I did a double-take when I spotted this turntable at the West Des Moines Goodwill on Saturday. It's a Technics SL-B2 turntable which is exactly the make and model of turntable that I've been working on. What are the odds of that happening? I hardly ever see turntables at Goodwill, and now I've seen two of the same pieces of equipment in almost the same condition? Am I stuck in a time loop?
This turntable was just as dirty as mine was, but overall it was in a bit rougher shape. There was no headshell, and the broken tonearm looked like it had been used as a handle. I would have bought it anyway if the dust cover was intact, but it wasn't. Someone had inserted one of the cover's tabs under the hinge instead of into the hinge. The tab snapped off when they tried to close the lid. That's a bummer.
As for my dust cover, I bought some plastic glue that is supposed to dry clear and be "an ultra-strong adhesive." To test it, I used a small paintbrush to apply the liquid glue to the bottom inch of the crack. I tried to get the glue to wick into the crack from both sides. It dried to a "cloudy" finish. That's not a big deal. I'm going for stability, not for looks. It does feel sturdier when I open and close it.
I was disappointed that I forgot to take "before" pictures of this turntable project, so I took some pictures using the TT at Goodwill as a dirty stand-in. The grime on this turntable isn't exactly the same as what was on mine, but it's really close, and you'll get the idea of what kind of results you can get with a deep cleaning.
Okay, back to my player.
The inside of the base was really clean, thankfully. There's also a lot open space. That's nice because it makes getting to parts much easier.
A common reason that a turntable's speed fluctuates is because the pitch-control assembly is dirty. Two screws attach it to the base.
The pitch-control is the black mech on the left. There is small slit in the bottom that allows me to spray some DetoxIT inside. Then I work the wheel back and forth to clean the contacts. The speed switch on the right was sprayed with DetoxIT and worked back and forth as well.
I added a drop of lube to the motor. The metal tip that came with the oil makes it easier to be precise.
I bought a digital stylus force scale just for kicks. I was curious how accurate the markings for the tone arm's counterweight are. I have it set at 1.5 grams. Looks like it's actually under that.
That's better.
The eBay seller who sold me a replacement spindle gear threw in a 3D printed overhang gauge for free.
That was nice, but I had no idea what a overhang gauge does. Turns out, the gauge tells you how far out the turntable manufacturer wants the cartridge to be in the headshell. You can't really see it in the photo, but it looks like mine is just a hair short. That's okay. I don't feel like adjusting the cartridge again.
And that wraps it up. It's time to put this turntable in my lineup, and see how well it plays. A few tests runs have been successful, so I'm feeling good about it.
This was a fun project. I probably saved a turntable from the landfill or a parts bin. I also learned about cartridge alignment and overhang. I applied both of those lessons to my main turntable, and I have to admit that these adjustments made a big improvement in that turntable's performance.
Big shoutout to YouTube and eBay. Thanks for all the help.
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