Record clamp for very short 4mm spindle?

I was looking into the Michel clamp for hopefully helping with warps, but my Technics 1200mkII with original thick mat and a record only leaves about 4mm of spindle exposed. Even Michel's short spindle rega model requires 5mm. I see a lot of people seem to say they use even the original Michel clamp with their Technics 1200, so I don't know if there is something odd about mine or maybe they use thinner mats. I have my VTA down all the way as it is with my Shuve V15-III, so don't really want to use a thinner mat, but is there a clamp that works with such a short spindle?

 

If you can't find a record clamp that can grab onto that 4mm, you could consider a record weight instead. They won't flatten a severe warp, but will help with moderate warps. They are also easier/quicker to use.

If you were to use a thinner mat, you could use a headshell spacer to get the VTA that you need with your Shure. I've gotten some nice ones from a couple of vendors off of Ebay. I did not used to like headshell spacers, but changed my mind after using these. Links below.

This vendor from Germany makes a lot of spacers from different woods or carbon fiber. I have one of his carbon fiber headshell spacers and like it a lot.
Universal Headshell / Cartridge Isolation / Spacer Real Carbon f. ex. SME EMT | eBay

This vendor from China has some really nice acrylic headshell spacers. I have a couple sets of these also.
KLASSIK cartridge VTA gasket spacer 2mm/4mm | eBay

 

I use a Mitchell on my 1200 with the stock mat. Have for years without ill-effect. My 1200 is a MK1 if that makes a difference???

 

The spindle is also short on my TT after using a thicker rubber mat so the tonearm is parallel with the playing surface. A trip to Menards in the plumbing dept. solved the short spindle issue. I purchased a 13 oz. plumbing coupler reducer for a couple dollars. The bottom inside diameter is just the right size to glue in an old 45 rpm puck. This keeps it centered and definitely helps flatten warped records. The top is also threaded so more weight can easily be added. It's not pretty but does the same job as the expensive ones.

 

The Clearaudio Clever Clamp will work. The old Revolver Pig would work also. The Pig was just a rubber thimble shape with a hole slightly tighter than the spindle diameter. Both of these devices just use pressure to hold them in place. If you are handy, you might also just drill a hole slightly smaller than the spindle diameter into a hockey puck or some other rubber solid. Size it so that just gently pressing it on will allow it to grip the spindle enough to keep a dished record flat. You could also just use a record weight on the Technics.
-Bill

 

Thanks all, these are some good other options I did not know about.

 

just an fyi I tried the hockey puck, Michel Rega and Clearaudio Clever. Not counting the rounded part of the spindle i actually have about 3mm of spindle exposed on average. With my thickest 200g record and a felt washer underneath there is probably less than 2mm exposed and the Michel Rega clamp still clamped to that small amount. The Michel seem to flatten the most. The Michel instructions do warn about tightening when off the spindle will cause damage to the clamp, i hope that is not the case if tightening on less than the recommended 5mm of spindle.

In studying records at eye level for this I noticed my stock Technics 1200mk2 thick mat itself seems to fluctuate in thickness which adds to difficulty in determining if the record is warped (unless there is a space between the record and mat). Is this common or would it merit a new mat purchase?