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Old 4th May 2021, 8:19 am   #1
oldbury863
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Default Budget turntable mat

Faced with the prospect of paying £35 for a new mat on my BSR UA16 turntable I started to look at alternatives......What I opted for was an IKEA 'PANNA' table placemat that cost the sum of £1.50! The mat is far larger than required at 37cm but by using a pair of sharp pointed dividers, a stanley knife blade and some wet and dry paper I ended up with something that I am very pleased with. I will attach it with a few of dabs of silicon sealant. Yes, it took some time but that is something I have plenty of
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Old 4th May 2021, 8:31 am   #2
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Default Re: Budget turntable mat

Excellent job. I love these kind of fixes, well especially done that well.
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Old 4th May 2021, 9:00 am   #3
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Default Re: Budget turntable mat

Fantastic ! looks like it is original, well done finding that , I can see Ikea having a run on these, Mick.
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Old 4th May 2021, 9:14 am   #4
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Default Re: Budget turntable mat

Brilliant! Really looks the part with those radial "spokes".
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Old 4th May 2021, 9:23 am   #5
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Default Re: Budget turntable mat

An excellent find. At that price you can have a couple of goes at cutting it before getting a good result. I bet it was difficult to get it looking so "machine made"
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Old 4th May 2021, 11:22 am   #6
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Default Re: Budget turntable mat

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Originally Posted by PaulR View Post
An excellent find. At that price you can have a couple of goes at cutting it before getting a good result. I bet it was difficult to get it looking so "machine made"
I suppose you can place it on the turntable and sand the edge as it turns at 78 rpm?!
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Old 4th May 2021, 11:42 am   #7
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Default Re: Budget turntable mat

That looks brilliant.

If you were inclined to do so, you could easily sell these on eBay etc.

Well done, and thanks for sharing.
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Old 4th May 2021, 11:49 am   #8
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Default Re: Budget turntable mat

Looks like a Bang and Olufsen ! Well done.
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Old 4th May 2021, 12:02 pm   #9
kirstyd
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Default Re: Budget turntable mat

I'm off to IKEA
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Old 4th May 2021, 12:06 pm   #10
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Default Re: Budget turntable mat

What a good spot and excellent job! Really good to know of an alternative that really looks the part!
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Old 4th May 2021, 1:08 pm   #11
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Default Re: Budget turntable mat

It looks the biz!

So just nip over to a high end hifi natter group and gush a bit about its sonic superiority, and the job's a good 'un.

David
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Old 4th May 2021, 1:09 pm   #12
oldbury863
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Default Re: Budget turntable mat

Thanks for all of the positive feedback! Having scored the outer line first with the dividers, I then kept the mat pinned down to the bench and rotated it bit by bit whilst cutting it with the blade. It has to be done gently and dont attempt to cut too deep with each cut as too much tugging will stretch the mat and result in a series of straight line cuts instead of a circle. Only once the outer was satisfactory did I turn to the inside cut as by then I would have lost the 'centre'. I wont pretend that it was quick or easy but what did I have to lose?
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Old 4th May 2021, 1:23 pm   #13
Edward Huggins
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Default Re: Budget turntable mat

Maybe it was also tricky to locate the actual dead centre of the disc where the spindle goes?
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Old 4th May 2021, 4:39 pm   #14
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Default Re: Budget turntable mat

Thank you for the information and well done looks really good. I like the suggestion that Stevehertz made, I might have a go.
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Old 4th May 2021, 5:22 pm   #15
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Default Re: Budget turntable mat

Quote:
Originally Posted by Edward Huggins View Post
Maybe it was also tricky to locate the actual dead centre of the disc where the spindle goes?
Shouldn’t have been too hard. Extend them and it’s where the radial lines meet in the middle.
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Old 4th May 2021, 5:48 pm   #16
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Default Re: Budget turntable mat

Quote:
just nip over to a high end hifi natter group and gush a bit about its sonic superiority, and the job's a good 'un.
That would never work, far too cheap. I wonder if just making a central hole and letting the outside droop a bit would be a better acoustic solution?

Back on topic...
That does fit the bill very well, as is said in the south west "proper job"!
 
Old 5th May 2021, 12:04 pm   #17
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Default Re: Budget turntable mat

You could repackage them as is, and say that they are originally intended for professional use, possibly on EMT turntables with 16" tonearms, but can easily be cut to size for home hifi use. For this to work, they need to be priced right, at say £75 each.
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Old 5th May 2021, 12:34 pm   #18
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Default Re: Budget turntable mat

If the material is soft, then it is unlikely that a stylus would be damaged by landing on it.
The same could not be said about hard rubber mats with radials, probably the reason most are flat or use concentric circles. I have used a 7" metal tape spool as a cutting template with the hole in the reel as centre - a small sticky label can be placed on the mat and insert a felt pen in the reel hole to mark centre.
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Old 5th May 2021, 12:59 pm   #19
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Default Re: Budget turntable mat

This is the perfect fix for all those turntables with rotted or missing mats.

It may be worthwhile laying in a stock, while they're available. Ikea have a habit of running things for a while and then dropping them without any warning.

David
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Old 26th May 2021, 8:33 pm   #20
kirstyd
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Default Re: Budget turntable mat

I bought 10 of these and will be getting more before they stop selling them. Thank you Oldbury 863 for bringing them to our attention. So far i have done two Collaros and a BSR and am delighted with the results .All I would say is don't draw on them with a pencil it's a Br to get off
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