Coronavirus, Lockdown and Otari NAB adapters

Ok, admittedly I cannot sit still for longer than 20 minutes.. the coronavirus lockdown is a necessary evil, causing much angst amongst the population..

Admittedly its weighing heavily on my mind, I have family in Italy that are both very high risk, and in the thick of the red zone, can't help but be concerned, from a distance...

I'm locked away, as probably you, my business has all but dried up, nothing coming in, nothing going out, its going to be tough but we have to get through this..

Funnily enough, I cannot watch regular TV to pass the time, it's somehow working against my sense of calm, maybe because in light of the sh1t we are in now, watching some arbitrary crap filmed when none of this was even a thought just seems wrong in every way.. Youtube is getting boring as well, albeit more 'real' all things considered.

I like my Reel to Reels, I just do, its a feeling I've carried since ever I can remember, its obsolete, will probably never really get a good foothold again despite Ballfinger & Metraxas (spelling) making a concerted effort in this regard, but hell, if you are old enough to have been there in their heydays, you must admit there is something about watching those reels turning out good music, with bespoke technowizadry inbetween..

I've always loved those aluminium NAB horns, hubs, cones or rims (whatever your preferred term) originally designed from Studer, yes I understand there was a functional reason for their existence, me, I could care less about the practical solution they originally offered, I just like them, visually..

Some time back I posted on this forum my conversion from the Otari collet NAB adapter to the standard trident system, just so I could use the spare Studer style NAB adapters I had machined..

Worked perfectly well, but I felt I had taken something away from the machine that was unique in its design, maybe this collett principle has been used elsewhere, I do not know, but what I do know is that I wanted to keep it, and also the Studer horns..

Easy enough, one can purchase cheap little plastic collet locks for this very machine allowing this very solution on ebay, thing is, they look crap, and I had a desire to waste perfectly good steel, again, and since the virus thing has us all locked away, by the nuts, might as well spend some garage time trying to reinvent the proverbial wheel.....

Things to note...

1. This thread will probably comprise of a ton of machining pics, so if this bores you, please stay away, of not, please look and add comments if you have..

2. I am not a machinist, I wish I was, but I am not, so I get by on sheer luck and some basic principles.. Somehow, just somehow I have managed to hold onto all my ten fingers, but mostly because there is a higher power looking down at me laughing all the way..

3. No animals were hurt in the making of these modifications, maybe a splinter or two, not by my own doing, but the garage floor is not a good place in the thick of things..

4. No reel to reels were hurt in the making of these modifications, I want to be able to reverse engineer the OTARI back to stock, with ease, if the situation requires so to do..

5. My planned modifications add no audio benefit / improvement whatsoever, the product is good enough stock, I just want to add my little signature on this piece of quality engineering, cause when I have an itch, I like to scratch, often wish this was not so, but it's who I am....

so sit back, look for the updates, get ready to be bored...