How can I fix a snapped aluminium tube?

[Jordan Blake]

Hi,

The picture below shows a snapped aluminium rod on a turntable. It is very expensive to replace so what would be the best way to make a repair job. Thanks

100_6943

• Jordan Blake
• 13 Aug 2016

 

[Burnerman]

A difficult one especially where excess weight is an issue but there's no way you could butt joint those ends together.
You'd need to sleeve the break with either a sleeve of tubing on the outside or a sleeve on the inside....epoxy resin glue would take care of the join.
Naturally the wires would need to be dealt with, and replaced after the repair.
John

 

[Careful_Bodger]

Epoxy putty might work, and be less messy than resin. More putty could even be formed into a counterbalance, if required. I've used the kind that comes in blister pack 'doses'.

 

[lostinthelight]

From the picture it looks very clean for a break and appears to have a tapered lead. I know pics can be a bit misleading, but has it snapped or one piece disengaged from the other?
litl

 

[jj4091]

From the picture it looks very clean for a break and appears to have a tapered lead. I know pics can be a bit misleading, but has it snapped or one piece disengaged from the other?
litl

That is the impression I get also.

 

[Nozzle]

There looks to be a machined groove on the end of the piece that goes to the foreground on the picture, and I wonder if the break point is another machined grove that has been fatigued/twisted making it look like a nice clean break. (The same way a tin can lid pulls off where the lid is scored). What is the diameter of the rod? I'll bet if you go into a model shop you can see a rack of brass and aluminium sections and there might be either the right diameter for an entire replacement or for an internal or external sleeve. A good blob of epoxy resin added to the sleve would help but it is brittle and messy to work with. You're going to have to work on the balance of the thing overall else it will wear your vinyls!

Nozzle

 

[Jordan Blake]

There looks to be a machined groove on the end of the piece that goes to the foreground on the picture, and I wonder if the break point is another machined grove that has been fatigued/twisted making it look like a nice clean break. (The same way a tin can lid pulls off where the lid is scored). What is the diameter of the rod? I'll bet if you go into a model shop you can see a rack of brass and aluminium sections and there might be either the right diameter for an entire replacement or for an internal or external sleeve. A good blob of epoxy resin added to the sleve would help but it is brittle and messy to work with. You're going to have to work on the balance of the thing overall else it will wear your vinyls!

Nozzle

Yes , it is a machined groove and it arrived like this in transit, strange for a record player to have such a thin tonearm. I will see what I can do. The way the tonearm is assembled it is not possible to replace just the rod and a new tonearm is about £80!

 

[bernardgreen]

Yes , it is a machined groove and it arrived like this in transit,

If new and it arrived unfit for purpose then you can request a replacement from the supplier and the delivery service should be contacted regarding compensation for damage in transit.

All the expense of replacement is to the supplier and / or the delivery service.

 

[Jordan Blake]

Yes , it is a machined groove and it arrived like this in transit,

If new and it arrived unfit for purpose then you can request a replacement from the supplier and the delivery service should be contacted regarding compensation for damage in transit.

All the expense of replacement is to the supplier and / or the delivery service.

It was used, but the seller refunded me and told me I can keep it. I have purchased a replacement turntable but might as well repair the damaged one too.

 

[jj4091]

Can you wrap a jubilee clip around it or would the extra weight be a problem? The high torque type are wider than normal ones.

 

[Nozzle]

Or you could do something with hot plastic plastic internally and heat-shink/splinting externally to keep it square while it sets. Or somethig like this
http://www.orthotape.com/fix-it-wrap-fixit-fiberfix-fiberglass-repair-tape.asp

Nozzle

 

[JohnD]

most of the suggestions you've had would be horrible.

It looks from here like a straight piece of alloy tube.

If you can measure it accurately, perhaps you can get a short length of tube with an i.d. the same as the o.d. of yours. Depending on how close a fit it is, you could either warm it to expand, or smear with Araldite or similar, and slip it over the two ends as a splint.

 

[Burnerman]

The conventional way is to produce an inner sleeve, as I mentioned earlier. That way, the repair isn't even visible.
John

 

[ntb]

Pretty pointless to repair it if you are in any way bothered about sound quality. The bearings in the arm may well have been damaged too given the force that must have been applied to break the arm.