Help With Orthophonic Self-Supporting Tonearm Re-assembly

[gemering]

I am terribly embarrassed to post this.
Especially after reading and viewing the photos in Wyatt's latest restoration adventure.
I am trying to reassemble a tonearm and self-supporting base from an early Credenza after cleaning all of the components.
Any trick to this?
I can not seem to get the five ball bearings to stay put before tightening the three black screws that pass through the base.
Perhaps I am not following the proper sequence????
I was hoping there might be a tutorial on YouTube.

You may be able to tell from this post that despite my best efforts and fearlessness in the face of certain failure, I am the anti-Wyatt.

Wyatt, If I win the lottery sometime prior to June 2017, can I apprentice with you next summer in Lake Placid instead of teaching summer school?

Gene

[Oceangoer1]

I've had to do this a couple times! It is a real pain!

I pack a ton of grease around the race area to try and make the ball bearings stick in their places, and then I quickly mesh the pieces together and hope they fall into place! It takes a few times.

I just did this for a Victor Colony, but cannot seem to remember how I finally made it all work.

[mattrx]

It's been a while since I did that, too. What I remember is the grease, and quite a bit of it. It took a few tries, but eventually went together. At first, I wondered why the design of the support later changed, after working on it, I knew why...

Good Luck!

Matt

[gemering]

Matt.

It does seem like a very poor design.
The later style is a cinch to put back together.

Gene

[gemering]

Just to follow up:
On Sunday I went to church and prayed for divine inspiration, then had a late breakfast of steak and eggs (in lieu of my usual oatmeal), lastly I stared down that disassembled tonearm and those five little ball bearings, channeled the living spirit of Wyatt Markus, and slapped that puppy back together.
I realize that for many this would be an insignificant task.
For me it was like climbing Mt. Everest in shorts and a tee shirt.

Gene

[JerryVan]

The grease is a good idea anyway to help seal the swivel joint.