I’m contemplating having a Delrin platter made for my Teres turntable (that I can load with lead). Has anyone worked with a machinist in the DFW area on a similar one-off project? Looking for recommendations.
just happened to see your post almost a year late:
I've bought a lot of Delrin in my life time, and I cannot ever recall seeing it in the 12.5" to 14" diameters. Still you can buy sheets of it four inches thick and maybe six inches thick. Very expensive!!! Net issue is machining it after you rough saw it out. If your wanting four inches for the plater thickness, you better be thinking fives inches of material. Otherwise you'll have a miss matched seam to deal (maybe a few thousandths). Next thing is you'll need to find an old school guy that knows his way around high speed steel cutting tools (most of the younger folks can't). You have to shear away the material as you cut it. Forget about pushing it off with carbide or ceramics. The idea of lead in the plater is great, but you really can't machine lead to size well. I recommend Mallory Metal ($$$) or strait up copper. Mallory metal weighs about the same as lead, but is machinable. To me Copper is the best bet. Just glue the slugs in place with about four or five thousandths clearance, or better yet drill and tap the platter and thread the slugs. Then epoxy them in (Delrin really doesn't like epoxy but it will take some kinds).
gary
