Building high-end 'tables cheap at Home Despot II


“For those who want the moon but can't afford it or those who can afford it but like to have fun and work with their hands, I'm willing to give out a recipe for a true high-end 'table which is easy to do, and fun to make as sky's the limit on design/creativity! The cost of materials, including 'table, is roughly $200 (depending, more or less), and add to that a Rega tonearm. The results are astonishing. I'll even tell/show you how to make chipboard look like marble and fool and impress all your friends. If there's interest I'll get on with this project, if not, I'll just continue making them in my basement. The next one I make will have a Corian top and have a zebra stripe pattern! Fun! Any takers?”

The Lead in “Da Thread” as posted by Johnnantais - 2-01-04

Let the saga continue. Sail on, oh ships of Lenco!
mario_b
Here's an idea you two... since you don't like lencos and idlers, and this is a thread primarily about lencos and fixing them up, why not buzz off, and find an anti-idler, anti-lenco thread where you belong?
I have a Thorns TD111 I rehabbed and like it very much. I am not anti-idler. They do have a "hip to be square" aesthetic, don't you think?

"why not buzz off.."

Why do you guys get so emotional over very very little?

I watch the thread to see if there is anything to learn regarding rehabbing idlers. Sadly, there is a high degree of misinformation, mutual back slapping, and an obnoxious amount of self-love. But the fooles parade marches on.
Gad, Is the Thorens TD-111 an idler? Have you restored or repaired it? If so, why not enlighten us? Perhaps you have something to teach us, other than how to make snide remarks. I can't recall your ever having made a useful contribution here, but perhaps I am wrong, since I am a late-comer to the faith.
Gad: " Sadly, there is a high degree of misinformation, mutual back slapping, and an obnoxious amount of self-love. But the fooles parade marches on."

Well, if it is a 'fooles parade' why are you ever so eager to be a part of it all? Nothing better to do?

Anyways, if you derive entertainment by stirring things up, more power to you!
At the end of the day. our opinions are just opinions, and really make no difference anyways. Positive constructive advice is usually applicable, and sometimes bears fruit, while naysaying is simply naysaying. And so it goes.
I think a more accurate statement would be that snide remarks is what the internet is all about for the emotionally immature. Nice work on the Thorens restoration, though.

Don
Gadfly,
Nice Thorens, I remember now, I sent along one of my spare dustbugs for that project, Looks good! The 111 is probably the sharpest looking Thorens out there.

I have some news as well, I just mounted a Fidelity Research FR64S with an SPU (New Eliptical model) on my trusty L75 and it is really sounding good. This is my first MC in quite afew years and I am really liking what I hear. I'm using a borrowed Fidelity Research Step-up and am on the hunt for an affordable Step up. Anyone use the Denon au 320, would it suit my SPU I wonder??? My next purchase may be a Denon 103 (R or Eliptical?!?) to try on my RS Labs, Might as well go all out on this MC Fest...
Johnwdt,

I also use a SPU on my Lenco and had at first used the Denon AU-320: works very fine, but, but but, the day I went for a Peerless/Altec 4722, I really heard what the SPU was able to do ;-)

Cheers,

François.
Thanks Francois, I would like to try the Altecs... If I can find a pair, noticed several on Ebay, I remember seeing a pair on Canuck this past summmer.
I also have a Lentek battery operated Step-up from the early 80s, Made in the UK, which I will test tomorrow, anyone used the Lentek??
John T
Beautiful 'table Gadfly! Do you still have it? What other 'tables do you have?
I still have it but the motor seized up. I bought a Technics SL1200 to tide me over and have not thought to try to power up the TD since.

http://home.comcast.net/~omaille/audio/SL-1200/1200Mods.html
well I think I jumped the gun a bit on your stance concerning idlers. Regardless, we're a weird bunch, us auduophools, but at the end of the day we all share one thing: a passion for good music, and damn good sound! Amen.
GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENT:

The Lenco specific audio site, Lenco-Lovers is down. Whether this is a temporary stoppage or portends to a more permanent demise, will remain a matter of conjecture until Francois elects to post an explanation. It would seem that this thread can serve as a temporary kiosk for those Lenco-Lovers members who are currently displaced. I would encourage folks not to revisit recriminations that may, or may not have led to the demise of Lenco-Lovers.
If this is the end of Lenco-Lovers, I'm sure my heartfelt thanks to Francois for having "carried on" and run the site for some 30 months will be echoed by many.
In the meantime, I hope that we may find the resources to continue on with a new Lenco devoted site, should LL be no more.

