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#106
Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2009 12:12 am
by richardcooper2k
the ball is phosphor bronze and sits in a thingy. this is softer than the spindle so should wear first. the seller suggests you can rotate the ball when you see wear after a year or two and sends two spare balls
they're listed again now listed again now, but the price has increased by about £1.50 so its a bit expensive now
#107
Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2009 2:34 pm
by Graeme
What size were the balls richard, i cant remember. Looked like about 5mm?
If so, i have a ceramic ball you could try too.
It wouldnt be hard to get the little plastic bit remabe in steel so its a solid support, then use a ceramic or ruby ball.
It would sound different, just a matter of good/bad/ or just different.
Only slight issue is the spindle would wear more but pretty much every TT ive had has a hard ball and the spindles dont seem to wear significantly.
#108
Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2009 2:55 pm
by Bizzie
It has been suggested in the past that it may not be a good idea to use anything hard as the bearing surface as its better for the bearing to wear rather than the spindle as the spindle is harder/more expensive to replace so a ceramic ball may not be the best thing to use.
#109
Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2009 4:30 pm
by Graeme
Yep, i know, but its not a problem in most TT's.
Dont know how 'soft' the garrard spindle is, there were signs of wear on richards but nothing bad.
The garrards are the only TT ive come across that specificaly use a soft surface and let it wear. Ive not a great deal of experience with different TT's though.
#110
Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2009 4:32 pm
by Graeme
Another thought.
Ive used pieces of 'feeler guage' as thrust pads before (im currently using a piece of stanley knife blade!), if the garrard spindles are soft you could always bond a piece of thin feeler guage on the bottom of the spindle.
#111
Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2009 6:23 pm
by richardcooper2k
yep looks like 5mm to me measuring rather crudely with a tape measure
i believe the slatedeck solution uses a ceramic ball
be interesting to compare with a harder ball and mount to see how it affects the sound and how much
#112
Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2009 7:46 pm
by Deco-Doctor
removed
#113
Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2009 7:51 pm
by Graeme
Yep, there are risks if the spindle isnt up to it.
I did lengthy testing when i set mp my lenco bearing and i found the harder the ball and thrust plate the quieter the bearing became.
However, this made the bearing way to free spinning which effected the sound for the worst.
I then went with a slightly softer ball (ruby) and although the bearing was slightly noisier it sounded better.
Then, messing with oils, i found a thicker oil that provides a bit of 'drag' sounded better than thinner oils, even though it ment the bearing was less free spinning.
All TT's ive owned had a steel shaft and steel ball, never had one with a ball softer than the spindle and ive never seen any wear on a spindle, except for the slight markings on the 401 spindle.
maybe garrards spindles are just a little soft?
#114
Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 7:06 pm
by pre65
#115
Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 6:09 pm
by richardcooper2k
yes, that's the same guy that did the phospor bronze ball bearings for the spindle
difficult to get a sense of what they look like from the photo though
#116
Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2009 4:27 pm
by richardcooper2k
so i had a play with some blue tack and a big thick elastic band from the postie.
with the rings on and the mat off i conducted some "tapping the platter tests"
adding blue tack to the bottom further reduced the ringing but not completly at the outer edge (the platter rings more even with the rings on if you tap it towards its outer edge)
adding the elastic band on top of one of the rings pretty much completly stopped all ringing (to my surprise)
listening to music i think the sound has become crisper. a worthwhile improvement for me. ymmv
aesthetics are poor though
