Frankenrolling R2R cart

[62vauxhall]

Needing to do something with the Teac A3300 that came back from an overhaul a few months ago. Friend of mine closed his office and moved it into the basement of new house and had a few things he was going to toss. One was a sort of small metal desk on wheels that I thought I could adapt to make a rolling reel to reel cart. Just used the uprights and some scraps of wood, drilled a horizontal hole in each then glued on some black cloth I got at a thrift store. Bought some stainless steel sheet metal that someone else I knew cut to size on his shearing table plus let me use his wood shop to cut and power plane two new 1" thick side panels of the cheapest hard wood (hickory) I could find. The dispatcher of the towing company I work for welded pivot rods onto flat stock found in the scrap steel pile at the shop then threaded the ends.

Won't win any beauty contests but it's functional. Don't think I'm done yet because I want to put my Pioneer RT-707 underneath the Teac along with a DBX 200 tape switcher if I come across one that's cheap enough.

 

[orange]

NICE!

 

[laatsch55]

I like it Gary...coolness....

 

[NavLinear]

Damn Gary - that turned out really nice! If you didn't tell us how it came to be I would have thought it was professionally fabricated.

 

[rtp_burnsville]

Nice work.....

Robert

 

[Elite-ist]

Looks like a good, functional R2R cart, Gary. I suppose you found the correct thread tap when we met on Sunday. You seem to knock off a lot of projects on your days off.

Nando.

 

[Fishoz]

I like the mid-century record bin behind the cart....another of your creations?

 

[Fast Forward]

Needing to do something with the Teac A3300 that came back from an overhaul a few months ago. Friend of mine closed his office and moved it into the basement of new house and had a few things he was going to toss. One was a sort of small metal desk on wheels that I thought I could adapt to make a rolling reel to reel cart. Just used the uprights and some scraps of wood, drilled a horizontal hole in each then glued on some black cloth I got at a thrift store. Bought some stainless steel sheet metal that someone else I knew cut to size on his shearing table plus let me use his wood shop to cut and power plane two new 1" thick side panels of the cheapest hard wood (hickory) I could find. The dispatcher of the towing company I work for welded pivot rods onto flat stock found in the scrap steel pile at the shop then threaded the ends.

Won't win any beauty contests but it's functional. Don't think I'm done yet because I want to put my Pioneer RT-707 underneath the Teac along with a DBX 200 tape switcher if I come across one that's cheap enough.

View attachment 23683 View attachment 23684

I may have a DBX 200 I'll check

 

[62vauxhall]

Looks like a good, functional R2R cart, Gary. I suppose you found the correct thread tap when we met on Sunday. You seem to knock off a lot of projects on your days off.

Nando.

You flatter me. It was November when I actually got the uprights and had to ponder what what I could possibly do with them. In my "travels" I spotted spotted the scrap metal and wood stuff here and there that spawned ideas I thought might work so nothing was preconceived. It took a couple months before I actually went to work. My initial intention was to build something entirely out of hardwood but the cost would have been astronomical and I realized I would have to make something out of pretty much nothing. Sheet stainless was the most expensive thing I had to buy which was about $30 then $10 for the piece if hickory for the deck's new side panels and about another $10 for a couple of 1/2" stainless wing nuts, washers and some lag screws - $50 in total. Lucky for me was knowing someone with a very well equipped home wood shop who happens to have an architectural roofing company with metal fabricating equipment in his business shop. Plus knowing someone else who can weld and was also willing to run some threads. If I had to pay for services rendered, Ay, caramba!

 

[62vauxhall]

I like the mid-century record bin behind the cart....another of your creations?

Yes, the bin was from one thrift shop $5 and the legs from another, much later, for $2. Did not plan on putting legs on it but it seemed like a good idea. I could not scrounge used metal mounting plates that those kind of legs screw into so had to buck up and get some new ones at Lowe's. $10 I think, for 4? Already had some pale yellow spray paint (that kinda, sorta matched the box) so sprayed the legs with the feet off then sprayed the feet black.

 

[62vauxhall]

I may have a DBX 200 I'll check

Really? If you have one, bear in mind I'm what you might call budgetarily challenged and you live (I think) where a $1 is still a $1 and not $0.60.

