Well, an older tape machine can easily be aligned to its specs, as long a you have the right values.
I found these values now and set the tension at equal reels to 200gr for both sides, measured with a Tentelometer.
Now I have consistant windings on both reels.
I'm glad it worked out to you...the point I was making is that having the right values is only part of the battle with older gear, because odds are, there's been spec-drift due to age in both the electronics and the mechanics, and sometimes you target one area to bring back to OEM spec...and you put other things further out of whack.
I was just saying that unless there's an actual problem you need to fix...sometimes leaving it alone is the better option.
There's folks that will spend endless effort and time trying to get every aspect and component back to 100% factory spec...and for some things, like tape decks where you have wear with the mechanical stuff it's not always possible...yet people will still want to, and then it gets more complicated than it was.
A lot of the specs also have a working range...along with some optimal setting. If it's in the working range, I don't mess with it unless I know it's really doable without side effects.
I go with the mindset that sometimes it's better to "leave the rust in place"...
I've got my MX-80 that has a very minor tension "flutter" on one side, when going in one particular direction (can't recall which at the moment)...and while I have all the tools and the manual and the specs...it has zero effect on operation, and the reels spool very well, so I've never been motivated to adjust the tension for that minor issue.
The funniest thing to me with the deck is that when I wind the tape at fast RW or FW speeds...the tape windings stack perfect, almost a mirror finish to the spool.
When I've done a slower library wind...the tape stacks less perfectly. *shrug*
I have no motivation to chase that issue.