All best,
Mario
Hi Gadfly, did you get that third strike? :( Btw, do you know how to dismantle the tonearm on your Thorens? I got ripped buying one on the bay, but it might be rescued if I can get it apart. Tia, Cheers
I'm definitely out, Bornin50. Good riddance. Anyway, I did not get a tonearm with my Thorens. I bought a Piezo/Syntec/Sparta from mosin who added a lift/rest. There is an argument for it's heritage to the AT-1005. Heavy enough for DL-103 work.

If you _are_ talking about that arm then you can remove the headshell lock by unscrewing it under the arm. Flip it over and there is a screw. Unscrew it and have a look at the wires, they may have separated, but I am presuming.

It should be easy to rewire ..
Is it a bearing or connection issue?
Dear friends,
I have been bitten by the bug... besides my father's TD 124 MK II , I just bought 3 Lenco's: L 75, L 78, L 78 SE and 2 Garrard 301 grease and oil bearing, the path I will go is a 5 cm thick slate plinth coupled with 3 Symposium Rollerblocks Jr. Tungsten on a second slate base. I will compare all 3 TT with same arm and cart.
I am asking you what arm would be the most revealing for such a test.
Of course I have to buy 3 arms so price/quality is a major concern.
I think Hadkock, Moerch,Rega, SME, Graham Robin, but I would like your experienced info, thanks...
Jean.
JLoveys, If your early expts excite you, check out the PTP2 top plate for the Lenco (on the Lenco-Lovers website). Not only is it far more rigid than the chassis of either a stock Lenco or a Garrard, it also permits a large area of contact between itself and the top surface of a slate or wood plinth. I myself have one but have yet to make a plinth for it. For a tonearm to compare turntables, I bought a 47Labs RS-A1. No mounting is necessary, so you can rapidly move the same tonearm and cartridge from one table to the next.
I hope I am wrong but it looks like the LencoLovers forum has been shut down for good.
For those who feel a little homeless we have set up a refuge at http://lenco.proboards.com/

Please come and visit,
Peter
Hi Peter, What's up with your bearing assembly project? Given the large positive effect that the Kokomo bearing reportedly has on the sound of the Garrard 301, I am waiting with bated breath for your new Lenco bearing.
Hi Lew,
Look here: http://lenco.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=l12&action=display&thread=40
I'm having a hell of a time trying to register to the new Lenco proboards sight .it shouldn't be this hard ?
It seems the Lenco Lovers site was not taken down by the Administration, but was the victim of a very professional hit job. Apparently all data has been deleted and the chances of any being recovered is slight.

Paul
I finally got my password accepted, which enabled me to log in, but when I click on a thread I'm asked to log in again (?!), so I can't access the threads. I can't find anywhere on the site I can contact them for help. The emails they send can't be replied to.
Artd wrote:

"It seems the Lenco Lovers site was not taken down by the Administration, but was the victim of a very professional hit job. Apparently all data has been deleted and the chances of any being recovered is slight..."

To a forum user (not an administrator) this sounds uncannily similar to what mysteriously happened to the ORIGINAL Home Despot thread at Audiogon.

It rather makes one wonder if there really is an anti-idler conspiracy, after all!
when register and logging in, best to choose log in "forever" then you will be forever in heaven :-)

Give it sometime after the LENCO TSUNAMI
Lew, Musicfile & Wolf,
Sorry that you've had difficulty registering at lenco.proboards. In the past 24 hours, there have been nearly 50 new members registered and brought aboard. Things are still getting underway with quite a lot of work going on with the structure of the board. We're a collective trying to pick up the pieces and patch what we have back together. This refuge had its beginnings almost four weeks ago, when the Administrator at Lenco-Lovers took the site down for a day - a test scuttle? So Paul, there are usually two sides to any given story.

All best,
Mario
I wasn't picking a side Mario. Two sources, including Francois, have told me that whoever deleted the LL files is unknown.

I haven't seen anyone definitively say who took the site down and even if someone did, I wouldn't repeat it unless that person confirmed it themselves.

Regards
Paul
So, nobody knows what happened to Llovers? all the information is lost, or is this just rumor?
Artd, can you have Francois chime in?
Thanks to all.
This stuff is so sad, I'm not going to name names (or rather 'nick'names) but the idea of grown men engaging in sniping, sideswipes, character assassination,and the like, over different types of turntables is truly pathetic. It is sad that the site was 'hit' because it was a fun site, full of fun people. I didn't know anything about lencos until I stumbled upon the 'despot II' thread. I can't understand how a grownup could see fit to 'take out' the first Despot thread, but to take down Lenco Lovers? If I have a differing point of view with someone on a forum or thread, I try to express my differing pov, and express my perspective. If that fails, then I agree to disagree. It's called being a grownup. Sad. It was nice while it lasted, see you all in another life I suppose. Harv.
Your right Paul,
A public forum is not the place to air this laundry out.
All best,
Mario
Sounds like Lenco Hell

"It seems the Lenco Lovers site was not taken down by the Administration, but was the victim of a very professional hit job. Apparently all data has been deleted and the chances of any being recovered is slight..."

