View Full Version : Brutalist Systemdek anyone?
Rothchild
30-07-2017, 19:37
An amazing gift from a great friend for a big birthday. A while ago we bought him some woodwork tools for his big birthday and as a follow up I asked him to make me a nice new wooden plinth for my Systemdek, it's been (apparently) languishing as a project for him for a while, but this weekend he 'fessed up and delivered the goods.
Both of us are big fans of concrete 'Brutalist' architechture (think Lasdun's UEA campus or The National Theatre) so he went the whole hog with it and has crafted me a boardmarked concrete plinth! It looks amazing (IMO) and already works pretty well. There are some tweaks to make (It may end up with a wooden top as it's really hard to get the tolerances right in concrete) but it's all heading in the right direction.
Thought some of you might like to see it:
http://i.imgur.com/36zrfNH.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/1PXhMdc.jpg
walpurgis
30-07-2017, 19:40
Thought some of you might like to see it
Yes, we would. But you won't get far with Photobucket. Try another image hosting service.
Arkless Electronics
30-07-2017, 19:42
Imgur seems to work well;)
CornishPasty
30-07-2017, 19:46
Yes I'd be interested too. I have three of the original pagoda Systemdek turntables and one has a custom wood plinth. I really do need to do something with them as they've been stored away for the last ten years or so.
Rothchild
30-07-2017, 20:01
Thanks Geoff, are the images not showing? (showing here)
narabdela
30-07-2017, 20:02
Hasn't everybody got the "Photobucket is Shit" message yet?
...are the images not showing? (showing here)
Nope.
Rothchild
30-07-2017, 20:09
Hasn't everybody got the "Photobucket is Shit" message yet?
Nope.
I guess I didn't really believe they could be that stupid!
Alternate host selected, should now be able to see it in all its Le Corbusier esque glory ;-)
alcarmichael
30-07-2017, 20:28
That looks very cool. How about a sheet metal top?
walpurgis
30-07-2017, 20:31
Thanks Geoff, are the images not showing? (showing here)
No. Photobucket is holding images to ransom now. You have to pay $399 to use them. Google it and see.
TT looks very interesting by the way. :)
The sort of thing I could make.
Bigman80
30-07-2017, 20:40
Great TT, often wondered about a concrete TT.
Rothchild
30-07-2017, 20:41
That looks very cool. How about a sheet metal top?
Nice idea! Will definitely look in to that.
walpurgis
30-07-2017, 20:45
And a concrete rack certainly wouldn't vibrate :). There are even concrete speakers about.
Which Systemdek model is this? If it is one with the metallic platter then you would probably need to train as a weight lifter to carry it!
rigger67
31-07-2017, 14:04
Beautiful.
A friend of mine built a concrete house from scratch in Jo'burg on one of the hills overlooking the entire city. It has an infinity pool and he had a big party there on NYE about five years ago. Absolutely stunning summer's evening getting totally hammered with a fantastic BBQ, just watching the Chinese lanterns drifting across the city.
About three months later the house was featured in one of the glossy magazine over there it was that impressive and the last time I heard it may even be used in an upcoming movie for a location shoot.
Wonderful tacticle material IMHO :)
Rothchild
31-07-2017, 15:36
Which Systemdek model is this? If it is one with the metallic platter then you would probably need to train as a weight lifter to carry it!
It's an iix900 so not that bad, it's heavy but not much more than a 1210 really.
There's some tweaking to do to get it perfect, getting the switch to fit the hole will be interesting and finding the right solution for cable routing could be a challenge, but I'm completely besotted with it already and it sounds gooooood (it really makes you appreciate the quality of work and level of genius that went in to buildings like the Barbican, to have every switch and routing sorted at design and build rather than just bodging it on top).
Rothchild
31-07-2017, 15:38
Beautiful.
A friend of mine built a concrete house from scratch in Jo'burg on one of the hills overlooking the entire city. It has an infinity pool and he had a big party there on NYE about five years ago. Absolutely stunning summer's evening getting totally hammered with a fantastic BBQ, just watching the Chinese lanterns drifting across the city.
About three months later the house was featured in one of the glossy magazine over there it was that impressive and the last time I heard it may even be used in an upcoming movie for a location shoot.
Wonderful tacticle material IMHO :)
Hear Hear!
