Vintage Denon Direct Drive Turntable

T_bone, that sort of an idea for an armboard went thru my mind also. But how are you going to support the rectangular slate armboard, once it's been cut out of the main slate slab? It could be done, but nothing I thought of seemed satisfactory, given that I believe it's a good idea to have solid coupling of the tonearm to the bearing. If you like to de-couple the tonearm, which some people do, it is more do-able. The best compromise would be to use two slabs of slate, one on top of the other. Then the armboard could be created by cutting out a corner of the topmost slab, with a commensurate hole in the bottom slab to permit passage of the tonearm shaft and wiring.

A revovable arm-board would be desirable, I did consider trying to get a square or circular hole cut through the plinth with a lip half-way down for the arm board to sit on, but this would depend on the type of kit used to cut, Given what Lewn said about the water jet cutter, I imagine that the cut-out will be quite rough and the 'plug' will be equally rough if not in pieces so a new block of slate would need to be sourced, cut and finished off to sit the arm in. Perhaps a circular hole would be better, as a conventional drill could be used, and I dont see why a 'lip' couldn't be incorporated.

What do you guys think would be the best type of footer to use under these hefty slabs? I intend to use RDC cones, cups and combi bases. Would a solid 'less compliant' footer be better perhaps, The chap who sold me the Denon suggests cerupucs or still points, but I'm looking for a less expensive solution.

I am having some slate cubes made using the piece of slate that dropped out of the slab when the hole for the Denon was cut. It was easily large enough to give birth to a dozen cubes, each 2X2X2 inches. But I am also thinking about feet that provide better isolation or decoupling from the shelf. I like Herbie's Audio feet, but they are not high enough, as I would like at least 2" of clearance. Rollerblocks are another option.

Well it been a while now, but the slate plinth for the Denon DP80 has arrived and I'm getting it together.
It's 100mm deep and a considerable weight. I have managed to drill the 3 fixing holes (m6) up close to the inner edges and glue m4 threaded inserts into the holes, this has worked out easier than expected with the slate being easy to drill, There are twin arm holes with a deep rebate on the underside of the plinth to allow my fingers in to adjust, I am using an ex-broadcast Denon DA309 at the moment, but the other hole will accomodate a Jelco 10" in the near future. I have done the same on the underside with threads to accomodate RDC cones. Once I have cleaned the plinth with WD40, I will be finally rubbing it down with bees wax to protect it and bring out the grain. Here are preliminary snaps.

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee15/indypepa/2.jpg
http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee15/indypepa/p1-1.jpg
http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee15/indypepa/007.jpg

Wow, totally impressive piece of work. please keep us imformed on how "new TT" sounds once assembled.