Little update... been playing with a couple of other turntables so took the chance to tick a couple of small jobs off the to-do list.
First thing was I couldn't get it to go into 78... a little bit too much wood in the otherwise pretty much perfect plinth from Carl. Removed easily enough with a chisel although as you can see my work is nowhere near as neat as Carl's. I won't worry about that - it'll just be nice to spin some shellac on the old girl.
Next up I needed to replace the thrust pad in the bearing. The one I fitted previously was too tall to allow me to get the retaining screw back in. I wanted to keep the screw so Werner kindly sent me some replacements. Needed to use the thinnest (1.1mm) one in the end... all back together with Castrol multipurpose grease (IMO works really well with worn oilites...)
Looking at the picture now I wonder if the circlip is properly seated. Still, doesn't seem to be going anywhere.
Then I decided to replace and properly secure the mains lead. I haven't earthed it - I don't want to tempt fate when it comes to hum and I also want a nice flexible mains lead to avoid transmitting any vibration to the plinth. I know others will disagree, but IMO in terms of safety the main thing is to ensure cables are properly secured. I also fitted a P-clip on the tonearm cable to save strain on the connector, didn't take a photo though.
Anyway after that I set it up and put a record on. Now I have rubber on the cue platform and Werner's antiskating weight fitted it's all working pretty smoothly. There isn't much height to play with with the AT arm, my current 3mm funk mat, and the now rather tall (and still slightly bent) cue platform, so getting arm height and cue platform height optimised is fiddly. However it's working great now and not as fiddly in use as it is to set up. I like a deck that handles nicely and have been enjoying using a selection of relatively modern DJ style direct drive decks for that reason. The Lenco might not be quite as smooth to use as a 1210, but it sounds much better! On a similar note I have been using a selection of MM cartridges recently, but have come back to my old Supex SD900 and it's bliss.
The sound of the deck is just what I want - it sounds great whatever I play on it, surface noise is low and rumble non-existent. It is a long way from being the most transparent or detailed sounding turntable I have ever heard but the sound is supremely musical and has a really vivid presence, placing musicians (and even electronic sounds) right in the room with me. Much like my Croft preamp it may not sound as subjectively "accurate" as some equipment, but it does nothing that turns me off, rather it just makes me want to put records on.
Being that it sounds so good and is working fine I've tried to put to bed ideas of future upgrades and/or servicing jobs. I have a modified bearing waiting, as well as a clamp. And I feel slightly guilty that the motor is running in its original oil... but right now there's nothing "broke" so I'm resisting the urge to fix it... don't want to jinx it cos frankly I'd rather just enjoy the music.
What I'm saying is... maybe it's finished?
And maybe, just maybe, it's a deck that I'll keep 'til I die.
