Jon1553552729 Posted September 24, 2013 Share Posted September 24, 2013 Hi This is going to be a custom Lenco PTP4 build. Base Level Design Statements 1) No speed control - I have no 45rpm records, and with Nigel's speed controller coming on apace, if I need to I can use that! 2) No top mounted on/off switch, mount this elsewhere. 3) Multi-layer slate, no lines visible between layers 4) Separate Tone arm pods 5) No bolts visible on top. So what I intend is to chop the PTP down so it is essentially invisible - I'll make it a little larger than the Aura Platter. This eliminates the on/off switch (find a new place for that) and the speed control slide (fix the speed properly). The projecting bit on the left is the motor mount bolt. The tone arm pod will float free. The extra layers on the tone arm plinth are to accommodate the height (90mm) of the Aura platter The slate plinth (consisting of 4 layers will be bonded together with resin in a very thin layer between each layer of slate. It will have a top and bottom PTP4 layer made from stainless steel. This steel layer will be 8mm wider than the plinth. So think of the letter I, the horizontal parts of the letter will overhang the slate by 4mm all round. This 4mm gap I will fill with resin and I will then polish the resin smooth and paint. I will have to make sure that I can take the top and bottom steel plates away, which means that I will need to bolt the slate together. So I will make four or perhaps six of the through bolts as slate anchors and put interal nuts on them tightened up so I can take the top and bottom plates off and not have the whole thing fall apart... The Aura platter neatly hides all the through bolts that hold the PTP4 in place except one. I will have to braise/weld a through rod to the motor plate so that it does not have a visible nut on top. All of this will apply to the 6 layers of the tonearm pod as well, except that for the tonearm pod all of the top nuts will have to be disguised - I do not want to see a single nut on top. It detracts from the look and feel of the thing. I am going to mount Vic's terminator tonearm on the tonearm pod and that presents a problem. With the design focusing on a completely separated tonearm pod it then becomes imperative that I have a system of moving and replacing the arm next to the plinth without having to go through an incredible series of complicated steps to ensure that all is lined up correctly. To that end I intend to mount the whole lot on a flat piece of slate with suitable mount points so I can drop the arm into place with a minimum of fuss. I have the steel plate, and may have to get some more. The slate is on its way from Brazil. ETA uncertain. More anon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gortnipper Posted September 24, 2013 Share Posted September 24, 2013 Nice. Ambitious. Two thumbs up! You got the slate from your guy here in Auckland? Did you pay him up front? I keep meaning to contact him... OT: I managed to touch the OMA slate plinth that houses a Garrard 401 the other day. While I dont like the aesthetics of a square peg in a rounded plinth, it was massively drool-worthy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TD19 Posted September 24, 2013 Share Posted September 24, 2013 I will certainly be watching this project with interest ... I hope you plan to add to the thread as the project progresses. Very innovative! Will the motor mounting bolt on the left of the plinth be hidden somehow? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul300b Posted September 24, 2013 Share Posted September 24, 2013 The motor is hidden, it is under the platter. Idler drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon1553552729 Posted September 24, 2013 Author Share Posted September 24, 2013 The slate costs approx $250 (half upfront, half on delivery) for: 5 X 30mm X 350mm X 800mm, delivery extra. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Y Posted September 24, 2013 Share Posted September 24, 2013 Welsh slate, Pennsylvania slate, Indian slate, Chinese, or...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TD19 Posted September 24, 2013 Share Posted September 24, 2013 paul300b;189511 wrote: The motor is hidden, it is under the platter. Idler drive. I was referring to the mounting bolt circled in the picture below: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon1553552729 Posted September 24, 2013 Author Share Posted September 24, 2013 As stated in the OP, I will weld a threaded rod into place and make sure that area is flat and the weld not visible. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TD19 Posted September 24, 2013 Share Posted September 24, 2013 Jon;189523 wrote: As stated in the OP, I will weld a threaded rod into place and make sure that area is flat and the weld not visible. :-) Whoops ... missed that. Clear on rereading! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon1553552729 Posted September 25, 2013 Author Share Posted September 25, 2013 This is awesome! I am genuinely laughing! I asked the importer when the slate would arrive. Thanks Jon, It take a little while from Sth America, I would say about 16 weeks, but I will update you once I know shipping details So sometime in February! Bobby McFerrin had it right.... Don't Worry! Be Happy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulsaints1553552770 Posted September 25, 2013 Share Posted September 25, 2013 Have you looked at the ptp5 which is designed with no speed control and to be invisible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon1553552729 Posted September 25, 2013 Author Share Posted September 25, 2013 PTP5? :cool: Sure did and it looks really cool, however the Aura platter would have a significant and obvious gap underneath it which would spoil the look of the thing. :eek: The objective of this build is to have something that looks really good AND also performs well sonically. I can do the sonic bit, it's the cosmetic bit I've never really done before. So that's my personal challenge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon1553552729 Posted September 30, 2013 Author Share Posted September 30, 2013 I've been thinking about the letter "I" and resin... :confused: I want to cover up the lines of slate in the main motor plinth AND in the tonearm pods so they are not seen and I had thought that some sort of resin compound would suit... except I'm not sure it will. I have thought of these as well: Plaster of Paris Wall Plaster (mixed with 1:1 water:PVA glue mix) The aim is to cover the lines, certainly, but I also want it to be completely smooth, and as David would say, shiny!!! It would be painted after it had dried of course. Any thoughts and ideas as to what to use in that 4mm gap that will do both jobs easily and with a minimum of fuss? :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TD19 Posted September 30, 2013 Share Posted September 30, 2013 Jon;189806 wrote: I've been thinking about the letter "I" and resin... :confused: ... Any thoughts and ideas as to what to use in that 4mm gap that will do both jobs easily and with a minimum of fuss? :cool: I would be inclined to look towards the car restoration and/or boat-building industries for advice ... possibly something fibre glass or epoxy-based? