Hi William62,
One more thing ...
Removing the offset angle still leaves you with the decision as to whether to create overhang, underhang, or neither. You still need to arrive at an alignment strategy that minimizes tracing distortion for your chosen path (e.g. offset angle = 0).
While skating forces are very real, they are secondary to minimizing tracing distortion, and this is the genesis of the posts advising you to go by the numbers.
The math developed by Baerwaald, Loefgren, Stevenson, et. al. were all exercises in optimizing tracing distortion over various parts of the LP.
I have to admit that I've played only minimally with Loefgren, but my experiments with the Baerwaald Mint LP protractor (after being a two point protractor user for eons) was a revelation to me, Doug and countless others.
Now, strictly speaking, slapping a cartridge on a tonearm and randomly mounting it is an "alignment" and we can give it a name if we choose ("Joe the alignment").
After hearing the difference between "almost Baerwaald" (as in attempting it with a two point protractor) and an accurate Baerwaald (Mint LP arc protractor), I've gained more respect for the math developed by him.
Having said that, knock your socks off and have some fun. Why don't you make concentric, crescent shaped slots in your headshell that will allow pivot the cartridge from 0 degrees offset to the Baerwaald recommended number for your effective length? Then, you can prove this to your own satisfaction and report your findings.
Enjoy the journey,
Thom @ Galibier
Cheers,
Thom @ Galibier
