[DaveyW]

This post is prompted by a bit of tic-tac with Wayner regarding a little cantilever mishap - Here 

I'm sure this sort of thing has happened to most of us, probably more than once. 

If the cantilever is sheared off relatively cleanly, then it is possible to effect a repair using a splint.
I picked this method up from a member of another forum, tried it and it certainly can work.

A Cactus Thorn is pretty much the ideal splint, small, strong and easily formed.

Form into a spike at both ends and cut off and glue into stylus end of the cantilever (I used UHU for this)

The below pic was a work in progress, not yet glued in place, just checking the stylus side fitment.





Carefully holding the assembly with tweezers, finish off the exposed end of the thorn into the required form by rubbing on some fine sandpaper.

Set up the cart (if MM/MI with cantilever holder in the cart body) in some form of holder such as a small vice, it must be secure.

Once you're happy that the cactus is formed acceptably and it mates into the broken cantilever stub, apply a dab of glue to the exposed thorn and insert.
Use a pocket scope (or naked eye if you're up to it) to set it square then leave to dry.

In this case I ended up using Super Glue as I only had a very small amount of cantilever stub to play with, I had to move quickly to get Azimuth correct before the glue set.





You do need a fairly steady hand, but generally you don't have much to lose in these circumstances so always worth a shot.

As I say it works!




Maybe something to consider Wayner - Good Luck!

Dave

[bauzace50]

DaveyW,

Your wonders never cease   Congratulations!  A soft music number could start it on its way...maybe "Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy" by Tchaikovsky (Nutcracker).  Maybe "Yo ho ho" the drinking song of the wooden-leg pirates from Disneyworld.   After some further acclimating, you could try the "1812 Overture" with genuine cannons.

Great, great, great Dave,

bauzace50

[TheChairGuy]

Great stuff!  The natural damping properties of wood fibre of the thorn may actually be better than the std aluminum piping. 

So, how's it sound, Dave? 

[orientalexpress]

sweet:)




lapsan

[S Clark]

Nature makes some really tough materials- especially desert plants.  I've used mesquite thorns for lots of repairs over the years.

[DaveyW]

Thanks Guys 

So, how's it sound, Dave? 

Good question and before I answer it I'll need to give a bit more background.

There's a bit more to this particular grafting application - in this case the diamond/cantilever is applied to a different carrier.

Bit of a long story but the stylus used here is a nice nude 8MR, but I was not happy with the suspension.
The treble had started to deteriorate following some potting exploits - Part of the beauty of keeping recordings of all of my carts.

Bammer sent me a busted G2 stylus body, snapped off towards the base, so I had a go at mating the pair to fit to one of my HO Grado bodies.
So it ended up as a truly Frankengrado combo (Z+/G2/8MR).

How it sounded?  - First reaction was  - Really dynamic and alive, retaining the bottom end punch and extension that I was used to.
But, it became clear that the top end had become accentuated and a little too hot for my tastes (sort of AT territory).

I believe the driver for this is a slight mismatch in delivered overall cantilever length.
The stub of the donor carrier is a little longer than the 8MR and even then, there's a slight gap between the two.
Upshot is that the cantilever in this case is approx 1/16" too long - I think it is this that is driving the hotter top end.

But - Once again resistive loading came to my aid. Dropping down tamed it nicely.
Perfectly acceptable and for me more than a match for a Grado Gold.

I'm pretty convinced that if you mated the same two halves back together then you won't have lost too much.
The key lesson I learned here though was, for future applications, to make sure the original cantilever length is maintained (pretty obvious really).

I'll try and dig out and load up the clips later tonight so you can hear for yourself.

Cheers
Dave

[Wayner]

Unfortunately, mine is bent, not broken off. I am also concerned about the added mass to the cantilever, which will greatly affect the inertia of it, leading to over-shoot. I will attempt a "bend back" this afternoon, but I expect the worse outcome.

 

Wayner

[orthobiz]

So if I went to Home Depot, I should ask for "cactus thorns?" they are not indigenous to Michigan!

Paul

[Wayner]

Just finished bending back the stylus....what do you think from the photos? It works, but I'm sure things are not like the original, tho I used one to gauge what I was doing to the damaged one.

The great tool to use for this was the plastic straw that came with my Deoxit-5 contact cleaner. The stylus fit in the ID of the straw and I could use it like a "wonder bar" to bend it (carefully) back to something that looked like the original shape.

This one will go into the wife's TT, as it is seldom played.

 

 

Wayner 

[DaveyW]

Nice Job Wayner – Not a kink in sight!

Re. the grafting approach and adding mass to the cantilever, I’m sure it will have some form of audible effect, but if it’s already trashed you’ve got nothing to lose.
Worthwhile giving it a go and see what you get.

I’ve just loaded up a set of samples HERE

1: Z+ motor with good 8MR stylus at 47k Ohms
2: Z+ motor with grafted 8MR/G2 stylus at 47k Ohms
3: Z+ motor with grafted 8MR/G2 stylus at 10k Ohms
4: Gold motor with Gold Stylus at 47k Ohms

I popped in the Gold as a bit of a comparator.
Subsequently to making these recordings I believe I dropped the Frankengrado down to nearer 6k Ohms, but these will give a good enough flavour.

