Help! Antiskate with only a weight...no dial, and she's skating away!

Thanks everyone for your replies. I address them below. Thanks!

millercarbon:
Thanks for the reply, info and encouragement. The antiskate weight is 3.485g (3.5g on their website). And yes I have noticed the kind of ski slope edge on some of the records which facilitate this accelerated slide, but it does the same if I place it in the space in between the run out grooves at the end of the record (where Peter from Soundsmith recommends assessing for antiskate). However I did as you suggested and it drops into the groove almost imperceptibly! But I want to be able to get back to my chair before the music starts!! Ha!

Before I read your post, I actually thought about the same and made a trip to Lowe's where I found some very small black washers (matched the color of the weight and very close diameter). I came home, weighed each and found them between 0.46g and 0.48g. So I added one by one and experimented on the blank side of record I have (Dave Grohl's Play has only one side) to see how much effect it had on slowing the skate across the record. I ended up adding four washers (roughly just under 2g) which only slowed the skate but not enough where the tonearm stops near the nullpoints. I listened and it still sounded good, but by this time it was late and I'll have to do more A/B later. Still makes me wonder why I have to do this anyway.

But it's interesting to know that there are manufacturer's who don't use antiskate and/or dismiss it as necessary? The physics of it seems logical to me that it need not be ignored, but what do I know?  Many searches of this topic have revealed that many people don't use it all and have stated their systems sound better sans antiskate. 

stringreen:
I wondered if the added weight didn't narrow the soundstage a bit, so I definitely will be A/B'ing as I said above.  I wonder, does your cantilever appear slanted to the left from the skating forces pulling it towards the record? If so, will that cause damage over time?

oldhyvmec:
I checked the grooves and there is nothing sticky on them and changing from one groove to another had zero effect. Watching the Masters!

petg60:
I considered loosening the screw--as it does indeed unscrew--but to make enough of an effect, it seemed that it would have to loosen too much and therefore be moveable in its slot, i.e. subject to vibration and thus adding unwanted vibration to the arm. 

bkeske:
yes I tried the other grooves to no avail. I wondered the same regarding this level of table/tonearm and the use of the string. But again, what do I know about any of this stuff... hence my questions and the need to learn. 
 

@cabalaska

I guess I would contact Pro-Ject, explain your issue. Perhaps they have a heavier weight they could send. But, as I, (and at least another have said), I’m in the camp that your anti-skate should never match your cart tracking force. Again, this on the recommendation of how Peter Lederman suggests adjusting it. And every cart I use that method, my anti-skate is a fraction of my tracking force.

But to your original query , yes, at times I’ve had my cart move towards the spindle when using the lever to lower the cart (I assume from anti-skate effect), and I’ve simply made adjustments on the position before lowering......or more-so now days, mostly lower it manually (with my hand vs the lever). That said, I’m a believer in how Peter suggests setting anti-skate, and my feeling is that would be hard to accomplish with the notch/string/weight method. Mine is a dial, and I can adjust by very small adjustments through a large range, not just three options.

bkeske:

Thanks. I will shoot them an email as you suggest. I watched Peter's video and read the explanation and that seemed logical to me as well, but unfortunately as you point out, there is no way to fine tune that with the "fishing pole" method--that's what it looks like to me, with a big piece of bait hanging off the wire!  And my research earlier led me to conclude in agreement that antiskate should be set lower than the tracking force. Thanks again, I really appreciate any and all input. 

Nothing is ever just one thing. Especially not on records. You cannot have any anti-skate of any kind without some sort of mechanism. That mechanism whatever it is necessarily becomes an integral part of the whole cartridge/tone arm/turntable component. The whole shebang is oscillating and vibrating every which way.  

Sometimes I think they put anti-skate on there just because so many people expect it. It does make a difference you can hear. But whether or not you do hear it, or your rig is even capable of letting you hear it, is another question. Meanwhile VTA, which definitely is a big deal and makes a huge difference, a lot of arms don't have it and even on some very not-cheap tables like yours they make it a PITA. Go figure. 

Don't waste your time weighing and calculating. Total waste of time. The lever arm on that anti-skate device, if you know anything about leverage just look, it is crazy short. They make it short partly to save money, partly to avoid vibration issues (longer vibrates more) and partly to look good. Vast majority of guys want things to look a certain way. Not saying this is you, saying this is the manufacturer mentality. And yes I know what I'm talking about, I'm an advisor and consultant. Just so you know. 

Your blank record thing is a common idea and trope. Yes you should probably have enough anti-skate that it stays put, or even moves slowly outwards. Skating forces are a combination of factors, one of which is groove drag. It should be obvious there's a lot less drag on a flat surface than in a groove. Also more drag in a heavily modulated groove than a silent one. The more you think about it the more you realize what a total tradeoff the whole thing is- and then knowing this hopefully lose a lot less sleep over it. 

MC, you are contradicting almost everything Peter Lederman states about anti-skating. I think I’ll follow Peter’s advice given his particular knowledge regarding such things.