I bought a Thorens TD-124 mk I last September.
Bought it on impulse with full intention of restoring it myself. I wanted to hear it and was hoping to find a keeper. When I got it, I took it apart and took measurements of the main bearing. Its was off. The idler wheel was cracked, belts toast, rubber parts worse for wear, among others. I was disappointed, but not surprised. It is a 1964 unit and it mustve seen a lot of use through the decades.
I did some research and found a place that remanufactured the bearing. Cool. Talking with the guy, I found that he did complete restorations. Hmmm. I already have the TT apart, looked at the work in front of me, and assessed that it would take me two Saturday mornings to clean, relube, replace and reassemble the TT. That doesnt include sourcing and logistics for getting all the parts, manufacturing new wiring harnesses and replacing some electronic components. I also figured a good amount of adjustments are required to get it just right being completely mechanical.
Being that I also have a service business, I decided to let the guy do the resto and I’ll just take some extra work to pay for his services. From a time and preoccupation perspective, I think it’ll be a wash. My wife hates it when Im contemplating this kinda stuff in my mind. It can turn me into an absentee husband for.a couple of weeks.
So I agreed to get my TT restored. The works is as follows:
1) New parts - idler wheels, pulleys, belts, rubber parts, all new wiring, strobe bulb, new modern pcb board, etc
2) Ultrasonic cleaning of all parts and relube
3) Blueprint main bearing
4) Blue print motor, new improved coils
5) Replace tweaked upper platter
6) Replace cracked speed knob and assembly
7) Refinish chassis
8) Reassemble and adjust all linkages and operation
I may have missed some stuff and misstated some things. Thats what I remember at this point. He got the TT in November. Turn around is 8-10 weeks.
While the TT is there, I got the following
1) Panzer Holz plinth
2) Jelco 12” arm (550L)
3) Jelco Eazy VTA
4) Corian arm board for arm
5) Jelco premium arm cable
6) Sound Smith Zephy HO moving iron cartridge
In January, I found out that the guy got COVID and was out for a month. This pushed my timeline out and it became indefinte. He is swamped with work and is trying to catch up.
Got a call today and the TT is on his work bench. I was on a line 30+ deep and my number came up.
i expect my TT to be headed to me in the next week. Im pretty excited.
Bought it on impulse with full intention of restoring it myself. I wanted to hear it and was hoping to find a keeper. When I got it, I took it apart and took measurements of the main bearing. Its was off. The idler wheel was cracked, belts toast, rubber parts worse for wear, among others. I was disappointed, but not surprised. It is a 1964 unit and it mustve seen a lot of use through the decades.
I did some research and found a place that remanufactured the bearing. Cool. Talking with the guy, I found that he did complete restorations. Hmmm. I already have the TT apart, looked at the work in front of me, and assessed that it would take me two Saturday mornings to clean, relube, replace and reassemble the TT. That doesnt include sourcing and logistics for getting all the parts, manufacturing new wiring harnesses and replacing some electronic components. I also figured a good amount of adjustments are required to get it just right being completely mechanical.
Being that I also have a service business, I decided to let the guy do the resto and I’ll just take some extra work to pay for his services. From a time and preoccupation perspective, I think it’ll be a wash. My wife hates it when Im contemplating this kinda stuff in my mind. It can turn me into an absentee husband for.a couple of weeks.
So I agreed to get my TT restored. The works is as follows:
1) New parts - idler wheels, pulleys, belts, rubber parts, all new wiring, strobe bulb, new modern pcb board, etc
2) Ultrasonic cleaning of all parts and relube
3) Blueprint main bearing
4) Blue print motor, new improved coils
5) Replace tweaked upper platter
6) Replace cracked speed knob and assembly
7) Refinish chassis
8) Reassemble and adjust all linkages and operation
I may have missed some stuff and misstated some things. Thats what I remember at this point. He got the TT in November. Turn around is 8-10 weeks.
While the TT is there, I got the following
1) Panzer Holz plinth
2) Jelco 12” arm (550L)
3) Jelco Eazy VTA
4) Corian arm board for arm
5) Jelco premium arm cable
6) Sound Smith Zephy HO moving iron cartridge
In January, I found out that the guy got COVID and was out for a month. This pushed my timeline out and it became indefinte. He is swamped with work and is trying to catch up.
Got a call today and the TT is on his work bench. I was on a line 30+ deep and my number came up.
i expect my TT to be headed to me in the next week. Im pretty excited.
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