TNT Resurrection.

[Pops110]

Hi all, I’m new to the forums and looking for a little bit of help.
I have rescued a TNT, I believe it may have been a 3.5 from the rubbish tip. The poor old girl had been thrown out and is in need of some love to get it going again.
The plinth is in fairly good condition except it has some bad scratches on it. These are only superficial but unfortunately won’t buff out, I do have a plan to rectify this by getting a cover cover piece of acrylic cit out of 3mm to cover the whole plinth. This should work quite well I think.
I’m missing an armboard, but planning on getting a few laser cut at the same time.
The platter and bearing appears to be in good condition, the platter spins well with no apparent rubbing or issues.
It has the tri pulley setup but unfortunately it’s missing the pulleys. I have been told not to bother with the tri pulley and just run the platter directly off the motor. This is definitely an option but I would like to get it functioning again.
It didn’t have the SDS speed controller but I have sourced one of these and it’s on its way.
The motor appears to be in good condition but I haven’t been able to test it as it’s 115v,I believe that I can source a new motor directly from Hurst so will order a new one if needed.
It doesn’t have a tonearm, so I’m on the lookout for a tonearm to suit. I believe that I can get a JMW - 10 locally for a fairly reasonable price. Will this be a good option or should I try to source something like the JMW - 12.5 second hand? Unfortunately my budget won’t stretch to a new arm.
It is also missing the feet. I have been quoted a stupid amount of money for new air bladder feet so that wasn’t an option. I have sourced some springs and cups and plan to fabricate some feet to make these work.
I have a limited budget to get it up and running so would really appreciate any advice big or small from those more knowledgeable than me and if anyone has any of the parts I need please let me know.
I look forward to getting it up and running again and having a look around the forum.
Cheers Dave.

[J_knievel]

That looks to me like the TNT MKV platter. I have the same on my Aries MK1 and, well, read the reviews. Nice score!

Others can give you the help you need as far as bringing it back to life. But these aren't complicated machines, after some cleaning, relubricating and sourcing the right parts (I'd go with a metal VPI JMW because of price), you'll have a world class table!

JK

[Pops110]

Thanks for the reply, yeah it should be a pretty nice table when I get it up and running.
I have been told it’s an upgraded platter over the original,the bearing and platter seem fine just need a bit of a clean up.

[tom collins]

it is stone simple mechanically. you should easily get it running. as for the cosmetics, i don't know, but they won't affect the sound.

[Brf]

Nice score. What you have is a TNT Mk3 with an upgraded Mk5 platter. The footers used a spring suspension with VPI delrin elephant feet.

I would resist laminating an acrylic sheet to cover the scratches. Instead, take it to a company that specializes in plastic polishing. Or, you could attempt to do it yourself using a wet sanding technique with progressively finer grades.

With respect to the missing arm-board, it might be cost effective to see if VPI has any laying around. TNT arm- boards come in two different widths, therefore, measure the inside dimension to make sure you get the correct board. One is slightly less than 4” and the other just slightly over 4”.

With respect to the tri-pulley system, finding a set of the missing capstan will be very difficult, but you can use the table w/o it with excellent results.

Let me know if you have any additional questions as I’ve owned quite a few TNTs.

[spinblackcircle]

Mat just posted TNT armboards on the VPI site to purchase.

https://www.vpiindustries.com/store/p532/VPI_TNT_Arm_Board.html

[Pops110]

Thanks for the info BRF, yeah I thought as much about the tri pulley. What does the capstan spin on? Is there a bearing in the top?
I have the SDS coming to control the speed and also as it’s multi voltage no step down transformer will be needed. I’m assuming that because it was found in Australia that it has been used here so wil have the correct pulley for 50hz. Does it need a different pulley to allow for the difference between 50 and 60 hz or will the SDS allow for this?
I have tried polishing and using wet and dry sand paper to remove scratches on the tri pulley base but I’m not happy with the finish. I wasn’t going to laminate it with glue but just rest it on top or maybe use some vhb tape.
Cheers Dave.

[Pops110]

First clean and polish, it’s come up a treat.

[930turbo]

Well done , good job polishing it . Do you have the elephant footings and the ball suspension ?

[Pops110]

No I don’t have the elephant feet and ball suspension. I have some of the springs with the top cups coming and I’m going to fabricate something to work with the springs. I have read some of the other options that people have come up with so may go down that path as well if what I have planned doesn’t work.
The polishing has come up a lot better than expected, I have just finished on the first 2 corner posts. They have come up nice also.