Turntable Tonearm Tracking Force Scale

thingiverse

Things have gotten downright antiquated during this quarantine. Sourdough, marbles, now records - all relics of a bygone era. I unearthed my old records and turntable, only to realize I was flying blind without a way to measure the tonearm tracking force. I was merely eyeballing it (or should I say, earballing?), and turns out I was setting the bar way too low. No wonder other people's records sounded so much better than mine - my stylus would bounce every time someone let out a sneeze. Enter this simple yet effective balance. This is not a scientific endeavor; I'm not even sure how accurate it really is. I don't have a scale precise enough to measure fractions of grams, but if I did, I'd use it to calibrate my turntable! The weights do balance each other out, though. Cura informs me that each 1.0g "weight" uses one gram of filament when printed at 30% infill with two perimeters all over the place. The calculation here suggests that PLA is 1.24 grams per square centimeter. With a filament diameter of 1.75mm, that works out to be approximately 0.34 meters of filament per weight. Keep in mind this relies on your printer's calibration. Adjust as needed to suit your filament diameter and density. The complete file includes weights as follows: 1.00g x 2 0.50g x 1 0.25g x 1 (This weight is roughly between 0.2g and 0.3g, but I'm rounding for convenience's sake.) That will give you increments of 0.25g from 0.25g to 2.75g. Print more or fewer individual weights as you see fit. The infill and perimeters can be tweaked to suit your specialized weights. Remember, these weights are only as accurate as your printer. In the parlance of our times, they're good enough. The weights can be printed separately from the beam and fulcrum. I've printed the beam and fulcrum with as little as 5% fill without any issues, though rigidity and feel are better with more infill or perimeters. This scale and weights will at least get you in the right ballpark, even if it's not 100% accurate. I'm using it on my own stereo equipment, but no warranties express or implied - use it at your own judgment, responsibility, and risk. I'm not liable for miscalibrated turntables, ruined records, busted styli, damage to your home, or destroying the Rolls Royce in your garage.