stand off block

[Fonotec]

This post is about a custom aluminum stand-off block which was just made by Spring Grove Sheet Metal, down the street from the studio. It was needed in order to offset the tone arm mounting post of LS-76, #660, so that it can use a 12" tone arm and not require radical offset of the cartridge in the head shell. The stand off block was made from solid aluminum that had an inner bore hogged out so that I can stuff it with silicone foam rubber or similar damping material. Two holes were drilled though the block to accommodate the machine screws for which threads have already been tapped into the A-table and the tone arm mounting post. In fact, the wooden table top had to have a narrow section under the stand off block and tone arm mounting post sawed away to accommodate the thick snake for the cartridge leads - I had to cut THE LATHE!


(right-click "View Image" or "Open image in new tab" to see entire picture)

This stand off block moves the tone arm mounting post by the crucial amount (1-3/16") so that I don't have to buy an expensive 10.5" Brinkmann tone arm from Germany (;. I already had a nice 12" Stax tone arm, identical to the one on #656 (which already had a stand off block for its tone arm mounting post). I had tried using a 9" tone arm on #660, but the cartridge had to be rotated all the way CCW within the headshell for only a rough approximation of good tracking alignment. However, when I tried the 12" tone arm with the tone arm mounting post in its original position, the same cartridge had to be rotated all the way CW within the head shell. So, either a fancy and rare 10.5" tone arm would have to be sourced, or the tone arm mounting post would have to be moved away from the spindle by 1-3/16". I love the 12" Stax tone arm on #656 and wanted the same for #660. Voila. (...just waiting on a bag of longer 1/4-20 machine screws from McMaster-Carr to bolt the sandwich of two posts to the A-table.)





- Serif

[Dr3d Sl3d]

The 2" 1/4-20 bolts arrived from McMaster-Carr. Two were just screwed through the side wall of the A-table, both walls of the (hogged out) stand-off block, and into the threaded holes of the tone arm mounting post by Serif. Snug as a bug in a rug and won't be tugged...


(right-click "View Image" or "Open image in new tab" to see entire picture)

Saùde,
Dr3d Sl3d