spring buffers pioneer 12D

[Spik3y]

Hi there.

I have a pioneer 12D turntable. The 4 "float" springs should have a sponge buffer underneath. Does anyone know what I can replace them with?

[Alec124c41]

You can use a bit of sponge.

Cheers,
Alec

[Spik3y]

I thought that was probably what you were going to say

The only thing that I wondered about was that most domestic type sponge products now are designed to degrade quite quickly and don't really want to be repeating this "delicate" and "highly technical" operation too often.

Oh well if there isn't a special non degrading type, £ shop scourers will have to do.

I am a little concerned that your posters keep refering to this turntable as vintage. As I've owned it since the early 70's I'm guessing that makes me vintage too.

Thanks for your reply.

[Brick]

You can pick up natural sponge at a paint shop, they use it for decorative paint work, but it's stiffer than foam.

[Spik3y]

I think natural sponge is definitely too dense, but thanks for replying.

Judging from the powdery residue, it was the fine yellow sponge that was commonly found in speaker cases. Annoyingly I scrapped a set of celestion dittons just before Christmas and they were full of the wretched stuff.

[Alec124c41]

You can use a pinch of fiber filler. I had some old fish-tank filter that I used in a couple of turntables. Even a bit of cotton batting would do the job.

Cheers,
Alec

[coletrain]

I am going to do the same thing soon to my 12D. I found some foam material from the gasket of an in-window protable air conditioner laying around. Looks pretty close to the foam in my turntable.

[sean2525]

Hi,

I need to replace these too. Can anyone help me with the dimensions? I'm unsure exactly what shape it should be as mine were just dust Should it be a disc shape that the spring sits on and what sort of depth?

[vincitsemper]

Hello,

You could experiment with different densities of foam.

I replaced mine with fairly stiff foam cut from £ shop stock!

The four springs are, apparently, slightly different than each other to compensate for the variation in loads on the top plate.

Making the plinth heavier and stiffer worked well on one of my PL12Ds without it affecting the way it looks.

You may find some interesting tips here: http://www.briarsfield-hifi.co.uk/pl12d_bronze.htm

Regards,

Victor.

[PeterW.]

Hi there.

I have a pioneer 12D turntable. The 4 "float" springs should have a sponge buffer underneath. Does anyone know what I can replace them with?

Polyethelene "Backer Rod" as sold at any of several big-box stores, industrial supply stores and insulation sources. Comes in many degrees of hard/soft, diameters and, even in colors. Neoprene is better if you can find it soft enough - that material is much harder to find.

Avoid the HVAC foam that comes with window-shakers. It has a very short life and degenerates quickly when exposed to ozone - that is when put in sunlight or near anything electrical.

http://www.foambymail.com/blog/wp-conte ... G_3292.jpg

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

[sean2525]

Hello,

You could experiment with different densities of foam.

I replaced mine with fairly stiff foam cut from £ shop stock!

The four springs are, apparently, slightly different than each other to compensate for the variation in loads on the top plate.

Making the plinth heavier and stiffer worked well on one of my PL12Ds without it affecting the way it looks.

You may find some interesting tips here: http://www.briarsfield-hifi.co.uk/pl12d_bronze.htm

Regards,

Victor.

Thanks for that Victor. What I'm still a bit confused about is the actual shape of the foam buffer. Does the spring sit on the foam ie is it disc shaped or does the foam fit inside the spring coil? Or both even? Thanks in advance

[PeterW.]

The foam bit fits inside the spring. Hence my linking you to Backer Rod.

Note also that in my 12D, the foam bits were all the same - they are designed to reduce vibration potential in the spring, not contribute to the support of the platter. The foam wants to be snug to the spring but not interfere with its action.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

[sean2525]

The foam bit fits inside the spring. Hence my linking you to Backer Rod.

Note also that in my 12D, the foam bits were all the same - they are designed to reduce vibration potential in the spring, not contribute to the support of the platter. The foam wants to be snug to the spring but not interfere with its action.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

Thanks for clearing that up Peter...much appreciated. On the subject of the PL12 what would you recommend for cleaning up the platter with? Mine's got some minor discolouration marks/stains on the side (possibly oil?) that aren't polishing off. It's also a little scratched in places. Is there a particular product you'd recommend for buffing this up (I presume it's cast aluminium?)

Cheers. Sean

[PeterW.]

The classic remedy for cleaning aluminum is Cream of Tartar in hot water. That may not be practical for you. In that case, Nevr-Dull Wadding Polish does well on aluminum with a considerable elbow-grease. And if that is not enough, 0000 steel wool in combination with Nevr-Dull should handle everything up to deep scratches.

http://www.nevrdull.com/

Good luck with it.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA