Through the generosity of a fellow AKer (Thanks a million Justen!), I recently came into possession of a very nice little Dual 1215 - "Hardly Used" would be my description as everything about it looks clean and well maintained. Spins fine once I figured out that the start/stop lever had disconnected from the pin under the plinth rendering it permanently in auto-function limbo, and sorted that out. However I can hear a slight speed fluctuation occasionally, as well as some motor whine, and was wondering what the proper lubrication materials would be, and a general idea of where to apply them?

Any and all knowledgable help appreciated - Fotno

for a number of items:

* Motor rebuilds: Actually, its not that bad but this is important. Odds are on that the shafts that support the armature have become clogged with dust and old oil. You can easily disassemble the motor, cleaning out the grunge in the bearings. Be aware that you don't want to soak the scintered bearing races just clean them out. Get that armature spinning freely, put some light-weight oil on the bearings and let it go.

* The trip pawl that starts the auto-return mechanism: This will likely have grunge in it, too. You should be able to test it with the platter removed and gently rotating the plastic gear by hand until it comes into sight in the hole where the spindle comes through the metal base.

* Shorting relay contacts and contacts in the headshell: These will have corroded over time and need to be cleaned. I'd suggest DeOxit or similar contact cleaner.

* While I don't recommend you mess with them, examine the pivot points on the gimbal of the tonearm and make sure there's no slop or play in them. I used to see problems there with looseness if the table had sustained having something dropped on it. Oh, and fabricate some sort of dust cover if you can.

* Lastly, any paste-type grease blobs on the underside should be removed and replaced. There were a number of them at specific lube points. One big one is the bearing race that supports the platter. Clean that stuff out and replace it with fresh grease. Under no circumstances should you use graphite of similar moly 'dry-type' lube. This stuff migrates all over the place.

Please know that I'm working from almost 30 years of memory - I did all this while a bench tech in the 70s - a time not unknown for the availability of chemicals that affects memory :smoke: . Still, these were well-engineered tables and are worth the time needed to get them right before you render opinions of their merits.

Cheers,

David

Tore down the motor and spindle assembly as you suggested David, cleaned and applied some light machine oil... Speed stabilized now and functioning nicely. I'm holding off on greasing the points you suggested until I hear back on an proper grease to use. Everything I have on hand is likely far too thick (automotive stuff only), so I didn't want to use it and screw anything up.

Thanks so much for the help - Fotno

This may help:

Dual Lubrication link (http://dual-reference.com/Troubles/1200lube.htm)

I have found that common 3-in-1 oil dries out and leaves a crud over long periods.

An excellent light oil for this purpose is Break Free CLP.

For grease, use white Lubriplate.

Thanks all, that'll get me sorted out... Much appreciated!

try some sewing machine oil.

One thing about Duals . . . before you lubricate with whatever grease to elect to use, you need to remove the original lubricants by scraping or application of solvents.

The old lubricants gradually change into bubble-gum.

Check the cuing to make sure it has the proper drop speed. Look closely at the speed selector assembly and associated pivots to the front left. It is often good to resurface the idler wheel with rubber restorer.

There is a long lever assembly that pivots on a bearing near the cycling cam. At one end it goes to the start/stop lever assembly. At the other, it turns the motor switch on and off. Near the middle, it fits into a notch in the cam. This gets sticky on the pivot bearing. Important to repair this, as the machine may have trouble turning on and off.

Go to http://www.turntableexperts.com for parts.

Fred Longworth
StereoTech Classic Audio Repair
http://www.repairaudio.com

I have to ask the question - is it a 1215 or a 1215-S? The 1215-S is a respectable Dual - at the entry level. The 1215 has a poor tonearm. The 1215-S is worth saving. The 1215 is not.

As to previous comments -

1. Lubriplate? - ONLY a small amount on the clutch plate face. No where else.

2. General lubrication? a high speed machine oil that doesn't attract dirt or dust.

3. Tonearm cueing damping? DO NOT ATTEMPT to repair. You need to know what you are doing because you need to partially disassemble the tonearm to properly access the components. AND - this "paste" that damps the tonearm isn't exactly at the corner store.

Not trying to scare you, but don't want to see this in the dumpster either.

bohhey






























s

Good question Bohhey (it's a 1215-S) - And as far as scaring me off, not gonna happen... After my career of electrical, plumbing, automotive, carpentry and "jack of all trades" repairs, there's very little that frightens me. Aggravates me mebbe, but it doesn't scare me :)

I think when I originally posted this question I didn't stress nearly enough how clean this TT really is. The idler wheel appears to be in like-new condition also. There's not a scratch on it, it's just dry. I think with fresh lubrication in place that it'll function perfectly and it sounds terrific. The cueing lever drops the needle nice, slow and steady.

Here's a couple pics to show what I mean about it being a sweet and clean TT, excuse my lovely piece of plywood on the top of the rack... It ain't purty, but it works.

oops - my bad. On the cueing, it's the older style that is damped in the down mode only. The silicone paste tends to last much longer in this type - you DON'T have to partially disassemble the tonearm to get at it - it's in that round "disc" next to the cueing arm pivot. But again, it's probably all right. The 1215-S is definitely a worthy machine. A very similiar tonearm to the 1209 (main difference is in the horizontal bearing races - the 1209 has seven bearings top and bottom, the 1215-S has 5). Other than that, it is basically the same "under the hood". The platter is stamped steel at 3.5 pounds, rather than cast metal at four pounds on the 1209. It's a twim sister the the 1216, except for the platter & silver paint on the function control handles. Again, a worthy machine. It does not have the plastic "clutch" tips that wear out. As long as the old grease is removed, it should function properly. I've always felt that in auto start mode, it dropped a little fast - no adjustment for that.

The old grease is gone (93% IP and careful, gentle scrubbing with swabs) and only a minimum of dis-assembly. Shoo that stuff is gummy! New grease on (white lithium), and lighter lubrication at all the recommended points.

The platter would spin freely about four or five full revolutions before halting pre-lubing, and for over a minute afterwords. Says a lot about that bearing surface huh? Thought about using a sewing machine oil, but settled on reel oil instead, as it's still a light high speed oil but seems to remain where you put it lots better than others I might have tried. Not to mention it comes in a nifty pen applicator :). She spins up to speed consistently, and super quick (Dbl checked platter with a strobe disc) and happily spinning Joni Mitchell as I write this. All in all, a dang decent table!

Thanks for all the help and advice fellows, I couldn't have done it without you!

Glad to hear all is well with it! Now play something Mrs Fotno likes... I'm on her sh^t list for giving it to you!

Glad to hear all is well with it! Now play something Mrs Fotno likes... I'm on her sh^t list for giving it to you!

Naah, she just likes to make out like she's P.O'd... If she were really upset at the audio gear, I'd of been listening to it in the dog-house with Tucker, and all he likes is Quiet Riot!

It's working great Justen, thanks man, I owe you big time...