Some Empire Turntable History

I bought my first turntable in 1970 while in high school, with money earned working in a bicycle shop after school. It was in the Empire base for years, then when I had a cabinet made for stereo equipment I mounted the 598 directly to it after making a template from my Empire base. A few years ago we moved, and the 598 went back into the original base. Almost. Life kept putting things in the way but I finally sat down to reassemble the thing. Years ago I bought a couple of spare cables and belts from Lyle, along with an extra cartridge bracket and a new needle for the 1000ZEX. I got new motor bushings a couple of years ago, they have been waiting patiently, ready to do their job.
I’m stuck trying to figure out how the ground wire is supposed to run. I’ve made it through the first 30 pages of this thread, and tried searching but I can not find a picture taken from below, showing how the wiring runs from the motor to the capacitor and switch. The ground wire from the motor has a round terminal at about its midpoint that I think should go on a chassis-to-base bolt, and there is a cable clamp that seems to want to be there as well. Does any one have a photo ? Or a simple description?
While I am asking questions, are these four mounting bolts 10-32? I’m not sure where the nuts & washers ended up…
 
Well. after staring at the screen for hours till my eyeballs ache, and going down a million Google rabbit-holes, a search for "delrayaudiosales" (the guy who sometimes lists tonearm cables on Ebay) elicited a plethora of 598 chassis photos!Empire_398_with_980_arm_5_1024x1024.jpgblog-Empire 598 III Turntable w 4000D II Cartridge32.jpgimages-2.jpegimages.jpeg
 
Arrgghh! I replaced the motor grommets, cleaned the platter and bearing well with ETOH, lightly lubed the shaft and spun the platter. I hear an intermittent scraping or grinding sound. The platter does not seem to be rubbing anywhere, no obvious corrosion or gunk on the shaft or visible in the well.
What is going on? It never did this before (it has been unused for five years or so)
 
...cleaned the platter and bearing well with ETOH...

That might be the issue. The bearing well contains 2 Oilite self-lubricating bearings. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oilite) This is mentioned in the instruction book with warnings to not add lubricant to the well, the idea being that adding oil might gum up the already oil filled bearings. Conversely, washing the well out with the ethanol might have stripped the bearings of their impregnation of lubricant. Not sure what you can do about that.

Do you hear the scraping if you run the turntable without the trim ring and platter mat? If you do, I'd wager it's the bearings. If not, the issue is the platter trim ring. I'd triple check to see if it isn't scraping anywhere. Take off the speed cover plate. If the grinding disappears, and reappears if you put the speed cover trim plate back on, the suspension is out of balance and level and needs to be retuned.
 
BTW what is the threaded bit (looks like a coax male connector) atop the starter cap ?
It's just a screw thread, presumably for a purpose unconnected with Empire's use of that particular cap in the turntable.
 
I was certain I had routed the motor wires well away from the platter, but somehow the ground wire was touching just barely. No more noise.
Also found some knurled knuts (and washers & allthread) that I must have bought from Turntable Basics about a hundred years ago when I got the mirror cartridge alignment gauge.
 
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"Conversely, washing the well out with the ethanol might have stripped the bearings of their impregnation of lubricant"
But I only had it in the parts washer for a couple of days, that should not cause any trouble….
Actually I used a swab just moistened with alcohol to wipe the well, it came up clean. I used an alcohol wipe to remove some of the belt detritus from the platter. This would be more of a cosmetic issue on the earlier models, on my 598 the belt is out of sight, so I didn’t spend a lot of time trying to make it pristine.
 
I may end up getting a 398. but with no belt cover and counterweight . How scarce are these missing parts? Thank you in advance

9C449584-477D-476A-BE06-FD0C859EA01A.jpeg
 
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Given the cosmetic condition of this 398 (including engraved number) it better be really inexpensive. Does it include the the phono cartridge mount in the arm?