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Y Posted September 30, 2013 Share Posted September 30, 2013 Why are the gaps as big as 4mm, Jon? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon1553552729 Posted September 30, 2013 Author Share Posted September 30, 2013 Owen Young;189812 wrote: Why are the gaps as big as 4mm, Jon? Just a convenient number and at this stage can be changed very easily... My concern here being if the gap is too small I may have trouble getting my filler material to hold in place and be reasonably robust! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gortnipper Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 I would think that Bondo would work great, as long as there was no movement in the gap that would crack it, which would be my main concern. Thermal expansion/contraction? How much does slate "grow" over the summer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon1553552729 Posted October 1, 2013 Author Share Posted October 1, 2013 Your mention of Bondo got me thinking about Milliput... So that might be an option too! [update] And it dissolves with water so maybe not! Any more ideas? Keep 'em rolling! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Y Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 Resin can fill narrow gaps. All you need to do is to colour it... maybe mix with dried slate cutting slurry? (ie The runoff from the sawing.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nak-Mad Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 Jon;189818 wrote: Your mention of Bondo got me thinking about Milliput ... So that might be an option too! [update] And it dissolves with water so maybe not! Any more ideas? Keep 'em rolling! Milliput is a kneadable epoxy putty that is water reducible for working, but is insoluble once cured. It is bloody good stuff. There are a number of equivalents available, bit I always stick with Milliput I'd steer clear of any bondo/bog/ fibreglass body filler for long term performance. But just to make sure I'm reading right.. this is to bond the layers of slate together, as well as potentially fair them in? If yes, read on, if not, ignore and skip to the next post The best joint for strength is the narrowest you can get it, 0.2 - 0.3mm optimal.. close contact for best performance..... If you can get a narrow joint, I'd be looking at a liquid epoxy system filled with aerosil to give some gap fill/anti-sag properties. If you can't get a fine gap, then use a mineral filled epoxy system, and for finishing suggest an epoxy fairing compound, sandable and paintable with any good nice shiny glossy 2-pack Auto PU system. In terms of product suggestions, and this is only because I'm familiar with them from my Ciba-Geigy tech days, and should be suitable for your job!: Araldite K106 for the fine gap, K273 for a large gap situation and fairing cream to finish it all off. These guys are the pirates that sell them these days: http://www.nuplexconstruction.co.nz/epoxies.html I'm a big fan of K273.. can be used for a multitude of evil purposes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gortnipper Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 Nak-Mad;189828 wrote: I'm a big fan of K273.. can be used for a multitude of evil purposes Blimey. And it is "Operator tolerant". :eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nak-Mad Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 gortnipper;189834 wrote: Blimey. And it is "Operator tolerant". :eek: Meaning lower risk of sensitization and a more friendly hardner, but like all industrial chemicals treat with respect The Araldite K106 is or rather used to be the same stuff you bought in your little twin 'araldite' syringey tubes, and K219 was repacked as the 5 minute araldite.. by Ciba for a well known company.. but that was 25 years ago :eek: These days there are plenty of generics around, so ?? knows what's in there, but they do the job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon1553552729 Posted October 3, 2013 Author Share Posted October 3, 2013 So there are 2 areas of concern. The Grey Area (where 1 piece of slate rests on another) The Pink area (which I need to fill so that all the slate layer lines disappear) Funky idea to use Araldite to glue the layers together, however the infill area (pink) is huge... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nak-Mad Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 Fairing compound used to be good for a 10 - 12mm film build IIRC, so provided your depth is less than 10mm, I would think you should be well OK. There is nothing to that effect on the Nuplex TDS unfortunately, but if I can dredge my old Ciba Araldite tech folder out of the d'archives at home, I will confirm. You could also cover the joins by bonding in some 2-3 ply as a packer and so reduce the depth for filling , but that is then another material to accommodative in terms of thermal expansion. I'm not sure what gets used these days, but when I used to deal with Canterbury Stone and various concrete boys, epoxies were always the flavour of the month for any 'stone' or concrete substrate bonding. You could also look at a structural urethane, but might this allow too much interlayer movement or creep with temp changes and spoil the edge finish over time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon1553552729 Posted November 24, 2013 Author Share Posted November 24, 2013 So after 2 years I have been informed that my Brazilian Slate has arrived! Delivery next week or something! Yay, me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts