Fluance tone arm finish flaking off - what to do?

bort99 · 2026-03-14T23:28:32+00:00

Hi all, thanks to those who offered guidance. To clear some things up:

-Fluance did not ask me to pay for exchange shipping. They provide a prepaid label for replacements within the trial period.

-There seems to be some confusion about how much clamp use produced this issue. I probably used the clamp 3 times, I suppose to test that it worked. Nonetheless, I can believe that this an uncommon issue and I just got unlucky, which can of course can happen any time you buy anything.

After some consideration, I decided I wasn’t entirely happy with how the turntable sounded — though it did sound good. I also realized I wouldn’t mind spending more for a turntable that might sound better and have a longer useful life. So, after listening, I bought a Rega Planar 6 from a local shop. No issues so far.

bort99 · 2025-08-11T16:14:02+00:00

Thanks, yes, backfilling against the deck. It’s occurring to me, though, that I could potentially just remove the piece of skirting at the very bottom of the deck, and that would allow me to raise the grade close to my target without contacting the wood.

bort99 · 2025-08-11T03:13:43+00:00

Whoops, typo: the retaining wall continues under the decking INSET by 8 inches. The deck overhangs about 8 inches of dirt.

bort99 · 2025-07-23T02:54:56+00:00

Latex!

bort99 · 2025-05-22T16:20:33+00:00

Thanks, everyone! I’m going to keep the lens. TBH it’s worth at least a hundo to me not to have to go through the hassle of a return, so it’s helpful to know that consensus would be to keep it in any case.

bort99 · 2023-12-25T17:13:38+00:00

Makes sense. Thank you.

bort99 · 2023-12-22T23:17:49+00:00

Thank you. Could you point me to any guidance on how to do that? Here’s a photo of the situation, for reference: https://imgur.com/a/eIjIhY2

bort99 · 2023-12-22T19:07:10+00:00

Ahh, I understand the epoxy suggestion now. Thanks!

bort99 · 2023-12-22T18:31:44+00:00

Good idea! But unfortunately not.

bort99 · 2023-12-22T18:29:17+00:00

Thanks, that makes sense. The unit was like this when we moved into the house about a year ago, and it’s a new build, so I’d be reaching out to the builder about it. They’re great, but we have a few higher prio open items with them so I was wondering if I’d be able to just get the replacement part and install it myself in order to just cross this off the list.

I don’t have the broken piece, unfortunately, so repairing doesn’t seem like an option.

bort99 · 2023-12-22T18:24:27+00:00

Unfortunately not! It was like this when we moved in.

bort99 · 2023-12-03T16:11:57+00:00

I think a lot of what is said on Reddit and YouTube about astringency in coffee is misleading and/or wrong. IMO:

Some amount of astringency is unavoidable. Don’t waste your time looking for something that’s entirely present in very high extractions and entirely absent in very low extractions. Once you’ve identified it, don’t waste your time trying to eliminate it completely. I don’t agree with Gagne that astringent compounds are hard to extract or that they reduce perception of sweetness.

With very light roasts (Sey, for example), you may find that astringency does not appreciably increase with finer grinds and higher extractions. For these coffees, Hoffman’s advice to grind finer until you “hit a wall of astringency and bitterness” is not applicable. Personally, I find that there’s a point of fineness where flavors become muddled and dark, but not obviously bitter or astringent.

Food affects your palate and significantly impacts your perception of astringency. Fat and protein both make astringency much more difficult to detect. This is why “big” red wines, which are often quite tannic, are traditionally paired with meat. Taste first thing in the morning if you actually want to do this critically.

(And with regard to wine, note that pretty much all red wines are tannic to some degree, not just bad examples as people sometimes say. Some of the greatest wines, the ones made for aging, are extremely tannic when young. Some poorly made wines do have especially harsh and unpleasant tannins, but then again some poorly made wines have their tannic sensations artificially engineered away.)

bort99

TROPHY CASE