That said, counterweights for the 980 arm are sometimes seen on the Bay. However, be sure that the counterweight is for the 980 arm and not the 98. They are not the same.

I would like to discourage you from looking for the belt cover -- I'm looking for one myself! Again, they, too, sometimes show up on the Bay.
 
Hi John.

The inscription isn’t permanent. Table can be cleaned up. I figured I’d take the risk on this table for a Couple of Jackson’s
 
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Empire Tonearm cables & EBY 5Pin miniplugs.jpg
Ah, the mystery and magic of Empire tonearm cables! The middle cable, I think came with the table when I bought it in ’69 or ’70. I have a few more like this, two of which have failed. The one on the left may have come from Lyle after Empire shut down? The fat guy with the copper-coloured pins came from Ebay at some point, I’ve never used it. In front are a couple of "EBY" 5 pin Hammond-Leslie type mini-plugs. These fit the tonearm base nicely, though they are lacking unobtainium pins and might not pass muster with an "Absolute Sound" tester….
 
So, the 598 was a three speed turntable, the 598-II (mine) plays at 33 and 45 rpm (more or less;) )
- what was different? I assume the third speed was 78 and not 16.5, is there a way to modify a 598II to allow it to play 78s?
 
So, the 598 was a three speed turntable, the 598-II (mine) plays at 33 and 45 rpm (more or less;) )
- what was different?
As far as I've ever been able to tell, just the pulley on the motor, the strobe ring, and...on some late II models before the "III" designation...the absence of the pop-up 45 adapter in favor of the reversible disc one.
I assume the third speed was 78 and not 16.5, is there a way to modify a 598II to allow it to play 78s?
Yes, the third speed was 78.26RPM. And it always seemed like the "block" step on the pulley below the 45RPM step could be ground to become a 78 pulley step, but I didn't have any luck when I tried it. (But, then again, all I had at the time was a simple, well used and probably dull b@stard file, which didn't cut into the pulley at all.)
 
does anyone know if the empire 4000Diii stylus ever came with an "empire" sticker on the front, stylus guard?

I have only ever seen the molded text with gold paint. But I bought one recently and it looks like a dot matrix printout, on a sticker. but the stylus looks like a 4000 Diii

strange
 
As far as I've ever been able to tell, just the pulley on the motor, the strobe ring, and...on some late II models before the "III" designation...the absence of the pop-up 45 adapter in favor of the reversible disc one.

Yes, the third speed was 78.26RPM. And it always seemed like the "block" step on the pulley below the 45RPM step could be ground to become a 78 pulley step, but I didn't have any luck when I tried it. (But, then again, all I had at the time was a simple, well used and probably dull b@stard file, which didn't cut into the pulley at all.)
So all I need is an NOS 598 "I" Pabst motor with the three-step pulley?
Great! Which vendor has the best price this week?
 
I know there was mention above about washing oilites too clean and then no longer holding oil - NO WORRIES.
Oilites, being very porous (made from sintered bronze) will re-absorb oil fairly quickly - but need to be soaked in oil to do so.

I used to use oilites frequently and had to -remove- oil from them, in order to solder them in place. The oil removal was done by heating to a fairly high temperature and “smoking off” the oil. Just soaking in solvent would never remove all the oil that was in those oilites, so I’m sure that flushing the 598’s bushings will still leave some oil in ‘em too. Just re-soak them again, and you’re good. I’ve been using automotive 5w-50 synthetic in mine without issue.
 
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Can someone tell me if I remove the Phillips screws from the hinges on my 598 (the part mounted to the “backsplash”) will the hinges simply come off? Thinking of just resting the dust cover on the unit when not in use and removing when I use it. Figured this might save some where on the plexiglass joints of the dustcover from opening and closing.
The Philips screws you mention were, ISTR, cross-drilled and pinned at the factory. If you search this thread there are posts on this topic suggesting that these are best left alone. Trying to turn the screw without removing the pin will shear the screw off. I am no expert - search this thread and you will find advice from those who are.
 
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