Well I've ordered the cheaper brush and the upgrade kit mentioned elsewhere in this thread. The other pieces I'll figure out as I go along.
What I am wondering is whether anyone diy's their cleaning solution, if so what's your recipe, and where do you get the materials?
Common mixes seem to use Kodak Photo-Flo, distilled water, and isopropyl alcohol. Getting Photo-flo in small quantities might be an issue. How pure does the distilled water or isopropyl need to be?
What I am wondering is whether anyone diy's their cleaning solution, if so what's your recipe, and where do you get the materials?
Common mixes seem to use Kodak Photo-Flo, distilled water, and isopropyl alcohol. Getting Photo-flo in small quantities might be an issue. How pure does the distilled water or isopropyl need to be?
Hi Kevin,
I've used "Shell" (yes, Shell the gasoline dealership) distilled water on my brew. Also a "laboratory-grade" alcohol from a local drug store. I was told it's 99% alcohol.
My friend bought a photoflow bottle from Kodak and it will last longer than him
A friend also recommends "Windex" (window cleaner i think) as an alternative.
I've used "Shell" (yes, Shell the gasoline dealership) distilled water on my brew. Also a "laboratory-grade" alcohol from a local drug store. I was told it's 99% alcohol.
My friend bought a photoflow bottle from Kodak and it will last longer than him
A friend also recommends "Windex" (window cleaner i think) as an alternative.
I picked up the TT and the VPI parts arrived the next day.
I realized looking at the turntable plinth that with some modification it would be ideal for the top board of the cleaner.
I removed the motor, and the arm assembly. Filled the hole with a piece of foam insulation cut to fit, filled the space flush to the surface of the plinth with bondo, allowed to cure. Added some additional filler and smoothed it out. One more application and a little sanding and no one will ever know there was a hole there.
I plan to paint the whole thing once that is done.
Tomorrow I will pick up an Intex pump like the one shown elsewhere in the thread as a vacuum source.
The original TT bearing can be modified to allow the installation of a coupler and gear motor so it will definitely get one soon.
I'll post pix as soon as I am able..
I realized looking at the turntable plinth that with some modification it would be ideal for the top board of the cleaner.
I removed the motor, and the arm assembly. Filled the hole with a piece of foam insulation cut to fit, filled the space flush to the surface of the plinth with bondo, allowed to cure. Added some additional filler and smoothed it out. One more application and a little sanding and no one will ever know there was a hole there.
I plan to paint the whole thing once that is done.
Tomorrow I will pick up an Intex pump like the one shown elsewhere in the thread as a vacuum source.
The original TT bearing can be modified to allow the installation of a coupler and gear motor so it will definitely get one soon.
I'll post pix as soon as I am able..
As promised here as some pix of my RCM project. Turned out quite well, although I was not able to score the Intex pump I had planned on. The one I got works well and was easy to mount..
I have a homebrew slop bottle just under the VPI suction tube and assembly - I really didn't want to suck solution through that air pump. The pump has a couple of minor mods to increase suction which consist of removing the guards from the inlet and outlet ports.
I will eventually modify the bearing assembly to allow me to connect a gear motor via a shaft coupling, but for now it will be a manual affair.
I reused the plinth from the candidate table after filling the arm hole. I did this by cutting a small piece of foam insulation to fit, then mixed up some bondo which I used to fill the cavity.. To smooth things out subsequently I used a little filler compound. I probably should have done this a couple more times, and sanded even more than I did, but overall it looks acceptable.
I also reused the original cover to provide protection when not in use.
I have a homebrew slop bottle just under the VPI suction tube and assembly - I really didn't want to suck solution through that air pump. The pump has a couple of minor mods to increase suction which consist of removing the guards from the inlet and outlet ports.
I will eventually modify the bearing assembly to allow me to connect a gear motor via a shaft coupling, but for now it will be a manual affair.
I reused the plinth from the candidate table after filling the arm hole. I did this by cutting a small piece of foam insulation to fit, then mixed up some bondo which I used to fill the cavity.. To smooth things out subsequently I used a little filler compound. I probably should have done this a couple more times, and sanded even more than I did, but overall it looks acceptable.
I also reused the original cover to provide protection when not in use.
Attachments
Here is a picture of the bottom of the RCM as I was not able to attach more than one picture to the previous posting.
