Help me, coming unglued

[JohnMichael]

My Rega sounds great when the double sided pads are holding the motor in place. The area where the motor mounts is dry and porous and the pad does not maintain contact. I thought I should apply a light coating of Elmer's wood glue to give a better surface for the pad to adhere. Please let me know if this is a good idea or you have a better one. I was worried about the soldering but the real problem is getting the pad to hold the motor. Thanks for any advice.

[Feanor]

My Rega sounds great when the double sided pads are holding the motor in place. The area where the motor mounts is dry and porous and the pad does not maintain contact. I thought I should apply a light coating of Elmer's wood glue to give a better surface for the pad to adhere. Please let me know if this is a good idea or you have a better one. I was worried about the soldering but the real problem is getting the pad to hold the motor. Thanks for any advice.

Try a small amount silicone cement; leave the top off the player for a couple of days so that trapped vapours will be minimal. Wood glue is good for wood and maybe paper, cardboard but nothing else.

Silicone cement has notoriously been used by some commercial component makers instead of brackets & screws for some applications. E.g. Blue Circle Audio did this a lot at one time, but they were so ridiculed that I think they stopped the practice.

[JohnMichael]

Thanks I will look into it. I will still need to use the pad as this is part of setting the height of the pulley and I think for vibrational reduction. The particle board surface is rough and the pad will not stick but it sticks fine to the motor.

I am not sure if I would call it particle board as we think of it today. The wood surface looks more like bonded chips of wood. I just want to make a surface that the pad will adhere to for years and not just days.

[Feanor]

Thanks I will look into it. I will still need to use the pad as this is part of setting the height of the pulley and I think for vibrational reduction. The particle board surface is rough and the pad will not stick but it sticks fine to the motor.

I am not sure if I would call it particle board as we think of it today. The wood surface looks more like bonded chips of wood. I just want to make a surface that the pad will adhere to for years and not just days.

Yep, a good silicone adhesive should do the trick .. I'm talkin' about this sort of stuff ...

[blackraven]

Bonded chips of wood is called wafer board which is a type of particle board. It is wood chips bonded together with a phenolic resin. You might try epoxy, silicone or liquid nails.

[JohnMichael]

One thing I should clarify is that I want to prepare the surface so the pad supplied by Rega will stick. I am not looking to glue the pad to the base or glue the motor to the base without the pad. I want it to work as close as possible to Rega's engineering. I think if the surface is treated then the pad will work as expected.

[Feanor]

One thing I should clarify is that I want to prepare the surface so the pad supplied by Rega will stick. I am not looking to glue the pad to the base or glue the motor to the base without the pad. I want it to work as close as possible to Rega's engineering. I think if the surface is treated then the pad will work as expected.

It's clear that you want to continued to use the pad. Do you know why the pad quit sticking? What's wrong with the surface that it needs to be "prepared"?

If you use a fairly thin film of silicone to the bottom of the pad, the pad will adhere to the base almost regardless of either's surface condition provided neither is greasy and there are no loose particles or dust. Silicone cement adheres to almost any clean surface, and is strong, flexible, and permanent.

[JohnMichael]

It's clear that you want to continued to use the pad. Do you know why the pad quit sticking? What's wrong with the surface that it needs to be "prepared"?

If you use a fairly thin film of silicone to the bottom of the pad, the pad will adhere to the base almost regardless of either's surface condition provided neither is greasy and there are no loose particles or dust. Silicone cement adheres to almost any clean surface, and is strong, flexible, and permanent.

The pad stopped sticking because I do not think pads made from double sided tapes stick well to old wafer board or particle board. The pad sets the height of the pulley in relation to the subplatter. I do not think I could attain the propper height with silicone seal. I just talked to a phone tech who works with double faced tape and he shared never having luck with wood. He thought my thin coat of wood glue and allowed to dry will give me the type of surface I need. Thanks all for the suggestions.

[JohnMichael]

Last night I applied the thin layer of wood glue and now it is smooth and shiny. The new pad when it arrives should adhere nicely.

Here is the area with the old pad.

[Feanor]

Last night I applied the thin layer of wood glue and now it is smooth and shiny. The new pad when it arrives should adhere nicely.

Here is the area with the old pad.

Hope it works, JM.

Your pic does help clarify the issue. Smoothing the rough particle board surface ought to improve the sticky pad adherence. Strange design though. Sticky pads are a some-time thing; a "solution" that will predictably fail over time.

[JohnMichael]

Hope it works, JM.

Your pic does help clarify the issue. Smoothing the rough particle board surface ought to improve the sticky pad adherence. Strange design though. Sticky pads are a some-time thing; a "solution" that will predictably fail over time.

The pads are working well on cuurent Rega ttables. My table being 14 years old my wood is brittle, dry and old.