Now that x-mas is behind me I have a bit more time to post what has happened so far.
Plinth: When the table arrive the plinth was very weak and the left front/back corners had come unglued. Outside of this the table looked as described when purchased. Therefore, I had to re-glue and brace the plinth. After it was dried I beefed up the bracing by adding 8 (L) braces to the inside.....making the plinth much more ridged. I also dampened the plinth further by adding blue tack to all the corners and by adding 3/4 birch plywood to the bottom. Now the plinth is seriously ridged. The vinyl came off with a heat gun and under it was some wood veneer, which I put polyurethane over. The plinth looks much better but also has more mass and is more ridged.
Platter: I took some steel wool and cleaned it up. Looks better but buffing it out would add to the look.
Matt: I bought green glove leather and shelf liner and made a matrix mat that starts with the liner touching the platter and the leather over it. This is a great combination that can do wonders.
Tonearm: clear shrink tubing was applied to the arm tube. This is another cheap tweak that can dampen resonance, thus cleaning up the sound. I also applied rubber damping material to parts of the tonearm to further control resonance issues. This is a budget tonearm, made to a price point and compromises were made in its construction.
Tonearm cable: The cable in the tone arm remains intact. I did rewire, from the tonearm wires, new cables that are now terminated to RCA jacks on the back. I used teflon/silver litz cable and rhodium plated RCA's. Now I can run any cables I want from the table.
Turntable platform: Added rubber damping material to strategic places to dampen the platform.
Springs: New foam was added within the springs, since the old foam had rotted.
Headshell and cartridge: I had ordered a Denon dL 103, which came with a headshell. It was advertised as having 150 hours on it but when it arrived it was damaged and looked to be abused. It was sent back for a refund. Thank god for paypal!
Headshell and cartridge part 2: Bought a cherry wood headshell, which should work well and look nice on the table. I also bought a Shure M97xe, which I was reluctant to do so at first. I would have rather had the Denon 103 but a new one would have cost me more than I wanted to put in the table and would not have went with the table, when and if I sold it. Feeling that a future buyer would want something that was "turn key" I opted for the Shure. I thought about a Denon 110 but it would have been only $40 less than the 103.....which means that I would have just spent the extra for the 103, thus leading me back to the resale turn key issue.
I expect these items to arrive next week.
Footers: I have some nice aircraft grade aluminum footers coming and should be here by the first of the year.
Stand/Shelf: I have a wall hanging shelf coming, which it will be placed on. Further isolating it from vibrations.
Record Clamp: I bought a Michell clamp, which is reasonably priced and creates a tight interface between the record and the platter. It eliminates warps in records.
Belt: Old belt was worn so a new belt was bought and installed.
After all the remaining items arrive I'll take some pictures and post them here.
Listening: Well, I can't wait to give the table a spin and hear what it can do. After it is complete I will give it a serious review and post the outcome here.