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How to Make a Record Player With a Shaft

Record players most commonly spin because power is delivered to their shafts from a motor via a belt. Some shafts are tapered, which means variable speeds can be achieved. A step shaft system, which can create several different playback speeds, was developed by a number of different manufacturers. Commercial record players were made that could rotate anywhere between 15 and 100 revolutions per minute. You can make your own working record player, with a shaft, by using a few items to be found around the house and a power source.

Things You'll Need

4-inch nail
Wood
Hammer
Plastic tube
Hacksaw
Sandpaper
Jar lids
Plastic plate
Glue
Drill
Adjustable electric motor
Tape
Rubber bands
Paper
Needle

Instructions

- 1
  Hammer a 4-inch nail through the center of a piece of flat wood that is about 12 inches square and about 1/2-inch thick. The wood will act as the base of your record player and the nail will be the spindle. Lay the wood flat with the nail sticking up in the air.
- 2
  Cut a section of plastic tube to about 2 inches long with a hacksaw. The diameter of the tubing should be about 1 inch. Sand off any rough edges from the tube and place it over the nail so it stands on the wood with the nail extending beyond it.
- 3
  Glue a jar lid to the middle of the bottom of a plastic plate to make a turntable and shaft. Glue a second jar lid beneath the first to offer a different step to the shaft. The first lid should be about 5 inches in diameter and the second about 3 inches in diameter. The plate should be about 10 inches in diameter. Drill a small hole through the middle of a plastic plate and both jar lids. The hole needs to be large enough so your nail can just pass through it. Place the turntable over the nail so the smaller jar lid sits on top of the plastic tubing. The turntable should be able to rotate freely around the nail with as little friction as possible.
- 4
  Mount an adjustable electric motor to one side of the wooden base of your record player. Ideally you will be able to mount it with screws, but you can use electrical tape to hold it in position. Place it so the motor's spindle stands upright at about the same height as the jar lid shaft. Make sure the motor does not get in the way of the rotation of the turntable.
- 5
  
  Use a rubber band as a record player belt.
  
  Wrap a long rubber band around one of the jar lids of your turntable's shaft. As the jar lid shaft is on the underside of the plate turntable you may need to temporarily remove the whole shaft from the spindle to do this. Now pull the rubber band so it extends towards your electric motor and wrap it over the motor's spindle. When you turn on the motor there should be enough tension in the rubber band to make the turntable rotate. You may need to experiment with different sizes of rubber bands to get the shaft working correctly.
- 6
  Roll up a sheet of paper into a cone shape. It should have a tight point at one end and be at least as big as an ice cream cone. Place tape on the cone to stop it unwrapping. Place a needle into the cone at the point end and fix it in place with some more tape. The needle point should extend from the cone about 1 inch.
- 7
  Place a record on your turntable and rest the needle of your cone on the record's groove. Hold it so only the needle tip touches the record, but at an angle so that it does not point directly down. The needle should just rest on the record's groove in the same direction as the record is turning, without any downward force being applied or you may damage your record. Turn on the electric motor and adjust the speed until the record is playing correctly. The needle should pick up the sound from your record and the paper cone will amplify it to an audible level. If you want to play a record designed for a different playback speed move the rubber band so it wraps around the other jar lid of the turntable's shaft.

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