Where to find stone?
 

Yeah, this is prettyway far off topic. But if anybody can answer this one, it is you folks. I want to build (yes, build) a turntable (yes, for vinyl records) on a stone foundation and maybe build (yes build) a matching tube amplifier. Something like this:

<img src="http://www.compassnet.com/concept/tables/goldston.jpg">

But my google searches have so far yielded no clue where to get stone slabs and/or boxes to house the components. I'm thinking I need mable, soapstone or alabaster (preferably a dark colored or black material) that can be easily hollowed out or already comes in the form of a box. Any ideas?

Granite countertops?

find a place that makes granite kitchen countertops. Im sure they would be happy to cut some pieces for you.

make a mold and make it out of cultured marble ..

I used to run a factory that made cultured marble and have made many unusual things ..

make it out of wood... spray with red mold material, sand/buff/wax... make the mold off of this ...

cultured marble = clear gelcoat sprayed on mold + Fiberglass resin + limestone + pigments..

or just go to a real stone place and have them cut it. Give them dimentions for all the holes and pasages for wires and mounting points to drill.

Don forgot to mention "bring large truck to haul home" if its made out of real stone...

Joe A

Talk with anyone doing custom kitchen counter tops. They would be able to make almost anything provided you give them exact details for holes, reliefs, etc. Could go real stone or the new generation of man-made stone like composits.

This project should not be that complicated if you already have the doner equipment. Sounds like a cool idea. The only way it could be better is if the doner equipment was Mcintosh!

Obviously you want mass in your plinth. Why?

I can understand massive platter & stand etc but plinth?

A lot of turntable theory aims toward the opposite. I remember JBE - from England - in the early 80s used solid slate for a plinth. I played with one for a couple of weeks but my memory has faded.

Ian

if you don't need the weight of actual stone and just the look of stone, I have some information somewhere at home on a product that is made from real crushed granite, marble, etc. It's mixed with a type of clear gelcoat and sprayed on any surface. looks like real stone. I've never used it, but it looks great in the photos. it can be used on countertops, showers, etc. there were about 30 colors I think. I'll look for the info if you like and post the website address.

I just want to know what plinth is!!

plinth

\Plinth\, n. [L. plinthus, Gr. ? a brick or tile, a plinth, perh. akin to E. flint: cf. F. plinthe.] (Arch.) In classical architecture, a vertically faced member immediately below the circular base of a column; also, the lowest member of a pedestal; hence, in general, the lowest member of a base; a sub-base; a block upon which the moldings of an architrave or trim are stopped at the bottom.

You word smith you!

Me = the lowest member of a pedestal; hence, in general, the lowest member of a base; a sub-base; a block upon which the moldings of an architrave or trim are stopped at the bottom.

__________________

Man I have finally found lifes meaning!!

Yes, you're right. A plinth in turntable terms, is the base.

Ian

How about a headstone / gravestone / memorial shop? Also, most any quarry or distributor of brick and fieldstone would have some. You may be able to get a good deal on a hunk of scrap, make friends with the guy that cuts stone and he could trim it up for you pretty easy and maybe for a deal. You are lucky, there are a bunch or granite quarries in your neck of the woods.

Re: Where to find stone?
 

I want to build my own turntable as well, and have done some research on it. I think you have some more research to do, based on what you have said so far.

May I suggest you take a look at what has caught my fancy:

http://www.teresaudio.com/

I've posted my equipment here:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/193439-waaaaay-ot-amar-bose-eyesight-exercises.html?highlight=bose

I own a Dual turntable (CS-503), a good mid-fi deck, but never considered high-end.

The image you posted seems to be of a very dated school of thought (the Dual family).

These are all mid-fi, you can do better.

http://www.compassnet.com/concept/tableinx.htm

You can buy used stuff on line, however the bearings should be listen to with a stethoscope.

Look at the below link, I found my tube amp and pre-amp here...........posted by a local shop. You can check the zip codes easily.

http://www.audiogon.com/

what about CORIAN? dont they have some that looks like stone? you could router it into shape.

