Completed Eros

[ccmccull]

I've been running this for a few months now and ... wow. It's a huge step up from my Mani. Spacious, dynamic, engaging. I never knew vinyl could sound so great.

Here are a few vanity shots because I'm proud of myself!

I polished the transformer bell end with barkeeper's friend then sprayed it with clear lacquer. The barkeeper's friend gave me exactly the finish I wanted - a perfect even satin.

I coated the base with 3 coats of water-based polyurethane with 220 grit between coats. That stuff takes a lot of practice to get right and not bubble on you - on my 4th bh kit I think I finally have the technique down.

[Paul Birkeland]

Nice and tidy!

[RdDgWest]

Looks great! 
I have on my want to build list.  What cartridge are you using?

[ccmccull]

Ortofon 2m Blue. Love it

[RdDgWest]

Thank you.  The exact cartridge I have and planned to use. 

[Karl5150]

Looks great. The PT bell finish goes well with the (stock?) plate finish. As PB said, 'tidy' underneath, you must have taken your time. Glad you're enjoying it.
Karl

[ccmccull]

Thanks Karl!

Yes the aluminum plate is the new stock sanded look from BH. I like it! One thing I noticed with the new version is that it benefits from a good scrub with isopropyl alcohol. I got a lot of oil coming out of it, probably from the sanding procedure? Then I used some Weiman stainless steel cleaner on a paper towel, then I polished that off with a dry paper towel. I also tried the Weiman on the tube covers, but that didn't look good at all. So those are just Isopropyl.

I wanted to attach even more shots of the underneath because I did indeed take my time with this kit. But it started to feel like bragging so I thought better of it.

[Doc B.]

The graining is a dry drum sanding process and it is critical that the panels have no oils or fingerprints before they go into the grainer. The panels are cleaned on both sides with paper towels saturated with acetone before I grain them. This is to clean off fingerprints and smoke from the laser cutter (they are fairly cavalier about cleanliness) and to assure good contact with the conveyer belt in the grainer so the sanding drum doesn't dig in and stop the panel from feeding. So I am surprised you found oil on the finish.

I suspect you may have found dark gray coming off on your cleaning rag. The gray is oxidation, which happens pretty much instantly when aluminum is sanded or polished. It's just the nature of aluminum.

On the other hand the steel transformer bells are definitely somewhat waxy/greasy, intentionally. This keeps them from rusting before they have a finish applied.

[ccmccull]

Ah yes it must be oxidization. It was a gray residue on the rag. And likely oils from my own fingerprints after building the kit! Thanks for the explanation.

[Mucker]

Looks great, bet it sounds even better!

[johnsonad]

Nice job!