Cheers
Dave

[Wayner]

It's not perfect, but waaaaaaaaaaay better then I thought it would turn out. Yes, you thorn is a great idea for repair, I didn't mean to belittle it, at all.

I'm going to keep the order for the 2 replacement stylii because I'm certain the price will continue to go up, up, and more up.

I think the AT440MLa is one of the greatest values for the money, but the Grado Green1, or Gold one for that matter is taking it's place because of pricing.

Thanks for the inspiration, otherwise the bent stylus would have been out with the garbage on Wednesday.

I owe you one.

Wayner 

[DaveyW]

I think the AT440MLa is one of the greatest values for the money, but the Grado Green1, or Gold one for that matter is taking it's place because of pricing.
Thanks for the inspiration, otherwise the bent stylus would have been out with the garbage on Wednesday.
I owe you one.
Wayner 

I'm with you on the AT 440Mla - I bagged one from LP gear for $99 about 2 years ago when we were at nearly 2 dollars to the pound – One Amazing Deal. 
It is a little hot on my rig though, but loading down to 32k Ohms and it's spot on.

Re Grado's - I've not heard the Gold 1, but am a big fan of the brand.
For my latest cart purchase I was torn between the Reference Sonata 1 and the Denon DL-S1, I plumped for the latter but it was a mighty close call.

Me and Bammer have played around with many Grado Combo's and the one that stands out for me is the Prestige/MCZ.
This combo too is a little lively up top and again I load it down (this time to nearer 10k Ohms), here it really sings - that little nudey diamond delivers a fullsome, detailed and crisp rendition. For me it destroys the original Gold and pushes the Reference Sonata quite close.

Probably worth a little thread all of it's own if there's the appetite.

Cheers and congrats again on the successful resurrection 

Dave

[BaMorin]

Nature makes some really tough materials- especially desert plants.  I've used mesquite thorns for lots of repairs over the years.

There's more to this story than DaveW is letting on.  A brief history ( my version ) of how he came about having the cactus thorn in the first place.  He was sent to the US by the Rover group to test drive their cars in American desert heat.  While test driving, he spied a cactus growing by the side of the road......he stopped and examined it........he even ate part of it.......(he shouldn't have done that )......you see, it was a peyote cactus. For two days in the grueling desert sun "Mr. Mescalito" and DaveyW had a long chat. From that chat spawned the concept of turning cactus into music..........desert music. To this day DaveyW thinks it sounds right. The rest of us call this "flash-backs"

And now you know the rest of the story.

[Mitsuman]

There's more to this story than DaveW is letting on.  A brief history ( my version ) of how he came about having the cactus thorn in the first place.  He was sent to the US by the Rover group to test drive their cars in American desert heat.  While test driving, he spied a cactus growing by the side of the road......he stopped and examined it........he even ate part of it.......(he shouldn't have done that )......you see, it was a peyote cactus. For two days in the grueling desert sun "Mr. Mescalito" and DaveyW had a long chat. From that chat spawned the concept of turning cactus into music..........desert music. To this day DaveyW thinks it sounds right. The rest of us call this "flash-backs"

And now you know the rest of the story.

I thought he was riding his white horse, mescalito? 

[neobop]

You know how a story gets changed when people sit around in a circle and whisper it one to the other?  This is a circle, isn't it?

I heard that Davey accidentally ate some peyote, started getting off, then ate a bunch more. Later he was visited by the Great Spirit Victrola. Davey was overcome by emotion as Great Spirit was telling him about using cactus thorns for a needle. You know how it is when you're tripping on peyote, or maybe you don't. Anyway, Davey had a revelation about using thorns as splints and prosthetic cantilevers for modern carts. Great Spirit told him how to do it and what kind of cactus thorn to use, but swore him to secrecy about the type of cactus.

We didn't hear from Davey for awhile. I heard he was busted for trying to bring peyote into England. I don't know if that part is true. He could have been recovering from the trip(s). But you'll notice that he hasn't told us what kind of cactus thorn to use. A promise is a promise.
neo

[DaveyW]

Bloody Hell!
Bugger all's a secret with you boys. 

Yes! I got busted for trying to get an Arizona Cactus back to Blighty (bought from a market trader).
And the rather well built, gun toting airport security officer didn't seem to appreciate my little quip.

But the Cactus eating is all lies, I tell you 

The pictured cactus thorn is actually home grown here in England, I have no idea of the type.
I'll take a pic of the donor and see if our esteemed membership can verify this sonic gem.

I'll get you all back

[BaMorin]

Bloody Hell!
Bugger all's a secret with you boys. 

Yes! I got busted for trying to get an Arizona Cactus back to Blighty (bought from a market trader).
And the rather well built, gun toting airport security officer didn't seem to appreciate my little quip.

But the Cactus eating is all lies, I tell you 

The pictured cactus thorn is actually home grown here in England, I have no idea of the type.
I'll take a pic of the donor and see if our esteemed membership can verify this sonic gem.

I'll get you all back

Boy, I'd pay a dollar to see them.............any pictures?   

[DaveyW]

OK Cactus Officianados - Here's the donor





Any one got any ideas of make and model? 

[bauzace50]

DaveyW,

Lovely, lovely!  Such an inviting demeanor!
 

[DaveyW]

DaveyW,

Lovely, lovely!  Such an inviting demeanor!
 

Nice to see a bit of Fuana & Flora in a Vinyl post occasionally eh!