble with the McIntosh MT-5 spindle not fitting the vinyl hole? About 70% of my vinyl won't fit. McIntosh sent a new spindle, but it was the same exact one. ALL the vinyl fits fine on my Rega P3.
Click to expand...

Brandon.......ClearAudio offers this tool for shaping tight LP holes. The bit is pressed into a nice aluminum anodized handle. They are proud of it at $50.00. Available at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Clearaudio-Records-corrects-undersized-spindle/dp/B00NY869I2

The RIAA specification for a 12" LP center hole is 0.286" + 0.001" -0.002". A Size L drill bit has a diameter of 0.290", or 3-one thousandths over the RIAA maximum specification of 0.287".

Standard drill bit sizes are shown here: http://www.gearhob.com/eng/design/drill_eng.htm


13367066643_bb92cb8fac_c.jpg
 
If the spindle is oversized which it appears to be, I would rather take the spindle to a machinist and have him turn it down to the correct diameter (or sell the table) than give my LPs the ream and scream.
 
mep said:
If the spindle is oversized which it appears to be, I would rather take the spindle to a machinist and have him turn it down to the correct diameter (or sell the table) than give my LPs the ream and scream.
Click to expand...

Mark.......Since the RIAA specification for a 12" LP center hole is 0.286" + 0.001" -0.002", you could theoretically have albums with holes of 0.284" diameter and still be within the RIAA specification for hole diameter. This would make those albums snug on a spindle that met the standard diameter of 0.286". Reaming with a precision sized bit to increase the hole size of those albums to a 0.286" or 0.287" diameter still allows the center hole to remain within the RIAA's specified diameter range. Since the RIAA specification allows a 0.003" variance in the hole diameter and still be considered within spec, and since there is most certainly other albums that are sporting hole diameters of 0.287" that would be slightly larger than a 0.286 spindle yet remain in spec, I don't see how enlarging an albums hole with a precision drill bit of the correct RIAA size, up to and including 0.287", could be considered "ream and scream" as you put it.

Granted, using inaccurately sized reaming devices would be considered risky, things like a screwdriver, a pocketknife, a rattail file, a razor knife, a drill bit deemed close enough, or any other such tool not specifically designed to make a precise hole to a specific diameter. Something like that might just fit your comment perfectly.
 
I have a ClearAudio table a few Lps are tight on the spindle but I have not had new pressing from a higher end label that was a problem. ClearAudio has very rigid views on what is the right way to do things I have found they know what they are doing. Buy the drill bit from them if you need to but I would not change or machine down the spindle. IMO only By the way ClearAudio has centre record weight and outer ring I have not found a better centre weight or ring and I have tried a few . It is not the highest tec centre weight but it does work better with my table which may not be your cup of tea but it is very good. I have not tried the still point weight yet but I will . The little things really matter on tables.
 
Look guys, we all have a few LPs that are snug on the spindle regardless of the table we have in our systems. The vast majority of all my LPs slip right on the spindle. The OP said that 70% of his LPs are too tight which to me means that he is either wildly exaggerating the situation or the spindle is really oversized. I'm going to assume the OP is somewhere in the ballpark and he is having problems with the majority of his LPs fitting on the spindle. So, unless he plans on taking that table to the grave with him, I wouldn't ream the spindle holes on the majority of my LPs because they may be too sloppy on the next table.
 
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