Fly_by

I was really tempted to cut and buff the lid, but I chose to leave it alone. I kind of like that it's shiny but up close it is obvious that it has some age. I bought the Ortofon balance. If I was going to keep the turntable I would buy the small digital scales, but I'm going to sell it and probably won't have an ongoing need to measure <5 grams.

Righto - the second to last update So, I tried a couple of DIY belts but they didn't work. Fortunately, the new belt has now arrived and fits perfectly. I have set the anti-skate, and the RCA plug is fixed. I gave the lid a polish with some acrylic polish, which doesn't seem abrasive at all. Consequently there are still some swirls and such in the cover, but it is shiny. And everything seems to work and the turntable looks pretty good. I have inspected the stylus with the 60x magnification and it looks like astylus shape. Nothing obviously busted or flattened. How does it sound? Well, of the 3 amps I have none of them has a phone input. I've ordered a phone pre-amp off Amazon based on a review on Stereonet. It should be here next week... such is life. Here are some final pictures.

As an update, I ordered a new belt, a bullseye level, an Ortofon stylus cleaning brush, an Ortofon stylus balance, and a set of the"Currency Detecting with LED Microscope" with 60X magnification. With postage delays being the new normal, everything apart from the belt has now arrived. I've checked the platter is level, and the tracking force is spot on. I still have to set the anti-skate. The glued cover seems to be holding well. The lid opens and closes perfectly. The repair is not obvious at all from the front with the lid down. I still need to solder the RCA plugs. I have downloaded a strobe disc. I'll print it out and give it a try, and I might even DIY a belt until the new belt arrives(?). And then, I can give it a spin and a listen.

Thanks. I will certainly closely inspect and test the current one before I pay for a new stylus.

How long should a stylus last if it isn't being used? As I said previously, I've probably used the turntable 30 times. Otherwise it has been sitting around unused.

I'll start looking for one at a decent price.

Awesome. Bought a set - $12.95.

I checked with Duratone today. A new stylus is nearly $500 and a replacement cartridge is $650. If the current one is no good I think I'd have to loo at a more budget cartridge replacement.

Thanks, and thank so much for the information about the anti skate, I'll try taking take a macro shot of the stylus and see how that works out. I have no idea how to see whether a stylus needs replacing. I've had this turntable for 20 odd years and I've probably used it to play fewer than 30 albums when I got it. I did see that a black Grace 707 tonearm with 25 hours was listed here for $450 in 2018.

With some great input from you guys I have been cleaning up the Walker CJ55 turntable. So far I have done the following: a good dust, vacuum, clean and polish has brought the walnut veneer back to probably 99% of its original state. It does have some scrapes and marks, but you have to look for them. lightly oiled the bearing, and it spins very nicely turned it on and it runs silently glued the broken dust cover using the SCIGRIP 16 suggested above (and also suggested by my local plastics shop). It's not perfect, but it's together. I'll leave it for a few days and then tidy up the adhesive squeeze-out ordered a new belt balanced the platter balanced the tonearm trying to figure out how to set up the antiskate(???) The Grace 707 arm has a Goldring 1020 cartridge. i have no idea of its condition. I noticed this evening that one of the RCA connectors has come away from its cable. I'll fix that in the next few days. I also found that there are two CJ55 turntables currently for sale on eBay. One for $441 out of the UK without a tonearm, and the other out of the US for $492 with a MAS(?) tonearm with missing parts. Are they dreaming? That would make mine worth about $600!! That seems a bit high, but I really have no idea. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/C-J-Walker-CJ-55-Turntable-Record-Deck-Walnut-With-Black-SME-Arm-Fit-Board-P-P/303621539876?hash=item46b1410824:g:ijsAAOSwrHNe0lT6 https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/CJ-J-WALKER-TURNTABLE-MODEL-CJ55-W-MAS-TONEARM-FOR-PARTS-OR-REPAIR-WORKING/143201426250?hash=item2157785b4a:g:j8gAAOSwqoxcVi2J

Awesome. Thanks for all the advice. I very much appreciate the responses and the information / advice. I'll give it a decent tidy up and track down a new grub screw. I am reasonably handy so at this stage I am inclined to mend the lid. I can't work at the moment for health reason, so I'm happy to put some time and a few $$ into it to make it playable for the new owner. I certainly won't be throwing it away , and I'll post some progress shots as I tidy it up. Cheers

It seems there is value and it may be a bit of a gem. Now in terms of moving it on should I attempt to glue the dust cover back together and generally give it a clean-up, or should I leave it alone and sell it as it is. What do turntable people and restorers prefer?

Agree. It does seem to have a bit of a following.

For sure. I'd rather see this go to someone else. That's why I thought it wise to reach out here before doing anything else.

Further inspection reveals that the pieces are there from the broken lid. The tone arm says 'Grace'. Otherwise, apart from a small grub screw, it all seems to be intact.