The slop bottle is an old Dole Fruit Salad bottle that I thought might be useful someday.. The tube is just a piece of thinwall plastic drain pipe that I cut to size. The suction port to the pump is tapped into the back side of the bottle above the bottom of the tube.
The hose is surplus medical air tubing (cpap) tubing from a hamfest.
The pump came from Target and is a 120V model made by Greatland. It is the kind that comes with nozzles, but no hose.
The slop bottle is an old Dole Fruit Salad bottle that I thought might be useful someday.. The tube is just a piece of thinwall plastic drain pipe that I cut to size. The suction port to the pump is tapped into the back side of the bottle above the bottom of the tube.
The hose is surplus medical air tubing (cpap) tubing from a hamfest.
The pump came from Target and is a 120V model made by Greatland. It is the kind that comes with nozzles, but no hose.
Attachments
Kevin-
Nice. The "slop" bottle is a good addition, one that I would think is mandatory. I shudder to think of the things that would start to grow in a pump without one..not to mention hosing down the room in the vaporized effleunt.
Eyes gots to build me one of these here con-traptions. Guess I need to start cruising the charity shops for a donor machine.
-Casey
Nice
. The "slop" bottle is a good addition, one that I would think is mandatory. I shudder to think of the things that would start to grow in a pump without one..not to mention hosing down the room in the vaporized effleunt.Eyes gots to build me one of these here con-traptions. Guess I need to start cruising the charity shops for a donor machine.
-Casey
Hi Casey,
My lousy camera mostly hides the hack job this thing really is compared to your standard of work.. The seemingly warped ends are due to pincushion type optical distortion in the camera lens - it's not real..
I threw it together very quickly, but it will come in very handy for cleaning my many filthy finds, not to mention some that have just collected too much dust over the years.
I'm sure I will soon start to wonder how I ever survived without one..
Of course I am now wondering how I got suckered into listening to almost all digital over the last half decade. The differences aren't that subtle, particularly when you can compare a given recording on both media.
My lousy camera mostly hides the hack job this thing really is compared to your standard of work..
The seemingly warped ends are due to pincushion type optical distortion in the camera lens - it's not real.. I threw it together very quickly, but it will come in very handy for cleaning my many filthy finds, not to mention some that have just collected too much dust over the years.
I'm sure I will soon start to wonder how I ever survived without one..
Of course I am now wondering how I got suckered into listening to almost all digital over the last half decade. The differences aren't that subtle, particularly when you can compare a given recording on both media.
.
Hi Casey,
I even had fun doing it, mad rush that it was. Just wrapping up as many DIY loose ends as I can before I start my new job.. I've been quite busy in between job hunting activities.
Yeah, I cleaned about 5 records last night, and machine works quite well, and yes there is now more than a few mL of cleaning fluid in the catch bottle so I am glad that I added that feature to my cleaner.
Suction is quite good, but one change I would make would be to use a slightly larger gauge of tubing between the pump and the bottle to further reduce restrictions..
One other thing I would do is put the VPI suction tube a 1/4" closer to the platter such that it overlaps slightly onto the label otherwise a little fluid gets left behind in the lead out area of the disk.
I will be adding a gear motor drive fairly soon, turning by hand is a bit of a PITA actually, and for the coordination challenged turning the disk while scrubbing back and forth can be a bit of a challenge actually.. Something I had not anticipated..
The other thing I had not anticipated was the difficulty in finding a suitable spray bottle this time of year.. Three different stores that usually carry them, not one had any.. Dumping the fluid on the record directly from the bottle can be messy.. I am also glad that I used a water proof paint when I repainted the plinth as every things gets wet when cleaning a lot of records. Could it be I am just sloppy?
Bottom line: The thing works, and while it won't perform miracles on badly damaged records, it makes the rest sound a whole lot quieter.
I even had fun doing it, mad rush that it was. Just wrapping up as many DIY loose ends as I can before I start my new job..
I've been quite busy in between job hunting activities.Yeah, I cleaned about 5 records last night, and machine works quite well, and yes there is now more than a few mL of cleaning fluid in the catch bottle so I am glad that I added that feature to my cleaner.
Suction is quite good, but one change I would make would be to use a slightly larger gauge of tubing between the pump and the bottle to further reduce restrictions..
One other thing I would do is put the VPI suction tube a 1/4" closer to the platter such that it overlaps slightly onto the label otherwise a little fluid gets left behind in the lead out area of the disk.
