Well, I really blew it. I took apart my Shure M232 tonearm to track down a
grounding problem and I can't get the thing back together. The problem is
the vertical pivot. It has two pointed set-screws (like on Frankenstein's
neck). Where the points of these screws touch the post, they are surrounded
by 6 TINY ball bearings each. The ball bearings just float in the recess in
the post, held in by the cone of the point of the set-screw. Whoever
designed this thing was a cruel, cruel human being. I spent five hours
hunched over this mess today and it's nowhere near being put back together.
I can get the 6 bearings in on one side (they need to be in a circle with a
space in the middle for the point of the screw), but when I try to install
the screw, all of the bearings pop out. And I'm telling you, they're not
always easy to find - they're less than 1/2 millimeter in diameter. A few
times I got one side completely assembled, but then when trying to assemble
the other side, everything falls apart again.

Can anyone give me some advice on how to reassemble this thing? Tricks of
the trade?

I'll buy a beer for anyone that gets me through this!

Thanks,

Bill Balmer