While some say that having vintage audio is like a holy grail - in reality it means work 
. This time I'm maintaining the bearings of my table's tonearm. The arm and its moving parts are the most finicky part of the table. And they show their age. Based on the serial number, the table is from 1965 (one of the first 100 Thorens TD-124 MK II). The tone arm is original.
To start, some photos of the disassembly of the arm board.
Spoiler warning:
I got the most difficult parts back together now. When you (try to) put the arm back in the bearings, you have to do that with the housing on (but not screwed in place). And try to catch a spring near the top of the housing. While not pinching the wires.
I tried it about 10 times this morning and it failed. Went for a trip to the city, and retried. 3rd attempt was successful:
This is the spring:
When I bought it:
What looks like dust was actually algae and mold (and very likely spilled beer and soda drinks). All aluminum parts were green.
