VPI HW 19 - replacing springs with pucks or cones

Ok, I knew there had to be some official name, but for us plain folks, can we call them noodles ?? What color did you pick ?

Seriously, the only question I had is how to accurately cut them each to the exact length ?

yeah Opal inquiring minds wanna know, I'm at this very stage
with my MK 4.Right now it has the VPI sourced sorbothane pucks (if you wanna call them that) they're more like mush now,from the weight of the platter. Need an option for this I really am leaning toward maple ...uhhhh PUCKS! as they'll be a better match for this platter.Does anyone have any ideas as to what height they must be? as vpi states in the literature that you need 3/16 of depth from the top of the base...

thanks

I wound up using packing material made up of the same stuff as the noodles.
I cut it up very carefully with a large, sharp kitchen knife and had to cut quite a lot of pieces before I got enough of them to be exactly the same height. Getting things level was the most tedious part. I placed them on my wall mounted shelf and rested the plynth on them , not between the plynth and base so they wound being 3.5" high. If you don't have the SAMA this is also good way to isolate the plynth from the motor. If you want them between the plynth and base, I think around 1.25 inch tall should be high enough. Give it a try. It's cheap, and only takes a few hours.

Another thing you may want to try instead of the sorbothane is Navcom.
I beleive this was VPI's original replacement for the springs, and when this was no longer available they touted the sorbo. Hunters use it to dampen vibrations on their riffles and arrows, They're sold as Sims Limbsavers and are available at:

http://www.cabelas.com

Can the rifle dampeners be just dropped in place on the 4 corners of the base of my HW-19 mkII? I just added a Superplatter and SAMA and VPI suggested the noodles but I'm having trouble finding the right size diameter noodle. If the rifle dampeners could be used as a drop-in, and were just as/more effective ,I'd just go that route. Any experience with this?

Mred,
I have'nt tried the NAVCOM [rifle dampeners, limb savers] material yet. Just threw that out there as a suggestion hoping someone had and would comment on it. My guess is that you would have to cut them down too, but give the vendor a call. Maybe they can give you the dimensions. You also may want to try those scientific supply places.
I'm quite happy with the noodle material right now, nice improvement over the sorbothane, so I did'nt pursue it [Navcom] any further.
The nice thing about the noodle material besides the sonic improvement is it's very cheap and can be cut to any height and width. So just cut it down and trim it till it fits . You can use your springs as a guide for the width. You may want to glue some thin wood strips to cover the holes where the springs went.
I suggest cutting out the middle man so-to-speak and just put them between the plinth and whatever you're resting the table on, not between the plinth and base as is done with the springs or sorbothane. This is also Mike @ VPI's suggestion. If you have a SAMA they should be cut around 3.5 inches high. You can use
some rubber washers if needed to help level things out.
Hope this helps -Frank