From an aesthetic point of view this was one of the more important tasks. I’d bought some iron on Zebrano wood veneer some years back which had – despite the warnings on the packaging – been stored in the garage.
The original plinth was in poor condition, bashed, cracked and worn, so the only option is to re veneer.
I started by filling in the worst of the lumps, especially in the corners. Then the plan was to spray the inside with Plasti Dip a noise and vibration retarding spray. Not sure how much of a difference it’ll make but it can’t harm, and it’ll also make the platter look better for the black faceplate.
The re-veneer the plinth itself. The plan was to cut the panels – starting from the front – and work towards the back. Each panel was 2-4mm oversized so that I could get the edges perfect when I sanded it back.
I used an ordinary iron on a medium heat with a sheet of paper to protect the wood. The veneer worked a treat, once hot the glue compressed onto the plinth, then it was a question of taking care and getting it to lay flat. Occasionally it didn’t but it was easy enough to apply heat and a little pressure to those sections.
This attracted lots of interest from our cat Claude who wanted to get into the action!
Tip - if you’re using the original lid and that’s a bit tight as the plinth is now 2-3 mm larger than it was, mark where the holes for lid holding pins are before putting veneer on the top side or back. Use a HB pencil and a ruler to show where the hole is and use a pin to push through the veneer.
Then using a course sandpaper 300 grit to start and 800 grit to finish, smoothing the edges. Time consuming but satisfying. Overall, I’m pleased with the result and the plinth looks more Linn than Thorens. The completed plinth was given a coat of teak oil to bring out the grain of the wood.
The turntable lid rest (the aluminium strip on the front of the turntable) was sprayed black to match the black/wood/chrome colour palate.
The baseboard was made from 18mm MDF with 10mm slots cut for the power and Audio cables. Use a 2mm drill for the corner screws guides. This was sprayed with Plasti Dip to give it further soundproofing and fit with the black/wood/chrome colour palate.
Small, black adjustable feet (another ebay purchase) were then added to complete the plinth.
To date I’m still working on the plinth lid – more to follow.
Until then enjoy your vinyl.
Other blogs in this series.
Refurbishing a Thorens TD160 – An impulse Purchase
Refurbishing a Thorens TD160 – Soundproofing the Chassis
Refurbishing a Thorens TD160 – Soundproofing the Platter and Sub-platter
Refurbishing a Thorens TD160 – Repurposing the faceplate
Refurbishing a Thorens TD160 - The Finished Turntable