Rek-O-Kut refurb

One of my latest projects was taking an old Rek-O-Kut Rondine and give it some TLC. All parts were cleaned and lubed. The platter was sanded and mirror polished. I made a new base out of tiger maple. It sits on three adjustable spikes.

 

The back has RCA, ground and IEC connectors.

 

Beautiful, my favorite ROK Idler of the line. The Rondine was and is a very fine turntable. I maintained several in broadcast service and they just ran and ran.

 

I am not familiar with the TT, however, your woodworking skill is very good. Ten plus year ago I made a hall table were the top was made from a single thick slab of tiger maple that I resawed, and then joined together to make the top as if a book was left opened. Tiger maple is wonderful wood.

 

Awesome restoration - I hope it sounds as good as it looks!

 

Thank you. I'm working on an armboard that will allow the addition of an SME 3009, as a second arm on this table.

 

Looks terrific, and like it would be fun to play.

 

Rek-O-Kut tables are not so bad

Yours looks great!

 

I use the Grado wooden arm with my B-12h it's a great combo IMO. I do love your base!

 

Did you take any 'before' pictures? Awesome looking vintage TT.

 

Here is a page I put up with more detail.

http://wardsweb.org/audio/ROK/

 

Nice. Thanks for the pictures.

 

Absolutely supurb!

 

Very nice! Exceptional woodworking and restoration skills! Thanks for sharing the nice pic's.

Carl

 

God, I remember those from my high school radio days. Those Rek-o-kut tonearms were such crap and there was a ton of rumble in the platters. I dunno.

I agree, they have tons of nostalgic value, but performance... not so much. Ditto with Gates 'tables and RCA's. I used to see a ton of those in the 1970s. Makes you wonder where they all went, once radio went to CD and then went entirely to hard drives. Just try to find a radio station today that has a turntable you can play, live, on the air...

 

Very beautiful and tasteful base, Wardsweb. A pleasure just to look at.

 

Does yours have a lot of rumble?

 

+1

 

Still some but not near as much as before the new cabinet and dampening. The next step is to work on the idler. I will look at a couple of different options, including but not limited to a Delrin bushing and needle bearing.

 

I realize this is an old thread, but I'm thinking of doing something very similar with a B-12H. The thread ends with mention of some further mods, so I found myself wondering if they took place and if so how the whole project ended up. Gorgeous work! I love the flamed maple and was thinking of using some myself. As a violinist I'm a bit partial to it. How did the arm work out? Did you have to make any adjustments to the hole in the deck to mount it? So many questions.... sorry!

 

Very nice job.

 

I had forgot about this thread. The rumble fix was a multiple approach. Terry Witt rebuilt the idler wheel, I replaced the rubber motor mounts and added some 3M damping tape to the underside of the plinth.

No mod to mount the arm. It has a rubber base that covers the original opening.

 

Thanks for the update, deeply appreciated. As I mentioned I'll be getting a B-12H shortly and am planning a restoration/upgrade. The visual approach is right on what I've had in my head so it was a happy thing to stumble on your posts. Mine will come with new motor mounts (not installed) and I will certainly get new rubber on the idler. The damping on the bottom of the deck seems a good thing, but I was wondering about maybe bulking up the plinth on the inside with more material. I guess one must respect the ventilation needs of the big Ashland motor, though. I gather you got the rumble nicely controlled in the end?

Mine will have a Micropoise arm with it and that really isn't going to fulfill my needs. The pivot-to-spindle distance is relatively short, but I did notice that the Grado is very similar to the existing arm in that respect. Would it be a straight replacement? If so I might be hunting a Grado soon as I quite like them.

So many questions, but I look forward to a fun project and rewarding conclusion.