Classic Hifi Care

$38 for the drive tire rebuilt, $8.40 shipping to me, plus $8 to ship my old drive tire to Gary for exchange. That is $54 for a drive tire going into a changer I'll use maybe a couple times a year. I have 26 record players that have a drive tire. That is over $1300 to do them all. I need to find a shortcut.

Try the O-ring method. It worked for me on a Lenco turntable with a V-shaped idler tire. Visit your friendly local Ace Hardware and poke around in their O-ring selection until you find the right diameter (for the ring, and for its rubber cross-section). Can't beat the price.

Chris Campbell

I've used o-rings for dial drive belts with poor results. They last about a year then break. I don't want to have to dig a changer out every year to replace the o-ring. What kind of o-ring do you use? Teflon? Maybe I'm getting the wrong kind of o-ring. This will be my last "professionally rebuilt" drive tire. That kind of money offends my Jack Benny sensibilities. I did this one because I didn't have a better one I could rob. The drive tire in the changer on the ST is even worse than this one. My wife says "we can't take it with us". I say maybe that's true, but I can't leave it all in one place.....

When used as belt, the O-ring is stretched. When used as a drive tire, hardly at all. Try it. If you get the right size, buy several so you have an extra on hand when it fails after the hardware store is closed, which is when all failures happen.

And how hard is it to pull a platter off a changer? Pull the C-clip off the platter, swear vigorously when it flies away, pull the c-clip off the idler, swear all over again.... Apart from the expostulation, the process takes 5 min.

Chris Campbell

My eyesight being what it is requires me to remove the changer from the cabinet to work on the changer.

What isn't getting 'spendy' today?

D

Good point...
I am happy to report that peanut oil has gone down in price from $46.97 to $45.47.