 

[Fast Forward]

Really? If you have one, bear in mind I'm what you might call budgetarily challenged and you live (I think) where a $1 is still a $1 and not $0.60.

I'm not really sure what they sell for But I'll look for it if your interested,to me anything I'm not using is money that could be put somewhere else

 

[62vauxhall]

Thanks but the exchange rate between US and CDN money (plus shipping) makes cross border purchasing cost prohibitive. I had a look on e-bay Sold Listings whete prices ranged from under $30 to about $75.

If I got a DBX 200 it would be my third, and specifically for the reel to reel decks. One of those I have has 8 track decks connected to it and the other, cassette decks.

I found those locally and they weren't very expensive. One was paired with a DBX 166 and price for both was $35. I had no interest in the 166 and sold it for $50 so I kinda made money on that deal. The other, I got last summer for $15 along with a NAD pre-amp, an 8 track recorder and 6 cartridges. These were deemed non working or not desirable therefore not worth keeping. I don't mind spending time and effort putting things right when I can and I've had more hits than misses.

There's been a DBX 200 for sale on CL advertised for $100 right in my neighbourhood and the ad's been up for months and keeps getting renewed. Last night I offered $50 which will probably be ignored but we'll see.

I'm not cheap and looking to steal stuff, it's just that I got's no discretionary income.

I've had this electronicus acquisitionus disease a couple of times before but it went away if the equipment did. Bummer is that I keep relapsing. And like all other addictions, it's always worse than the time before. One new piece of gear is too many and 50 isn't enough. "God, grant me the serenity.... "

 

[Elite-ist]

Gary: I was eyeing up the dbx 200 on craigslist, too. I have a spare one to patch into my second tape loop on my preamp. I have been using a dbx 400X for more than five years on my main system. I bought the dbx 200 at Innovative Audio for $65. It's in new condition, of course. Got a lot of dbx components still in the box.

Getting back to your R2R cart - there's nothing wrong with bartering for services in lieu of money being exchanged. That's why I felt the deal we made for servicing my 8-track cartridges for the CT-F950 works out for both of us. Have you tried the deck, yet?

Last week, I dropped off four components at the small Squamish shop I frequent for vinyl - "Kelly’s Eclectibles." She has been asking for more turntables, old receivers, speakers, etc, as she's been selling out quickly of most of her vintage gear. I sold her two turntables, a receiver, and an equalizer. I made $165 and I removed the cartridge from the Pioneer turntable I sold. Most of this gear, I have been using, sporadically, and I netted 4X my original purchase at the flea markets. I have lots more to sell.

Nando.

 

[orange]

Keep me in mind, Nando, you have a border courier in Doug.

 

[Elite-ist]

Sorry, Steven, but when we are talking receivers, speakers, and turntables, the shipping, alone, is more costly than what's inside. It's much easier for me to drop the less valuable gear off at Kelly's.

Nando.

 

[BubbaH]

Its a good time to be buying goods from Canada no doubt.

 

[62vauxhall]

Gary: I was eyeing up the dbx 200 on craigslist, too. I have a spare one to patch into my second tape loop on my preamp. I have been using a dbx 400X for more than five years on my main system. I bought the dbx 200 at Innovative Audio for $65. It's in new condition, of course. Got a lot of dbx components still in the box.

Getting back to your R2R cart - there's nothing wrong with bartering for services in lieu of money being exchanged. That's why I felt the deal we made for servicing my 8-track cartridges for the CT-F950 works out for both of us. Have you tried the deck, yet?

Last week, I dropped off four components at the small Squamish shop I frequent for vinyl - "Kelly’s Eclectibles." She has been asking for more turntables, old receivers, speakers, etc, as she's been selling out quickly of most of her vintage gear. I sold her two turntables, a receiver, and an equalizer. I made $165 and I removed the cartridge from the Pioneer turntable I sold. Most of this gear, I have been using, sporadically, and I netted 4X my original purchase at the flea markets. I have lots more to sell.

Nando.

There's nae many in these parts with a taste for 8 tracks like you and I. Reconditioning the cartridges is one of the few things I do well - that and making dog biscuits. Other than yourself, I've only done one barter for gear - a CD player for (what else) an 8 track deck.

