Do you fancy bashing my stop ends if I post them with an SAE Jiffy bag and some steel balls?
What size silicon nitride balls do you have?
Well the whole set have been installed now (rather than just the 272), and all the glass upped to 10mm thick.
Compared to the original 8mm glass and 10mm dome nuts there is quite a significant improvement, not night and day, not as big a change as a full black box upgrade, more like the difference between MP3 and FLAC; so for less than £150 (both the glass and home made isolators) it’s something of a bargain upgrade.
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5mm diameter silicon nitride balls.
(And I’ve got 3 steel balls too of various larger sizes that I bought to make the dents).
Assuming the inner diameter of the recess in the brass you have is 23mm I’ll use my own 5/8" bearing steel ball to make the indentation as that way I can use the jig I made to hold the ball in place during the impact (thinking about it the fact that I’m using a relatively rigid jig may be the difference as to why I don’t get double dents!).
The recess in the brass I have is 4.3mm deep and the ‘dent’ is about 0.3mm deep (by 3.5mm diameter), so with 5mm balls you’ll only have about 0.4mm clearance between the rim and the glass. You’ll need to ensure that the brass cups sit level, you won’t have much tolerance in the leveling.
Thanks Xanthe.
I have “28MM COMPRESSION FITTING BRASS BLANKING DISCS” from Fleabay shop wwltd7779 based in WESTON SUPER MARE.
Before I ordered them the supplier told me that: “The base is 3 1/2 mm thick and the height of the rim is 3 1/2 mm”.
By deduction, that means that the 5mm balls should stick up 1.5mm above the rim - and indeed they appear to do so.
The balls and stop ends are in my office, and I will not be there until Wednesday morning, so cannot measure them until then to be sure.
I imagine that the rim is about 2.5mm thick, which again by deduction would mean that the inner diameter of the recess in the brass is about 23mm.
If that all checks out, would it be ok to post them to you with an SAE?
I would be extremely grateful, and will not worry if it doesn’t work out for some reason (e.g. they are hard for me to level), as the brass cups are not really expensive at all, so I can just try again if it doesn’t work.
If you confirm that’s all good, I’ll ask Richard for your contact details.
Best wishes
Jim
In terms of exchange of details, I’ll post a temporary (24hour) email address here then we can exchange proper email addresses.
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Hi Xanthe
Thank you.
Jim
Hi Xanthe
I have been in London to see the Brad Mehldau Trio.
Excellent gig.
I do not have a smartphone, so have only been able to check this site occasionally to look for that 24 hour email.
If poss, please let me know when you’re planning to post that.
Thanks
Jim
Hi Xanthe
Yes, the inner diameter of the recess in the brass cups is 23mm.
It’s hard to measure exactly, but the recess in the brass seems to be 4.0mm deep.
So if you make dents about 0.3mm deep, then the 5mm balls I’ve bought should stand up above the rim by about 0.7mm.
That should be fine after levelling.
(Anyway, if it doesn’t work I can either get some larger diameter silicon nitride balls or get more brass cups and try and different method of denting them).
Thanks
Jim
Hi @anon77199223,
Sorry it’s taken some time, it’s been a crazy few weeks. Anyway here’s the temp e-mail address:
uywu@fls4.gleeze.com
Send me an email address and I’ll send you my real e-mail then we can exchange snail-mail addresses.
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Hi Xanthe
Thanks for all the details you’ve posted. I’m taking the plunge, my current setup has the hifi on a large wooden entertainment cabinet so I think it will benefit quite a bit from some isolation. I’m in Melbourne, and found a local supplier for 40 x grade 10 silicon nitride balls and local glazer for 10 mm toughened glass willing to do a deal. However the plumbing supplies come with $200 delivery fee, so I jumped onto a site and ordered a bunch of 3 mm X 16mm hexagons used as jewellery blanks, they don’t have sides so I’ll need to be careful during placement, hopefully that will be ok. I’ll sand the bottom of the bronze after I dent the tops. Looking forward to it!
I think I will have plenty of spares if anyone else is in Melbourne, please reach out
The problem there is that if the ball gets pushed out of the recess, there’s nothing to then stop it from rolling all the way off the bronze disk (and taking the glass and the audio component with it)!
You may like to get some pipe or pipe fittings (plastic or copper will do) that fits around the hexagons and cut short sections with a length of about 2.5mm + the diameter of the nitride balls. This will keep your audio component much safer.
Yes I have more disks than I need so I might drill a big hole in the middle of some of the spares and create a sandwich to retain the ball in the middle of the dent - It might look quite good !
That’d work! I like that idea.
I hope you are well Jim 
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It’s beautiful day here.
Clear blue sky, brilliant sunshine.
We’re about to go en famille by bikes to the seaside at Morecambe!
Hope you’re well too, FR
Very best wishes
Jim
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All ok here too. Nice day but cold and windy. Enjoy
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There’s been a bit further delay with this coronavirus thing, I’m working with the local community to support people who are even more vulnerable and can’t get out (or are reliant on public transport), to keep them well and provide mental / emotional support. I have specific training for that role, but I’m also having to completely revise my telecoms arrangement at home so I can continue to do the voluntary work from home - there are vulnerable people who rely on the service we provide, and I can’t let them down, virus or no virus.
In addition I’m arranging (OK, making!) a supply of modified WHO Formulation II antiviral handrub for the local community; and operating as the local technology repair man… I’m trying to repair a laptop for some people who have family in Germany and need it to get in touch with them, and also repairing two 3d printers for someone who owns a small business and is dependent on the printers!
All this has brewed up in the last few days: I’m as busy now as before I “retired”: I’m no longer sure what that word’s supposed to mean!
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Hi Xanthe
Wow - that sounds hectic.
My life has transformed too.
I am having to conduct all my teaching online, which has meant reorganizing undergrad and postgrad modules on the hoof, and working with my PhD researcher remotely.
My wife’s job has stopped and we are home schooling our 3 kids.
And I’m creating home offices for everyone, and exercise programs.
And working with my sister to help our parents self isolate.
So the shelf isolation is approximately item number 374 on my priority list at the moment!
Cheers
Jim