Hi Paul,
On the contrary, David has already explained exactly why he's done what he's done:
Which part of that have you failed to grasp?
It may be an unconventional approach, but I understand why he's decided to carry things out that way.
Such as? It all comes down to how much David is willing to spend on a turntable. We all know that a stock SL-1200/1210 is, sonically, nothing special. It only becomes so, when judicious modifications have been carried out. Trust me, you would need only a listen to a T/T like Martin's or mine to realise this.
If David's not willing to spend what it takes to turn his Techy into a serious high-end T/T, or even just a very good one, then by all means he should quit now and go a different route, but at the moment he's still at the most basic stage of his plan! Therefore, I think it's wise for him to continue what he set out to do.
Indeed, if he'd listened to me in the first place, before buying the Audio Technica, he'd have been somewhat further on in his quest.....