Newb question regarding alignment - Should the stylus Physically touch the protractor?

Hi everyone,

Real quick question, im going to try (yet again) aligning my cartridge (Shure M97xE) on the stock head of a Denon DP-31L turntable. This go around I’m using a print out of an arc protractor, kindly emailed to me by Ken Willis who makes great stuff from reciews I’ve read.

My question is, when the instructions say to place the stylus on the arc, does it literally mean touching/resting on the arc or positioned just above?

Since the heaviest paper I have is resume paper (not much thicker than standard computer paper), I was thinking I’d glue this protractor printout onto an old vinyl I don’t need to provide a solid backbone, and with the tonearm still locked in its cradle I’d then press play so the Denon lowers the tone arm guard, and then turn off the table so the guard stays in the down position. All that, assuming the stylus should physically touching the arc line I printed. Of course I’ll have the platter taped down too so there is zero movement when I lower the stylus on it.

If someone could let me know whether or not my interpretation is correct I would really appreciate it

Thanks in advance for the help, clearly I’m new to this and I’d be lost without the advice of all the knowledgable folks on these forums :)