veneering process of a 40 years old Pioneer PL-518 turntable 

Thanks:)

If You can find a proper piece of solid wood then it is absolutely the best solution You can get! But be careful with the the thickness of the wood and make sure that the wood is dry enough.

thanks a lot! And if You still thinking about veneering your speaker I can help and as You can see it is not a mission impossible:)

Have you figured out a way to clean it with out damaging the labels? Thx

You will loose the labels but it is not needed. It is just look cooler without labels. You will habve the pioneer logo int he front, and it is more than enough. But if You do have a friend eqiuped with a laser cnc - i got mine last summer - it is capable to do any labeling if You want.

@@goblinhungary nice!!!

No, the veneer should be as dry as possible, you are not supposed to use any softener. The glue soften up a bit the veneer temporarily and will bend the veneer but after 15-20 minutes the glue begins to dry and the veneer begins to unbend. But if you use softener, the veneer will dry out when it is glued to the mat and it will cause cracks in it.

I think You can use any d3 glue You prefer, it will work

What type of veneer did you use as mentioned in a comment below? Thanks and great job!@@goblinhungary

Hi, it was quite easy for the PL 518, I think it should not be difficult for the PL 550 neither though I do not know that model. Try to do some research in the Internet before, but at the end of the day I had to disconnected only one connector between the arm plate and the base, it is recommended to take a photo before disconnection to save the correct order of the cables on it, the socket has 5 or 6 cables in a row. The still photo was composed into the video in the disassembly part. The disassembly took about 10 minutes, and could be done lot faster but I did not want to sorry.

I have done both models. Not to scare you too much, but the 550 is far more difficult to disassemble.

Ok good to know. Would you have any suggestions that would make the PL550 dis/assembly easier?

@@jakeestok1233 You have to cut wires and re-solder them when putting it back together. There are many more moving parts to work around to disassemble. It's not impossible, but far more difficult than the 518. Take lots of pics while taking it apart so you can put it back together aagian.

Thanks @race funk

Hi, I have used some piece of folded papers fitted to the corners and the holes was marked with pencil on to them before I removed the old vinyl coating from the plinth. After that these can be used as templates when the veneering is done. You can see these paper templates in the video at around 8:52

Thank You for Your very useful comment. I am terribly sorry that I could not put a music as background that liked by EVERYONE.

@@goblinhungary This sh**-musik kills the whole clip; good restauration-job!

Yes, it is far from perfect, but I am not a woodworker just an it guy. I do not have professional tools and experience either, this was my first veneering. Since then I have created a pair if speakers that looks much greater though they are not perfect either. BUT it was worth for me, since now it looks better and it was done by me. Probably it is not a thing to others but it is a thing for me. I could put letters to it with a laser engraver I have but I prefer not to have any letters on it. Anyway, thanks for Your comment

​Can you tell us the thickness of the veneer used, please? @goblinhungary

Thanks a lot, I like this turntable model very much too!

Now in 2024 it's gonna be 488,52$

@@illia2492- and that's the on sale price.

Lol. I remember there was music in the background. I was so focus in the vid that totally forgot there was music playing. Still hood vid n

Hi, it is titebond blue but I don't think it does m matter, use any d3 glue you can

It is a different lid, it was replaced too

Thanks mate, I will check the SME headshell if I can buy somewhere

Yes but if I put the edges first, it is impossible to align the top to matching the patterns of the edges. Also, it is a very thin veneer and honestly there is no big chance to see the seams so no worries. But thanks for watching the video.

@@goblinhungary makes sense. Thanks for all your advice. Reading all the comments

Thanks, glad to hear it

Totally agreed with you. Question. How would you trim the edges ? Shaving it by hand with a trim tool or would you use a router with a flush trim with a bearing? Thanks. I am in the process to staff doing mine. But I don't wanna use tight bond glue. I like to use what the cabinet industry uses with the small hand roller To remove air and flatten the surface. Thanks

@@rsanchez7111 sorry for the late answer. The edges is done by sanding paper and smooth files, do not use cutter for doing it because the threads can lead them and make much more cut you need. The best thing is to use an edge router, but the sanding paper should do it as well. I have to use the router because I have oversanded one of the edges and I had to do a redo, this was not included in the video. Actually, this was my first veneering project, since then I have made a pair of speakers with a pair of a chinese full range drivers, and they looks much better. Also they sound marvelous too, but no video of making them, sorry. I wish because I could use some more of insane background music:)

@@goblinhungary thanks for the reply. I am about to do that. Purchase some wide enough American cherry. Music was ok. Thanks for all the advice. Great video.

@@rsanchez7111 Thanks a lot. I have seen a lot of inspiring videos before do this, and I am really glad to see if someone was inspired by my vid too. I wish You a good luck to proecess Your stuff, and please, do not hesitate to include any results or experiences here.

@@rsanchez7111 all good advice but...ugh, that music was just awful.

Thank You! The cartridge is an Ortofon 2M Red, but the headshell is a noname one from aliexpress, I received the turtable without headshell.

artham.hu

@@goblinhungary Thanks for the help!

Do you have the name of the guy in the US that does it?@@goblinhungary

Thanks a lot! The replacement cover was made by plexiglass by a small local company which creates pmma cabinets. Though there is a guy in America who creates exact copies of turntable covers made from acryl but doesn't ship to overseas.

@@goblinhungary can I ask how much would it cost a lid, approximately?

@@MARTIN201199 hi, mine was 25 000 forint, it is about 87 usd now. It was made by plexi.

@@goblinhungary thanks

Thanks, I am glad You liked both:)

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