………..this sounds uncannily similar to what mysteriously happened to the ORIGINAL Home Despot thread at Audiogon

It rather makes one wonder if there really is an anti-idler conspiracy, after all!

Two sources, …………. , have told me that whoever deleted the LL files is unknown.
------------------------------------------
We have the makings of a Hollywood blockbuster here …….

In true Hollywood style the final scenes show the cavalry on the way to save the day. Read on ………….

Fortunately LL was such an open site – deliberately so as to make the info freely available to anyone, that any net traveller could drive by without even being a member and read the crown jewels Lencology section. Also if they wished with a few mouse clicks they could make copies of all the pages - all 104mb of the info therein. No mean copyright protection here – just freely available info.

Among the rush of new members at LencoHeaven, many have backup copies of the priceless data. Not a word need be lost. Shout hurrah from the streets people!

Just as the data was gathered and annotated by many it has now been saved by the many and delivered back to a location from where it can now be accessed by a new generation of Lenco-data hungry net travellers. The hackers have lost this time! There will be a lasting tribute to Lenco Lovers and its hard working Administrators.

Curtains close and credit roll …………………… :)
If any former Lenco-Lover has copied Peter's photos showing how he assembles the PTP3, I would be most grateful if they could be pasted in here or in Lenco Heaven. Maybe Peter would re-post them himself. Also, the threads on adjusting, restoring, etc, the motor were invaluable.
Thanks Mario for the explanation
I will hold off a little bit before I register to the new LL sight
Pat
Hi Lew,
The PTP3 assembly guide will be available again on Lenco Heaven. Until then anyone who wants one can email me personally.
Wow, that is truly a shame to loose Lenco Lovers. I know people are nuts but I can quite comprehend why some one would take the time. When I got Peter's email I immediately went to the Internet Archive - oddly the last back up of the Lenco Lovers site appears to have been Jan 08 (IIRC).

Can somebody point out where to upload any technical files we might on our hard drives to the proboards site?

On an up note - I am still moving slowly (glacially) on my LCR RIAA preamp, but it passed the smoke test last week. I forgot to wire up the pots on the heaters. When I do that this week, I will set it up on the rack for the first listen.

Mike
Hi Mike,
Good to see you checking back in. We may be moving off pro.boards to a controlled server. It's in discussion. But if it happens it'll probably be sooner rather than later. We'll probably have a restoration space at that site. Just not sure. Can you send me your new e-mail? Old one got bounced back.
- Mario
Just so everyone knows, the move of Lenco Heaven off ProBoards to a new, dedicated site is complete.

New URL:

http://www.lencoheaven.net/
"Just so everyone knows, the move of Lenco Heaven off ProBoards to a new, dedicated site is complete."

Thank the baby Jesus!

.
Hey Jean, You were going to tell us about some new ways to reduce resonances in the stock chassis. What's up with that? Also, how are you doing with Peter's PTP?
Since there's no activity over here, I may as well direct you to an interesting project involving a stripped-down Lenco idler drive and platter, being coupled via an idler wheel to a second, passive platter on which records are played.

The only physical connection between the two platters are via the idler wheel, and the long-way-round via the shelves on which the mechanisms are mounted, and the wall on which the shelves are mounted.

Go over to Lenco Heaven (maybe that's where everyone has gone, anyway) and take a look:

http://www.lencoheaven.net/forum/index.php?topic=486.msg4695#new
Gp (Gram Parsons???)
Thanks for the link to Lenco heaven. (Humm...Gram would be in heaven!)
Interesting tables, utilizing one wheel to spin 2 platters.
Hi,
That experiment over on Lenco Heaven is mine, an idea I've been toying with for ages ever since I saw a Lenco been used to drive a Linn via a long belt! That I thought was not the way to get the benefits of idler drive but the idea of isolating the motor further did appeal. I've tried using an intermediary idler to link the two platters and also driving the passive platter direct from the other by fitting an O ring around the driving platter. (The motor coils have been turned to make it go backwards.) I intuitively like the direct drive but it has a few problems regarding lack of compliance in the system so it's quite difficult to get the sweet spot regarding the pressure on the O ring but when it's "on" it sounds very nice indeed. It's a work in progress and a friend is helping me with some more elegant solutions regarding the drive mechanism but it's fun and to my ears is showing real promise.
Regards, Ian