My Thorens TD 124 Mk1 - restoration project

[eu_73]

Thanks to the many ideas and assistance received in the section Techiepedia I turned my Technics SL-1210 Mk 2 from a good machine in an high performance turntable, here is the description of the adventure --> http://theartofsound.net/forum/showt...s-SL-1210-Mk-2

In my microscopic turntable collection there are a driven belt turntable (a rare Benz/Emipre Troubadour), and a direct-drive (the SL-1210 Mk2), so I was very tempted by a new idler drive turntable, to have in this way a type piece for each transmission type.

I was very lucky fo find a Thorens TD 124 Mk1.
It is in excellent cosmetic conditions, but it at been unused for about the last 15 years.

Here it is





Next steps, not necessarily in that order, will be:

• total revision
• new plint
• new armboard (I will mount my Audiomods tonearm)
• mechanical upgrades (motor, idler wheel, grommets, etc..)

...and at the moment that's all :-)

[Barry]

Wow, that's in beautiful condition.


Thorens 124s are not too fussy about the plinths they are in, but being 15 years old, it will require:

[1] a new belt (almost certainly),

[2] a new idler (quite possibly),

[3] new rubber chassis support 'mushrooms',

[4] complete relubrication of the platter shaft, stepped pulley and motor bearings,

[5] the anti-click switch supressor checked (these can go short-circuit).

Good luck with the refurbishment - keep us posted.

[rabbit]

Eugenio,

Your TD124 looks great. I agree with all the points that Barry listed. You should also look at the motor suspension rubbers. You can convert to MkII rubbers, silicon gel grommets, or the springs from Hanze HiFi in Holland. There are problems with finding the correct belts; many are too short (possibly designed for the US 60Hz pulley). I recommend buying from Turntable Basics as they have many different lengths, try 13.6 inches as a minimum. If the belt is too tight you will get noise from the idler.

http://www.turntablebasics.com/belts/thorens.html

Good luck with your restoration.

[eu_73]

Hi Barry and Martin,
thanks for the information, in these days I am studying the topic "TD 124" :-)
I am very undecided whether to continue with the DIY or to leave the turntable to the care of a professional.
The most difficult thing to me is to rebuild the motor to mk2 specs, with new improved coils and new bronze bushings, while for the rest I think I will be able to do the proper maintenance/restoration.

Regarding the new idler wheel I'm pretty sure I will buy the Audiosilente modified one, that is very smart

it is an high precision piece, and the smart idea is that there is an o-ring, so when it is worn out, there will be not to replace the whole piece but only the o-ring, at a very low cost (and it also should have better performance than the original).

Another doubt relates to the motor elastic supports, are better silicon gel grommets or the springs from Hanze HiFi? Has someone tried to compare them?

Thank you

[Barry]

Hi Barry and Martin,
thanks for the information, in these days I am studying the topic "TD 124" :-)
I am very undecided whether to continue with the DIY or to leave the turntable to the care of a professional.
The most difficult thing to me is to rebuild the motor to mk2 specs, with new improved coils and new bronze bushings, while for the rest I think I will be able to do the proper maintenance/restoration.

Regarding the new idler wheel I'm pretty sure I will buy the Audiosilente modified one, that is very smart

it is an high precision piece, and the smart idea is that there is an o-ring, so when it is worn out, there will be not to replace the whole piece but only the o-ring, at a very low cost (and it also should have better performance than the original).

Another doubt relates to the motor elastic supports, are better silicon gel grommets or the springs from Hanze HiFi? Has someone tried to compare them?

Thank you

I was going to try one of those 'O'-ring idlers, but when I mentioned it to a member here (can't remember who it was) they said they had tried one in their 124, didn't like it and had gone back to using the original idler. Because of that I abandoned the idea, but you may find it's an improvement. Just thought I ought to let you know.

[The Black Adder]

I have tried one of those... don't do it. Just buy a good condition original or buy a newly made one from Schopper. Expensive but worth it. Schopper also have some NOS ones in too.

[Barry]

Perhaps the Member I mentioned in my post was you Josie?

[Ammonite Audio]

I have tried one of those... don't do it. Just buy a good condition original or buy a newly made one from Schopper. Expensive but worth it. Schopper also have some NOS ones in too.

I have one of these 'o' ring idler wheels and it's terribly noisy - a TD-124 idler needs that cushion of rubber to isolate most of the contact noise. Regarding the Schopper new idler wheel, I have one of those too, and it is perhaps the noisiest conventional idler that I have tried - most disappointing giving its stellar price. I will happily sell both of these idlers, if anyone is interested.

After the Schopper disappointment, I decided to look at refurbishing old idler wheels. Re-moulding the rubber turned out to be a great deal more complicated than I expected (perhaps that's why Schopper use what seems to be machined polyurethane rather than moulded and cured natural rubber). The answer was to gently grind the rubber edge of an old idler wheel to eliminate any eccentricity, and to reveal a nice flat bit of undamaged rubber. Grinding does involve the use of specialist machinery and great experience on the part of the operator, so that's not me! Press in a new sintered bronze bushing, ream it out very gently to fit the idler shaft, and Hey Presto! a nearly silent idler. Dramatically better than the new Schopper idler, and for a very modest sum. The only proviso is that a badly warped idler cannot be rescued, since cured rubber cannot be re-moulded into shape.

If anyone has a noisy old idler that needs refurbishing, I can do this at modest cost. The rubber grinding is done by a local rubber company, whose helpful boss is a bit of an audiophile.

[Ammonite Audio]

And to answer an earlier question, the Hanze motor springs are excellent. They do precisely what Hanze claim.

[Barry]

I have one of these 'o' ring idler wheels and it's terribly noisy - a TD-124 idler needs that cushion of rubber to isolate most of the contact noise. Regarding the Schopper new idler wheel, I have one of those too, and it is perhaps the noisiest conventional idler that I have tried - most disappointing giving its stellar price. I will happily sell both of these idlers, if anyone is interested.

After the Schopper disappointment, I decided to look at refurbishing old idler wheels. Re-moulding the rubber turned out to be a great deal more complicated than I expected (perhaps that's why Schopper use what seems to be machined polyurethane rather than moulded and cured natural rubber). The answer was to gently grind the rubber edge of an old idler wheel to eliminate any eccentricity, and to reveal a nice flat bit of undamaged rubber. Grinding does involve the use of specialist machinery and great experience on the part of the operator, so that's not me! Press in a new sintered bronze bushing, ream it out very gently to fit the idler shaft, and Hey Presto! a nearly silent idler. Dramatically better than the new Schopper idler, and for a very modest sum. The only proviso is that a badly warped idler cannot be rescued, since cured rubber cannot be re-moulded into shape.

If anyone has a noisy old idler that needs refurbishing, I can do this at modest cost. The rubber grinding is done by a local rubber company, whose helpful boss is a bit of an audiophile.

That's useful to know Hugo. Can you give an indication of the "modest cost" please?