Sounds scary lol.
On a different note... I thought the guy that I got my TT from striped the single screw that holds the cartridge in. I thought it was a little loose, as I didn't think there should be the faintest rattle when tapped with a fingernail.... So when I pushed on it, it would temporarily tighten. Little did I know, the damn screw was just pushed in. I had to reseat the cartridge so that the screw would go all the way in to meet the threads. THEN I could tighten it. The head of the screw was sticking out the whole time, when it was really supposed to be flush.
No wonder. Naturally, everything else "tightened" up.