is there a smaller spindle hole option for a thorens td 160?

i've read that these tables are notorius for having a slightly larger-than-normal spindle hole. boy is this true

i'm starting to get a little annoyed by how many LPs i'm trying to play that i have to adjust the center hole on the LP to keep from having to literally force it down on to the platter with both hands.


is there an alteration i can do here, like putting a different spindle on it or something?

 

You don't need to make it smaller by much. I did this on another turntable.

Take the big platter off, put it on 45 and hold a sanding block against the spindle gently for a few minutes. It'll be ugly, but it works. Smooth off with steel wool.

I'm pretty sure the spindle is the top end of the long bearing, so there's nothing to replace.

 

hmmmm, sounds easy enough. i'm so bad at ANY kind of DIY. maybe i'll get a more mechanically minded friend to help me out

 

Since I only have it happen on some Lps, I just took the offending Lps and inserted a bic pen, with a light push and a twirl, place it back on the spindle to check the fit, cheap and easy fix, I've been doing this for 30years now, just my 2 nickels

This has absolutely no effect on the sound negitively, unless you make a huge hole being ham-fisted. But go ahead and file away.

 

i have to do the pen thing with at least 1/2 of my LPs. and sometimes the bic doesn't work, and i have to use a pen with a fatter tip, and really be careful not to damage the area around the hole

i'm thinking my particular turntable has a large spindle even by thorens td 160 standards

highly annoying

 

The Thorens TD-160 spindle holes meet NAB Standards. Likewise do the AR XA. Some record holes in the middle are slightly undersized.

 

I have noticed that with my TD-145, many of my records are 'tight' as well. I think it's just that the records tend to be made a little 'undersized' or something!

I haven't broken any yet, but on some I do have to force the thing on, then 'rock' it back and forth to get it off!

 

yeah, i'm having to do that a little too often for my tastes, like at least 40% of the time i'd say

i guess it's possible that some of the spindles sizes fluctuate slightly during manafacturing?

 

I think that jives with my experience too!

I bet they're all within .001", which I bet most record holes are not. Maybe they were designed using metric? (being Swiss) and record holes are English?

That's really a good question, I think! and may just be the answer! or, as someone said, maybe records are made on the 'small' side to account for wear over time? I haven't noted which records are 'tight' ...

http://www.google.com/search?rls=ig...h=770&q=vinyl+record+holes&aq=o&aqi=&aql=&oq= has some interesting reading material anyway! Maybe the answer is in there somewhere!

 

I had a Thorens TD-125 Mk. II for years, and I do seem to recall struggling to get certain records on and off the spindle. I just lived with it. Sometimes I did what Stuwee recommends: "The Bic Pen Technique" to enlarge the LP hole by about 1/32".

 

Mine was a Connoisseur, and I had to do a job on the spindle. I just got fed up with having to pull disks off it, more than half those I bought.

There is definitely a standard hole size, I've seen it but can't find it at the moment. It's probably in one of the RIAA standards from the 50's. I'm pretty sure it's 0.282 inches. I don't know if there's a standard spindle size.

 

Got a 160Bplus and a Garrard 401.

I just buy used vinyl.
New vinyl reissues has a smaller hole.

 

I couldn't find a 'standard hole size' for vinyl either, but .282" is 7.16mm. Maybe German/Swiss spindles are made to 7.25mm? and a .001" tolerance is +/-.025mm, so even a 'small' one would still be tight.

The difference is about .0035", which seems maybe about right for being a bit too tight! as the vinyl is compliant ...

 

There are many decks that have tight spindles probably because the comply exactly with the standard hole size. Vinyl is a variable medium by its nature so more likely there are many pressings with undersized holes. Surely better and easier to sand out lp centre than butcher your record deck.

 

The RIAA standard for the spindle hole size (not the spindle size) is 0.286" (+ 0.001" or - 0.002") while other countries use a metric standard which is 7.24mm (+ 0.09mm or - 0.00mm). 0.286" converts into 7.264399mm so it does seem that if anything US records might theoretically have spindle holes that are very, very slightly larger than European spindle holes, probably imperceptibly. So a difference in standards doesn't seem to offer an explanation - if anything, it suggests that Americans have bigger spindles than Europeans!

 

this is my favorite table, but the only one where this is an issue. i never ever had this problem at all with my dual and pioneer turntables before this

i would think that messing with the spindle holes in many somewhat valuble records would be less-better than sanding down the spindle of a not that valuble turntable (they regularaly sell for less than $300)

 

LOL !!! I was going to comment in my post above on the 'stretching' of the compliant hole over the large spindle, but thought it was a bit too 'risque' ...

 

That's OK, you can always rely on me to lower the tone!

 

40% seems like a lot. I would try using some fairly fine steel wool on the spindle, and follow that up by spraying some WD-40 onto a cloth and running that lightly over the spindle. Then take a paper towel and wipe the area so that it's not truly greasy. I used this technique once on a TD 145 that was highly oxidized in some areas, though not visually so on the spindle. Still, the technique worked.

Best of luck,

Dave