I have not done any listening or recording with the 950 yet but did put the transport through it's paces. It works perfectly including Auto Stop which was the biggest concern. This is the first deck I've gotten where it wasn't hooped. And my recent past experience fixing that has been several magnitudes of pain in the butt.

It sounds like you've accumulated a lot of gear. You must go far afield because I wouldn't have thought there was huge quantities along the Sea To Sky. Could be wrong about that though.

I'm probably better off for it but it's too bad the radio museum in Coquitlam I belong to won't cut loose any of the 2 channel audio they don't know what to do with. I just may drop in there on Sunday to see if they've organized it into something other than piles on the floor.

I imagine your "hobby" is a bit of a blessing for that shop. Maybe a 2 way street 'cause you can clear the decks (decks - ha ha) a bit to make room (for more?).

I just gave myself an idea. I've been to a guy's house a couple of times plus run into him at a few thrift stores. I don"t know where he goes or what his connections are but he's got gear and boxes of records stacked everywhere and I mean everywhere. If I still have his e-mail, I'll ask him about a DBX 200.

Too bad I'm unable to attach mages to PM's. I took some shots of one of your 8 tracks and you lucky bugger! You have one of those legendary Ampex's with the swollen, distended pinch rollers. Might just have to post in the Forum for you to see. I made a new pinch roller but the diameter was too small. Not done trying to fix but it may get back to you in a different shell. Coincidently, the label came away with no effort at all so one way or another, the tape will have the original paperwork.

 

[Elite-ist]

Gary, you would be stunned by what I have found here, locally. My best hunting years were about 7-9 years ago. One of my finds back then included an Akai GX-747 open-reel deck for $50, right here at our Squamish Mini Flea Market. I used it all those years, then sold it on consignment at Innovative Audio for a huge profit. Photobucket is undergoing maintenance right now, or I would post a few pictures of the Akai.

Once you get the CT-F950 patched in, I hope you get lots of enjoyment from it. I have not had it in for servicing since owning it, but I would rather see it being used by someone who can appreciate it and you are handy enough to do some general maintenance on it, if needed.

I wouldn't have known about the Ampex ailment, but swapping the tape into another shell is fine by me.

Nando.

 

[62vauxhall]

Gary: I was eyeing up the dbx 200 on craigslist, too. I have a spare one to patch into my second tape loop on my preamp. I have been using a dbx 400X for more than five years on my main system. I bought the dbx 200 at Innovative Audio for $65. It's in new condition, of course. Got a lot of dbx components still in the box.

Getting back to your R2R cart - there's nothing wrong with bartering for services in lieu of money being exchanged. That's why I felt the deal we made for servicing my 8-track cartridges for the CT-F950 works out for both of us. Have you tried the deck, yet?

Last week, I dropped off four components at the small Squamish shop I frequent for vinyl - "Kelly’s Eclectibles." She has been asking for more turntables, old receivers, speakers, etc, as she's been selling out quickly of most of her vintage gear. I sold her two turntables, a receiver, and an equalizer. I made $165 and I removed the cartridge from the Pioneer turntable I sold. Most of this gear, I have been using, sporadically, and I netted 4X my original purchase at the flea markets. I have lots more to sell.

Nando.

I've been keeping an eye on e-bay for DBX 200's but those with low starting bids all seemed to be missing the processor loop jumpers. No real biggie I suppose but dammit, I wanted them. The currency exchange rate would make e-bay less reasonable plus I'd need to make the round trip drive to Sumas to get it. So I bantered with the fellow selling that one on CL (who lives 5 minutes away) and got it for $75 - jumpers included. Also got a consumer DBX full line brochure. Turned out to be an "X" series which does not have the shiny chrome buttons and switches that my other two have - wish it did but I think I can get over it. As far as I know, that is the only difference which was probably a cost cutting thing. Haven't popped lids off to compare internals but they're probably the same. Next chore will be figuring out how to mount it and the RT-707 below the Teac. Will swing by the Langley metal shop to see what scraps they have that inspire me.

EDIT: The space vacated by the RT-707 will be the spot for the CT-F950.