Philips 212 cartridge not straight - help?

I just picked up a Philips 212 turntable. It's complete and in beautiful condition, everything works fine, came with a Grado green cartridge - a great find, I thought. The only problem is...the cartridge/headshell is not perfectly straight up and down when it plays. To be more specific, it's slightly cocked towards the outside of the platter. It does not seem to affect the sound (though I'm not claiming to be any sort of advanced audiophile) but it does mean that the cartridge body tends to touch the vinyl for a second when I drop the needle at the beginning of a record, and this problem becomes exacerbated with a record that isn't perfectly flat. The only solution I can come up with is shimming one side of the cartridge with a washer or two...is that an acceptable thing to do?
Any ideas are appreciated!

Phil

The only things I can think of are:

- The cartridge is mounted too high or too low in the headshell (most likely).
- A bent or damaged mount on the Grado cartridge (I have seen this before)
- A bent headshell
- A bad shell to arm connection
- A bent arm tube to head joint
- The arm tube is twisted or loose at the rear end

That arm is NOT compensated for record thickness or cartridge height. It could never be used in a record changer, because the cartridge would tilt sideways as the stack height increased. The stylus must be mounted a certain distance from the top of the headshell. If the cartridge is mounted with the stylus too low in the headshell (sticking down farther from the top of the shell than the design calls for), the cartridge will tilt with the top closer to the spindle. If the stylus is higher in the headshell (closer to the top of the shell than the design calls for), the top of the cartridge will be tilted away from the spindle.

A plastic mounting guide and a large selection of screws, spacers, and washers were supplied with the turntable, so almost any pickup could be mounted in it (but a Shure M3D was still too tall to work). Common 1970s cartridges were listed in the instructions, with the proper screw and spacer combination to use with each one. I bet you didn't get all of those little parts if you bought it used.

Thanks for the quick reply. No, this unit did not come with all the spacers/washers/etc... or the owner's manual (though it did include a reprinted "service manual") but I found the correct sort of washer at the hardware store yesterday. I played with the position of the cartridge in the headshell but that didn't help at all. So I put one of the washers on the inner side of the cartridge and that seemed to cure the problem quite nicely. Even with a slightly warped record the cartridge no longer touches the vinyl.

As for the initial cause of the problem--I can't quite tell if the headshell is the culprit or if it's the cartridge insert that doesn't sit straight. Anyway, things look good now so I'm just going to enjoy it. Thanks again for the tips!

Phil

I have one of these Philips TT with a Grado Blue cartridge. Mine had the same problem you describe. There is a set screw (small flat head on mine) on the bottom of my head shell that is supposed to hold it onto the arm assembly. If your table has this, you should be able to gently tip the arm up a bit, check the joint with a flashlight, and loosen the screw and adjust the angle of the cartridge head until your cartridge is square with the record surface - no more bottoming out! Or, if the washer seems to be doing the trick, then all is good.