I'd love to see any pictures of that house if you have them - most of my travels now are directed or take detours to look at obscure concrete buildings! Mrs Child still hasn't reconciled herself to my current plan to arrange a holiday to Dusseldorf simply because there is a cantilever chair museum there, housed in the last public building designed by Peter and Alison Smithson!
I guess I didn't really believe they could be that stupid!
Alternate host selected,
Which imaging service did you finish up with.......?
(Good looking plinth BTW, nice example of alternate thinking)
rigger67
02-08-2017, 08:33
I'd love to see any pictures of that house if you have them
I just checked both of the couple's FB pages to see if they had any photos but to no avail.
They had the first of two children about the time I last saw them - I've not been over to Jo'burg for five years as all my sister's family have been here at various times. I'm supposed to be going early next year so I'll see if I can take some then :)
Haselsh1
04-08-2017, 14:54
Marc, I honestly do admire folk for having a go and getting stuck in with projects, bloody brilliant thing to do, but this is just a shade too much for me. I have been totally ruined by quality fit and finish but hey, bloody brilliant for doing it.
Rothchild
04-08-2017, 17:43
Marc, I honestly do admire folk for having a go and getting stuck in with projects, bloody brilliant thing to do, but this is just a shade too much for me. I have been totally ruined by quality fit and finish but hey, bloody brilliant for doing it.
Insofar as you're not a fan of concrete? It's funny, I put it up on twitter and copied in a couple of brutalist accounts who retweeted it for me - it accumulated 10,000 views and nigh on 100 likes just between 2030 on Sunday night and monday morning (with a final tally of over 16k views and 1600 engagements). I guess the nexus of folk who like vinyl and concrete buildings is stronger there ;-)
The chap who made if for me got his first degree in fine art (sculpture) and it is indeed a complete work of art, I have to confess that the hipster in me loves the fact that I can say with certainty it's a complete one off and the only one in the world + the 'audiophile' in me (as much as I have one, which isn't much) is excited that even before I've finished tweaking it out it sounds much better than the stock box.
I love it
Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk
When I first saw the photo I thought, "why would you build a turntable into the front steps?"! But I see it now, seems like a brilliant idea! Certainly low resonance. Perhaps a good concrete sealer would work best on the exterior? Keep the dust down, and protect it. You wouldn't want to cover it with wood? Nothing special about a wooden 'table. Bravo! Inspirational!
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Rothchild
25-08-2017, 07:59
Thanks chaps,
It's an incredibly effective design, low noise and no resonance that I can detect, so very tight bass and good detail.
I've got to get it all apart again to fit the switch, maybe this weekend, if I get it done I'll put some more pics up. The raw mechanics of it are working well now (there were some issues with clearances underneath but after destroying a number of dremel tools I seem to have to the sub-chassis floating nicely now.
I really want to get some new armboards made up - in particular I'd like to try some glass ones (primarily for aesthetics I admit - I really want one made of that glass with the wire in it ;-)) but my local glazing supplier quoted £90 for one on toughened glass - does anyone know of a good source to get something similar for sensible money? It's only a 6mm plate with three holes in it so shouldn't be that hard!
Have you ruled out acrylic ilo glass?
Lots of different thicknesses and shades available and just as glossy. Could go plain or get creative and bond 3 strips together to form a stripe in the centre? Or not.
Bond the wire to the underside.
Just a thought.:scratch:
Rothchild
25-08-2017, 18:54
Thanks Bob,
Nothing ruled in or out, do you know a good course for 6mm acrylic sheet? If it cheap enough I could have a go at doing one myself (it's such a simple shape).
moodybuilder
26-08-2017, 05:55
ive made a couple myself out of acyrlic various colours and thckness i brought the material from a local shop in 150mm squares cost about 3 or 4 GBP each really easy to do.
Marc, I got mine from ebay. Lots available but this example comes in at £6.71 for an A4 sheet of 6mm. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1MM-1-5MM-2MM-3MM-CLEAR-PLASTIC-PERSPEX-ACRYLIC-CUT-SHEET-A4-SIZE-/180865707128?var=&hash=item2a1c6fac78:m:mHJhLQHxfxhHmbLxwcx3KYA Price includes delivery.
Very simple to work using simple hand tools (drills, metal working files etc). Just need to avoid a build up of heat as it will melt.
Versatile material and doesn't "ring" like glass.
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