Akai GX-646 Tape rubbing problem

[Pyre]

Hello,

I recently acquired my first reel to reel player a Akai GX-646 and it (or I) seems to have a problem. When the reels spin the tape rubs on a portion of the back edge of the reel every time it goes around and makes a scraping sound. It also lays the tape all near the back wall of the reel. When I take the reels off the things that turn round under the hubs are perfectly aligned (or it seems). I can not find anywhere to adjust spacing except the larger washer type thing that goes behind the hub. Its about 1mm thick so I made one about 0.5mm but it causes the reel to rattle. I also pulled the hubs apart and cleaned them and there does not seem to be anything wrong with them. I have the manual and can not find anything on this. All the searches I have done just come up with how to align the heads.

Am I missing something? This is my first reel to reel so I am a bit clueless as to their setup. Any assistance in getting this working correctly would be greatly appreciated.

Shane

 

[studeb]

Hi,

Are the reels plastic or metal? Could they be warped? That is usually what causes the cyclical rubbing. Change out the reel for a different one. You could also try respooling, play back the entire tape.
The tape should stack up pretty evenly, check for that too.