Jumping off the deep end... mounting a Graham tonearm

[WOStantonCS100]

Interesting...

[6L6]

Well, the earlier armboard drawing we made didn't have enough data to actually make something... so back to the tools and a template - I took some random photos of the process, some may be of passing interest.


This is as good of a place to start as any; the first, most important part of this is how the pivot-spindle distance is set - a special widget is placed over the spindle and then into a hole on the arm - that's the distance, measure and mark accordingly. It's very convenient, as (obviously) the arm can be anywhere on this arc. As it happens, the arm is not gong to be centered in the armboard, because the VTA pillar won't clear the opening. it will have to be more towards the back edge.


If you look at this photo you can see the circle of pinholes, they are to show the location of the mounting lip in the plinth. (also you can see how close the VTA pillar is to that edge, and that's the best mounting position!) The armboard will have a recessed portion where the arm will mount and the higher section will mount to the plinth. Similar to the following photo -



The slightly recessed mounting is to guarantee that most cartridges can be mounted low enough, height is not an issue, the Graham has an amazing amount of VTA adjust, something just shy of 3/4 inch!

Anyway, here are a few more photos of the work done today, the piece of cardboard has an awful lot of measurements and notes on it, I feel like an idiot for not getting a photo of the template in it's 'finished' state. (Although it just looks like a scrap of cardboard with random doodling upon it... )





Look at the spindle, it has the mounting jig placed on it. This has a small pin at the top which fits in the small round hole on the 'headshell' closest to the cartridge slots. (See photo in first post)

[Firebottle]

Excellent Jim, good to see work in progress.

Where would we be without the odd bit of cardboard

Cheers,
Alan

[rubber duck]

The Graham looks like it belongs on an SL1210 Mk5G!

[6L6]

Lol... I agree!

[WOStantonCS100]

Very cool to actually see it going in. I suppose you could always shave the opening if you needed that wee little bit more wiggle room (for the VTA)?

[6L6]

Yes, exactly. I have no issue taking a file to the armboard/plinth if it needs to be notched out a bit. If it does, I would suspect it needing no more than 2mm of additional clearance.

[WOStantonCS100]

The suspense is killing me.

[6L6]

Me too...

I'm waiting for the armboard.

[6L6]

I have received a photo of the armboard - It's currently in transit.



The left is the lower section, where the arm will mount, the right is the top section, that will attach to the plinth.

The holes to secure the arm to the board have not been drilled, I'm planning on doing that myself. Also will add another hole towards the back to secure the top and bottom plates.