Maybe you have to be registered to post pic's as I am still waiting and can't seem to get them posted. If I ever am, I will post them. In the meantime, I have a solution for my own problem.
If you have a Technics SL-1300 with a tone arm lift problem I may have a fix for you. I am not sure what other models have this issue or if they can be fixed the same way but it is worth a look. The SL-1300 is from 1974. My issue was that it still lifts but not enough to clear the platter. I read that some do not work at all. Either way, it could be the same part. There are no parts available for this unless you buy a used turntable and part it out. It can be fixed but you need to be somewhat mechanically inclined. I would say that if you can figure out how to completely disassemble your turntable and keep track of how everything goes back together, then you can do this. If you think it is too much then hire someone else with more experience. I never repaired a turntable before but have repaired just about everything else I have come across. Since you will be taking it completely apart, this would be a good time to clean and regrease all the gears and levers. Clean off all the old stuff and use turntable lube or white lithium grease. Don’t forget to remove your head shell to protect your cartridge.
The normal tone arm lift function with the SL-1300 is that when you push back the cueing lever, which is attached to a plastic shaft which has a cam on the other end, the cam lifts up a plastic lip that is pressed onto a brass shaft lifting the entire shaft up. This shaft is connected to the tone arm rest you see from the top. As the shaft is lifted by the cam, it lifts up the entire tone arm rest. These plastic pieces, that I call a lip because even the service manual does not have a name in it, dry out over time and crack or break and fall off. As they become loose they no longer are clamped tightly to the brass shaft and they either no longer lift the shaft or as in my case, they slip a bit up the shaft and just don’t lift it up enough. Don’t try to glue it as it will not hold and you will need to start all over again. The fix is to replace the plastic lip, but since they are no longer available you have two options. One; get a new/different one from another turntable, of course it will also be old and about to break if not already broken, or Two; make a new piece.
I opted to make a new piece by creating a form and pouring a new plastic piece using plasticine and liquid hardening plastic. After searching the internet I found a couple of products and used the one ($5.95) from this web site,
www.repairplastic.com/rp/applications/03_homeRepair_doorCam.php. Plasticine is non hardening modeling clay and costs about $2-$3 at your local hobby store. Total cost is less than $10, maybe $13 if you have to buy grease. Using this web sites door cam as an example you just make a negative mold in the plasticine/clay of the piece you need and pour in the liquid plastic. Warning; They are serious about the odor and you should be in a well ventilated area as it will gag you. It stinks before you mix it and gets even worse while curing.
When you make a mold with the old piece be aware of a few things:
One - The Hole; you do not want the area where the shaft will fit to fill with plastic, and drilling a hole later is more tedious work, so when you press the old plastic piece in the clay you should press the shaft and piece into the clay together. See pictures. Make sure the old plastic piece is not upside down, biggest part should be on top. Then pull them out together, carefully making sure not to mess up the outline of the piece. When you pull them out there is a possibility you will create a little suction that can lift the bottom of the mold causing a thinner cavity for the new piece. If this happens try very lightly tamping down the bottom with something small and flat like a medium nail set or an upside down 8 penny nail. Put the shaft back into the hole so the plastic will form around it when it hardens. Leave the screw in the end of the shaft to prevent anything from entering while working.
Two - The Splines; pay attention to where the splines are on the shaft when you put it back in the clay. They should rest even with the bottom of the mold so the new piece will wrap around them as it hardens. This will keep the new piece from twisting around the shaft and help to hold it in place once hardened. If the splines are not in the correct place the new piece will either not provide enough lift or too much. Both are bad and things will not fit properly.
Three - The Thickness; Be sure to press the old piece into the clay far enough that the top of the old piece is level with the top of the mold. If you do not the piece will not be thick enough and will provide less lift.
Four – The Width; The area in the turntable base where the mechanism fits is only so wide, not much wider than the plastic “lip”, so try not to make the new piece wider then the old one. I had to file off a little with an ignition point file.
Make sure you unplug the turntable before continuing.
Step 1; If you look closely from the top at the tone arm rest you will see a small black screw which is for setting the height adjustment of the lift assembly. This screw is connected directly to the brass shaft mentioned above. This screw and the entire tone arm rest will need to be removed first. The rest is spring loaded so push it down and unscrew the screw. The rest should now pull straight up and off. There is a spring inside the lift assembly so make sure the spring does not pop out and get lost.
Step 2; Remove the bottom of the turntable by removing the 12 Philips head screws.
Step 3; Remove the 2 screws & cover over the audio cable solder connections.
Step 4; Remove the metal plate housing the gears by removing the 6 Philips head screws. Be careful as you lift the plate up so you do not damage the thin and fragile audio output wiring coming out of the base of the tone arm.
Step 5; Remove the lever attached to the anti-skate control, it has a long screw that passes through it, and move it aside. No need to remove the spring.
Step 6; Remove the coffin shape metal cover (3 screws) for the lift assembly. There is a brass shaft sticking through it with a spring on the end. This shaft comes off with the cover.
Step 7; Remove the black lift lever and cam shaft left in the base so you can regrease it. There is a push-on knob on the part that you actually touch when lifting the tone arm that will not fit through the base of the turntable. In my case all I had to do was pull the camshaft and the knob pulled right off as it tried to pull through the base.
Step 8; On the coffin shaped cover you will find the brass shaft with the plastic piece in question attached to the brass shaft. Worst case is the piece fell off and the shaft may have popped out and is lying in the bottom of the turntable housing. I have included pictures so you can see what it should look like. If still assembled remove the E clip on the end of the shaft and remove the spring, and washer.
Step 9; Once disassembled make a new piece as mentioned above and then reassemble turntable. When you reassemble the brass shaft into the brass tube you need to grease the shaft before you reinsert it into the tube as this provides a damping function. Don’t forget to regrease all the other plastic parts that move such as gears and levers. A little bit on the lift lever camshaft is also a good idea.
There will be some time spent on this but after you mold a new piece and fix something yourself, it makes it all worth it. I cleaned mine up and even bought a new stylus for my Stanton 681EEE. I am waiting for a new tone arm clamp as that was also broken. The ones I found online look like they have a shorter shaft than the original and if they do, I now know how to fix that too
![]()
[/img]
