Brass Record Puck

[Tom-Brown]

Having discussed this project with Marco and with his consent, I am pleased to be able to offer AOS members first chance of my Solid Brass record pucks. These are hand turned by a close friend of mine. They weigh 700g and the base is covered with quality felt to avoid any label damage. It was my choice to keep these in "naked" condition as I like the way Brass gets a nice patina with age. Also, it allows the buyer to choose and if they prefer a bright finish they can give the puck a good polish and spray with any metal laquer which is readily available.
Most of you experts know more than me, but even with my un-educated ears I can tell the difference in using a record puck - so please take a look and let me have your thoughts :)
http://i992.photobucket.com/albums/af42/tombrowntracker/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-03/20150301_112613_zps4p35vv1r.jpg
http://i992.photobucket.com/albums/af42/tombrowntracker/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-03/20150301_112627_zpslnsceesg.jpg
http://i992.photobucket.com/albums/af42/tombrowntracker/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-03/20150301_112638_zpsuwkqt7cd.jpg
http://i992.photobucket.com/albums/af42/tombrowntracker/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-03/20150301_112533_zps4lwo7ry4.jpg

I am not trade, as this is my initial foray into the manufacturing process. Rather than put these straight onto the open market I felt that a specialised forum such as this would be the ideal platform - especially for some educated "feedback" :)

I have had a small "run" of 10 made and would be able to offer these at a discounted AOS price of £42 each (includes pp fee's and 2nd class signed for postage)

I welcome your comments and thoughts.

Again, thanks to Marco for being so encouraging!!!

[Bazil]

They look very nice Graham , good luck :)
I have a Michel puck on my Rega they have a R printed on them because the spindle height on Regas differs from other T/T's I don't know whether this is something you may have to look into ?

[Tom-Brown]

They look very nice Graham , good luck :)
I have a Michel puck on my Rega they have a R printed on them because the spindle height on Regas differs from other T/T's I don't know whether this is something you may have to look into ?

I've used these on my Planar 1 and on my Edwards audio deck, but I can soon find out what depth my mate has drilled the centre hole :)

[struth]

It's quite heavy at 700 grams but looks very good.

[Sillver79]

Looks real good would you ship to Canada, eh? Grant do you think that 700g is too heavy for my Td160 or my Sansui 929?

[6L6]

Fantastic!

Would you ship to the States? I'd love one.

Check your PM. :)

[NRG]

They look really well made, good luck with them although I also feel 700g is a bit on the heavy side, 450g may be better.

Jim, IMO, don't use a puck on the SP10, there's a strong change you'll accelerate the wear on the 'plastic' cup on the bottom of the spindle...

[Tom-Brown]

I can check overseas postage - not a problem. I can look into reducing the weight if need be :)

[Marco]

Hi Graham,

Yeah, I think offering different weight options would be a good idea. 700g is on the high side of what most folks like to use as a record weight. 400-450g would be about right for those who want something lighter.

Just a wee bit of feedback for you! :)

Marco.

[struth]

Looks real good would you ship to Canada, eh? Grant do you think that 700g is too heavy for my Td160 or my Sansui 929?

yep. my bren is 390gm and comes close to grounding the tt on the motor azimuth screw

[Tom-Brown]

The feedback is great chaps :) I'd like to keep the dimensions close to what it is now, so maybe milling some through holes maybe the way forward..

[Marco]

…or make the bottom of the puck less deep (thinner), by using less metal?

You have to remember that low to medium-mass belt-drive T/Ts, particularly suspended ones, with small AC motors and lightweight bearings, aren’t going to like such a weighty item. 700g would be fine on big direct-drives or idlers with more substantially-made bearings and plenty of torque :)

Marco.

[Tom-Brown]

…or make the bottom of the puck less deep (thinner), by using less metal?

You have to remember that low to medium-mass belt-drive T/Ts, particularly suspended ones, with small AC motors and lightweight bearings, aren’t going to like such a weighty item. 700g would be fine on big direct-drives or idlers with more substantially-made bearings and plenty of torque :)

Marco.

Good thinking Marco - less wastage that way :)

[Marco]

No worries. I think you have a potentially successful product on your hands, and on AoS we always encourage ‘hobbyists’ to give something back to the community, such as with Brian/Kevin and the Klotz MC5000 cables, and other similar examples, so your record pucks fit that model nicely and epitomise what AoS is all about! :)

Marco.

[Tom-Brown]

One added bonus is that if we reduce the height, then the spindle hole will have to go all the way through to allow for longer spindles :)

[Marco]

Indeed :cool:

Marco.

[Tom-Brown]

The pucks are now back in the workshops for a "trim-up" New weight and photo's to follow soon :)

[struth]

ive decided the bren i have is slightly too heavy at 390gm for my td160. i have a slightly lighter one on order from germany to try. these suspended decks sound good with some weight but not too much. i would guess if in future you could do one at about 300gm it would be right for suspended decks like a thorens

[Tom-Brown]

ive decided the bren i have is slightly too heavy at 390gm for my td160. i have a slightly lighter one on order from germany to try. these suspended decks sound good with some weight but not too much. i would guess if in future you could do one at about 300gm it would be right for suspended decks like a thorens

This 1st batch, after some thinning will come out at about 400g - I'll be leaving one with my guy to see what he can do to get it down to 300g. I'm thinking a different material, as brass is very heavy. So maybe aluminium may be another option or stainless steel :)

[struth]

The new one I am getting is ali I think. the bren although brass coloured is an alloy as well

[Mika K]

Definitely interested for my MS :) Pm'd..

[Tom-Brown]

Finally, they are back from the weight loss programme!!!! Now weighing in at 406g and have a full "through" spindle hole so they will accommodate any spindle length :)

http://i992.photobucket.com/albums/af42/tombrowntracker/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-03/20150310_163716_zpsonfqgh3n.jpg
http://i992.photobucket.com/albums/af42/tombrowntracker/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-03/20150310_163737_zpsdkri6atz.jpg
http://i992.photobucket.com/albums/af42/tombrowntracker/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-03/20150310_164033_zpshv7n4j3u.jpg

Will be looking into making some more lighter ones in the very near future - Any questions please ask

Graham

[struth]

looking very good Graham.

there is a pic of my new lighter on in my gallery page ..

[doom2112]

Tom-Brown.
Can you ship them to sweden the 700g.
Shipping cost.
Paypal?

[Tom-Brown]

Hi doom
This batch are now 406g - due to popular demand :) Have sent you a PM re postage and pp address.

[6L6]

I'm quite happy to report that mine has arrived quite safe and sound.

It's beautiful, thank you!

http://cdn-1.dastatic.com/forums/gallery/data/500/medium/IMG_3103.JPG

[Tom-Brown]

Certainly looks the part!! and compliments the rest of your turntable :)

[struth]

Looks great

[Mika K]

Yeah, have been using mine already for a month or so. It's the first and heavier version as wanted that one :) Have been really pleased for it, so recommended!

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7607/17199965166_49831790f8_c.jpg

[Tom-Brown]

Cheers for that Mika - looks great!! Following the feedback so far the next batch will have the choice of both weights :)

[Parkie37]

Cheers for that Mika - looks great!! Following the feedback so far the next batch will have the choice of both weights :)

Hi Tom
I thought that I would add my two cents worth...... I have a VPI Classic 3 and also the HRX Center Weight. After the discussion of what weight is best, I measured the HRX weight and it is 778 grams. I would suggest that you keep the 700 gram version as an option for those with tables like the VPI Classic.

[ReggieB]

I bought a puck from Graham a couple of weeks ago - to use with my Linn LP12. I'm really please with it. It works a treat. I bought the lighter 406g puck.

At the same time I got my LP12 back from AudioT, who had fitted a Heed Orbit 1 (http://www.heedaudio.hu/products/modular-line/orbit) power supply to it. They also gave the deck a service. The result is that I'm enjoying listening to records more than I have for a little while.

:)

[Qwin]

My two cents - I used to use a Project weight off an RPM 9 deck, this was brass and weighed in at 800g. I found that with a complient mat this was so heavy that it pressed down in the centre lifting the outer edge of the (thinner) records slightly so there was little if any contact with mat for the first couple of tracks.

It's something to watch out for when using that amount of weight.

I used to put a record on the mat and tap around with a finger to see that the contact and sound created by a finger was even over the whole surface, it rarely was, regardless of how heavy the weight. I stopped using a weight in the end. My present platter is acrylic and was designed to work without a mat but with this 800g weight, I think it sounds better without it and the finger test certainly is more even and dead sounding over the whole surface without it.

Some folks will benefit from a mat and or a weight, it's one of those areas with no single or black/white answers.

Another thing which may not be obvious to everyone is that if you start using a reasonably heavy weight, you will have to check your deck for being level. I did a lot of testing when balancing my deck to get the weight even on all four of the isonone feet. Adding the 800g weight to the platter, which is off centre, really changed the way the deck sat. So I had to decide whether to balance/level with or without the record puck.

[danilo]

Rather than adding an 'Additional' Ingot weight load to my pore Thorens main bearing ;)
Are there screw down Clamps that work/grab onto the wee Thorens spindle ?

[Tom-Brown]

Rather than adding an 'Additional' Ingot weight load to my pore Thorens main bearing ;)
Are there screw down Clamps that work/grab onto the wee Thorens spindle ?

I'm not sure, but I think that Michell make one that is a clamp rather than weight !!!