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Hints, Tips and Solutions (Do NOT post requests for help here) If you have any useful general hints and tips for vintage technology repair and restoration, please share them here. PLEASE DO NOT POST REQUESTS FOR HELP HERE!

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Old 11th Jan 2017, 1:19 am   #1
dinker11
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Default Rescuing and repairing turntable mats.

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this before but after seeing a few posts where people have had trouble finding replacement rubber turntable mats, I found myself in the same situation.

I have a favourite mat that I like to use due to the cut out at the 7 inch area as it makes playing singles far easier.

It came from an Sharp Optinica deck from many years back which has long gone but in recent years I have tended to use DJ style decks for general record playing.

These type of decks always come with some kind of felt slip mat which I never use as I want to keep the playing speed as constant as possible and slippage free.

On to my idea and discovery.

I found in a local pound store a product sold as gripper mat.

It comes in a roll that is a metre long and in various colours.
It's similar to a rubberised hessian cloth.

I took my turntable mat that had started to disintegrate at a couple of points, flipped it over, lightly sprayed it with some contact adhesive, and then stuck the gripper mat to the back.

After a few minutes, I trimmed the excess gripper off and the mat is now solid again.

I'm also going to take a couple of the many unused felt mats that I have and do the same to those as I may be able to get some use from them now I've found a way to make them grippy.

Hope that this is helpful to someone else.
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Old 12th Jan 2017, 12:23 am   #2
ben
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Default Re: Rescuing and repairing turntable mats.

Interesting, thanks for posting. For me the hardest part of cutting out a circle is getting it to look neat (use a suitably sized bowl and score round it with a stanley knife?) What did you use?
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Old 12th Jan 2017, 2:24 am   #3
dinker11
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Default Re: Rescuing and repairing turntable mats.

The gripper mat was easy to trim using the original as a guide.
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Old 12th Jan 2017, 1:35 pm   #4
G4XWDJim
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Default Re: Rescuing and repairing turntable mats.

Barry, Audio1950 once advised me of the method he uses to cut felt mats for wind up grams and it worked extremely well leaving a perfect edge.

Maybe Barry could be persuaded to write up his technique.

Jim
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Old 12th Jan 2017, 1:54 pm   #5
newlite4
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Default Re: Rescuing and repairing turntable mats.

I had this problem in the summer where someone was desperate for a small record player. I had fully restored the UK made Emerson baby record player some years earlier and had stored it on its side for a few years. Upon getting it ready to sell, I opened the lid only to find the mat folded over onto itself and breaking down into a gooey mass. I too used this gripper mat and it looked good glued onto the platter. I did fiddle a bit to get the perfect edge since the mesh appearance of the mat leaves a few stringy offcuts but overall not bad.
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Old 13th Jan 2017, 1:36 pm   #6
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Default Re: Rescuing and repairing turntable mats.

I have just been experimenting making turntable mats.
I finally settled on rubber pond liner with a felt underlay. (the rubber pond liner I used is conductive to electricity so could maybe also help minimise the build up of static if it is earthed to the centre spindle. The resistance across the turntable mat is just less than 1M ohm.)

Cut the mat out roughly and oversize. Make the hole in the centre then place it on the platter and turn the player on. Use a good felt pen to mark a circle at the final size, as you steady your hand on the deck.

Mike
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Old 13th Jan 2017, 4:06 pm   #7
Audio1950
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Default Re: Rescuing and repairing turntable mats.

Quote:
Originally Posted by G4XWDJim View Post
Barry, Audio1950 once advised me of the method he uses to cut felt mats for wind up grams and it worked extremely well leaving a perfect edge.

Maybe Barry could be persuaded to write up his technique.
Certainly! You need a square piece of flat board, about an about three quarters of an inch thick, and an inch or so bigger than the diameter of the mat you are making, a length of 1" x 1" batten, about 2" longer than the radius of the circle you are cutting, A wood screw about an inch and a half long, a scalpel blade, a couple of tiny screws that will go through the slots in the blade, and a staple gun.

Drill a hole through one end of the 1" x 1" batten, about an inch from the end, and of a size that will allow the wood screw to fit the hole loosely. Make sure it goes through straight and square. Screw it to the centre of the board. Now measure from the centre of the screw head out to the required radius, and mark the batten. Remove it from the board, and cut it off square. Then screw the scalpel blade to the square end, at an angle, so that the blade will follow as you move the batten clockwise. Allow the tip of the blade to protrude over the bottom edge of the batten for about 1mm more than the thickness of the material you are cutting. Find the centre of the material, and make a small hole.Line that hole up with the one on the board made by the screw. Put the screw through the batten and the material, then screw it down loosely. Without pressing on the batten, move it round about half an inch and put a staple about half an inch out from the end of the batten. Do this all the way round, so that when you cut the circle, the staples will be outside the circle, attached to the board. I didn't do this originally, but have found that doing this prevents the material from rucking up, which results in an uneven edge. Now do the centre screw up until the batten is held tightly to the board, but just free enough to be able to move. Now press lightly on the batten, and scribe your circle. Do the same two or three times, increasing the pressure each time, until you can feel the blade cutting the wood. Unscrew the batten, remove the material and enlarge the centre hole, best done by cutting a cross, placing it over the turntable spindle, and cutting off the excess. Better still if you can punch the centre hole before starting. I use a bit of 5mm brass tube, sharpened on the inside edge. Put a hefty bolt in the other end, and give it a couple of whacks with a hammer. I've used this method for felt, rubber and velvet, for circles from 5-12" and for me, at least, it works every time.
Barry
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Old 20th Jan 2017, 12:40 am   #8
dinker11
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Default Re: Rescuing and repairing turntable mats.

I have to hand it to you Barry.

A long process but i expect that (like myself) trying to get a professional and looking/working mat is not as easy as it may sound.

I'm just about to redress my trusty old rockola 478 juke in the next few weeks that needs a T/T mat and will give your idea a try.

I've already hooked up a belt drive system for it to replace the original idler drive which has reduced the rumble significantly .

It looks a bit heath robinson but works perfectly.

It's wonderful to hear the difference in playing a 45 inside the juke compared to playing one on an external turntable using the same cartridge in both.

The low end seems more rounded and gutsy due to the disc being in the same space as the speakers.

Obviously this in "audiophile world" is a BIG no no and distortion of original sound......but it's fun.

Especially 60's and early 70's records.

Maybe the producers/engineers of the time expected certain records to be heard in this way and purposely EQ'd them to sound good.
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