Help all ye Triplanar Gurus

I just checked further on the McMaster Carr site.

To set the record straight, it's one of two sizes - 3-48 or 4-40. Both sizes use a .050 hex key.

Look at this site: http://www.mcmaster.com/
Search on part numbers: 97705A226 and 92311A089

Cheers,
Thom @ Galibier

My read is that we're all talking about the set screw which locks in the cueing height bar and not the knurled VTA tower locking screw.

No matter ... Sunnyboy speaks of a set screw, and even if we're misunderstanding him, the procedure for backing out any stripped or frozen screw is as Doug describes. Furthermore, he needs someone with the tools and skill level to do this for him.

The exception to the above involves a total disaster which would involve having to enlarge the hole and either replacing the existing screw with the next larger size, or alternatively installing a helicoil (if they exist in such small sizes) in order to use the same size screw.

What town do you live in, Sunnyboy?

There might be someone on this list with a connection to a good machinist. You might well save a whole lot of time in shipping and such.

Cheers,
Thom @ Galibier

No, you're not losing your marbles Lew. Like Doug, I knew the assembly he was referring to.

It's a tiny set screw, btw, using an .050" Allen wrench.

I suspect that this will have to be helicoil'd. I just checked the McMaster Carr website, and note that stainless helicoils are stocked down to a 2-56 thread size.

Looking at the standard range of set screws, it looks as if the screw in question is a 4-40 (one size larger than a 2-56). I say this because a 4-40 uses an .050 hex wrench.

So, the good news is that the parts exist to do the job.

Cheers,
Thom @ Galibier

Sunnyboy,

I was fairly well surprised at the path this thread has taken in the weeks since I last visited it.

When I last visited this topic, it was privately, in response to an e-mail you sent me. I commented to you privately about the fact that your dealer makes a markup and part of this is earned by handling customer service issues.

I further explained the reality of small manufacturing to you, and while I didn't state it explicitly, perhaps I should have mentioned that a "proper" customer service organization costs money and would be reflected in a retail price that would likely add $1,000 to the price of every tonearm. This is reality.

Whether your dealer actually tried to contact Tri Mai is something you never called into question. You took his word at face value and yet chose to soil Tri-Planar's name on this forum. I find this "interesting" as well, but will let this one slide as evidence of your frustration.

Dan and Ralph have explained this in public for you as well. Perhaps this is a language problem, but you do yourself no favors in spending time posting on this forum when you could easily pick up the telephone.

I'm not trying to be harsh, and I understand your frustration at the sinking feeling of having stripped a thread.

I would bet that every one of us on this thread has learned about working with a steel screw tapped into aluminum the hard way.

I would further bet that each and every one of us was frustrated at a minimum. Some of us were lucky and did not do this to a $4,700 tonearm. I learned on an aluminum cylinder head years ago :-(

We are sympathetic, but Dan, Ralph and many others on this thread take exception to the manner in which you have approached the problem.

Others disagree. To those of you who do, I suggest that you take up a pool amongst all perspective Triplanar owners to pay the true economic cost of a customer service organization for a small, cottage industry.

I suggest that you take a deep breath, re-read this thread, and get on the phone with Tri Mai. He is a man up extraordinary integrity. If you search the archives for posts of mine, you'll note that I do not treat such a statement lightly.

Cheers,
Thom @ Galibier

Thomas,

Well, selling Digital equipment created winners on both sides ... :)

Whether or not you hid behind an emoticon, your snarky post is helpless at best.

I will exercise my faith in human nature and assume you hit "send" prematurely.

Thom @ Galibier

I read this thread exactly as Dan and Audiofeil did, and the post of 11/20 really surprised me - this, after the extensive private coaching I took Sunnyboy through - for someone who is not even my customer.

We now learn that Markd51 has also gone out of his way to help a member of our analog tribe. This is a great and helpful group of individuals, and Markd51 went the extra mile to help Sunnyboy.

My bullshit meter pinned to the right side of the dial however, (it's an analog meter after all) when I read Sunnyboy's 11/20 post.

Sunnyboy not doubt panicked, and this likely resulted in his hasty post, but I still am completely puzzled why he let his dealer off the hook when the time came to ascribe responsibility. In my experience, dealers are the weak link in the distribution chain, and this dealer was getting a free ride, IMHO.

I have to admit, that in these conversations with him as well as how the early part of this thread unfolded had me thinking about a dealer who had neither the interest in earning their markup nor the competence to do so by helping Sunnyboy recover from his error.

One of the reasons I've been very slow to adopt a dealer distribution model is because of the vulnerability it exposes one to - being able to count on your dealer network to support your product in a competent and ethical manner.

In the old days, an analog dealer knew more than than just how to mount a tonearm and dial in a cartridge. I am friendly with a dealer in Ft. Collins for example who recently went to his drill press and tapped some holes to solve a problem.

This is a disappearing breed ...

Cheers,
Thom @ Galibier