Yep, a few makers have used CORIAN.

It's all about controling resonance; you want the fundamental frequency to be either ultra sonic or so low not even a subwoffer could reproduce it.

The corian actually seems to absorbs the higher energy, re-releasing at lower almost mechanical level.

There is science to this stuff, but in the end it's art too.

It seems many designers/home owners are starting to favor lightweight concrete for countertops insteads of traditional marble, tile or solid-surface materials like Corian. As opposed to natural stone, concrete can be molded into various shapes with color and textural objects implanted while still possessing the mass you desire.

It's been around for a number of years. A leading proponent/designer has written a DIY book (Concrete Countertops: Design, Form, and Finishes for the New Kitchen and Bath by Fu-Tung Cheng, Eric Olsen). An architectural company in Santa Monica uses a product/process called Syndicrete; they've done this for awhile, but it's a little more difficult to locate more info on them.

Sherwood

FYI: Welltempered is just one of the Corian/Fountainhead turntable plinths out there.

Link:
http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?anlgtabl&1106328382
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1101725899.jpg

Damn I remember the pre-CD/cassette days when me and my friends would actually sit around discussing the various merits of turn table material and whether belt or direct drive was the way to go!

Janus, when you say box, what is the wall thickness? It would be tough to make a box from one piece of stone. If you are not successful in your search, send me a PM. I should be able to get some granite to you, but I would only recommend this stone for the 'plinth.'
regards, jurgen

Recycle that old turntable:
http://www.theanalogdept.com/bushman1.htm

Good Conversation:
http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/vinyl/bbs.html

A project with explaination:
http://www.decdun.fsnet.co.uk/turntables.html

Some other guy’s project:
http://home.earthlink.net/~jeremyepstein/teres.html

As far as stone, I was in Paris once..........this artist set up a shop/exhibit in a park. What he had was a special limestone that was soaking in water for days. You could carve it with simple hand tools into the softend stone. Remember that natural stones are pourous so they will soak up water. Next time you look at a stone carving on an old church, remember not everything must be cut & tooled with a band saw, and put together with motar. I say carve up something beautiful with free flowing lines. If it does not sound all that great, at least it will look good.

Holy cow, I knew I had come to the right place to ask my question. No matter how crazy or obscure the topic, I can always get a ton of info here. What is it about Porsche owners, eh? :D

tube v. solid state
reel to reel v. CD

Why is it that you can't duplicate the richness of a tube reel to reel? The CD just doesn't seem to have the flavor?

Remember many types of stone are quite fragile depending on their structure. One bump the wrong way and the project splits in half. A composite of rock/stone material in a resin base could be machinable, but too often looks and feels fake.

I'm jumping in at the end of this one, but has anybody mentioned high quality Italian Slate, as used in the top quality pool tables?

I know someone who cut a hole through his floorboards and bricked up a column from the ground below into his living room to support his turntable. The section above the floorboards was rendered to match the internal walls of the house.

Some audiophile types do not know when genug is genug.

I don't know what genug is...but is it like folks here who argue that spending $5K or so on a pair of brake calipers is a good thing to do?

Sort of. "Genug" means "enough" in German.

I have also come across muso-types who swear they can pick a difference in sound between different types of speaker cabinet grille cloth.

Talk about the princess and the pea.

Savage heathens!:mad:

Everyone knows to remove the grill cloth before doing serious listening.

Also to do:

1. Turn off the lights

2. Unplug the computer, TV and refrigator (anything in the circuit).

3. Go next door (down the block if you can) and do the same to each house, each side minimum or 100 foot radius.

4. Close all the doors in the house.

5. Drape sound absorbing material on all reflective surfaces, I use a heavy wool blanket over the TV.

I could go on, but you get the point. Going to batteries or off-grounds independent generator is what some do. No kidding.SmileWavy

uhh, doesn't everybody? :)

Sherwood

Look up "surface plates" on www.mcmaster.com Granite plates are at the bottom of the page. This part number should be what you would need 2245A21, is 130lbs enough?