I will be adding a gear motor drive fairly soon, turning by hand is a bit of a PITA actually, and for the coordination challenged turning the disk while scrubbing back and forth can be a bit of a challenge actually..
Something I had not anticipated.. The other thing I had not anticipated was the difficulty in finding a suitable spray bottle this time of year.. Three different stores that usually carry them, not one had any.. Dumping the fluid on the record directly from the bottle can be messy.. I am also glad that I used a water proof paint when I repainted the plinth as every things gets wet when cleaning a lot of records. Could it be I am just sloppy?
Bottom line: The thing works, and while it won't perform miracles on badly damaged records, it makes the rest sound a whole lot quieter.
fergs1 said:
Hi Fergs1,
Here is where I got mine:
http://www.elusivedisc.com/prodinfo.asp?number=HW-3015&variation=&aitem=23&mitem=29
I imagine they would ship to Australia..
kevinkr said:Hi Casey,
I even had fun doing it, mad rush that it was. Just wrapping up as many DIY loose ends as I can before I start my new job..
Yeah, I cleaned about 5 records last night, and machine works quite well, and yes there is now more than a few mL of cleaning fluid in the catch bottle so I am glad that I added that feature to my cleaner.
Suction is quite good, but one change I would make would be to use a slightly larger gauge of tubing between the pump and the bottle to further reduce restrictions..
One other thing I would do is put the VPI suction tube a 1/4" closer to the platter such that it overlaps slightly onto the label otherwise a little fluid gets left behind in the lead out area of the disk.
I will be adding a gear motor drive fairly soon, turning by hand is a bit of a PITA actually, and for the coordination challenged turning the disk while scrubbing back and forth can be a bit of a challenge actually..
The other thing I had not anticipated was the difficulty in finding a suitable spray bottle this time of year.. Three different stores that usually carry them, not one had any.. Dumping the fluid on the record directly from the bottle can be messy.. I am also glad that I used a water proof paint when I repainted the plinth as every things gets wet when cleaning a lot of records. Could it be I am just sloppy?
Bottom line: The thing works, and while it won't perform miracles on badly damaged records, it makes the rest sound a whole lot quieter.
Hello Kevin:
I built a similar machine 6 months ago and have used it to clean nearly 2,000 LPs. Here are some suggestions and I'll post a link so you can refer to photos of my machine.
If properly set up, it's quite easy to spin the records by hand. I use a 'record clamp' constructed of 1/2" plate steel. It holds the record tightly to the platter and with an offset knob on top, I can easily spin the record. I would not even consider using a motor. Spinning by hand is quick, easy, and offers great flexibility in varying the rotation speed and alternating between clockwise & counterclockwise.
Rather than using a "spray bottle" to dispense fluids, just use a plastic bottle with a dispensing cap (tiny pinhole) on it. It's very easy to accurately and quickly dispense just the right amount of fluid in the right area. I think if you try this, you'll minimize the problem of getting excess fluid on the plinth.
Also consider cleaning multiple LPs during each session. This will be a more efficient method, and faster overall.
Select 6 LPs for cleaning.
1. Place first record on machine, side 1 up.
2. Clean label & run-out groove area with damp (Windex) paper towel.
3. Clamp record to machine.
4. Dispense record cleaner fluid on record.
5. Rotate record back & forth while vigoruously working brush into grooves.
6. Dispense distilled water on record.
7. Rotate record back & forth while scrubbing with second brush.
8. Vacuum dry.
9. Place record onto long steel rod (securely mounted in horizontal position).
Repeat steps 1-9 with the next 5 LPs.
Now clean the platter - side 2 of those 6 records just left a lot of dust on there!
Now repeat steps 1-9 on side 2 of each LP.
Here's a link to photos of my DIY RCM:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=96473
Hi Cactus,
Cool, I'll get a couple of those bottles and give your suggestions a try.
Currently I use a single step with fluid which is mostly distilled water, about 2% windex, about 5% isopropyl alcohol, and a drop of dish washing detergent diluted with some distilled water. (This is a half gallon of fluid.)
Doesn't seem to leave any residue and records so cleaned are noticeably quieter..
Future version of the fluid will consist of Kodak Photo-Flo, distilled water and isopropyl alcohol.
The VPI stuff is single step, 1oz of concentrate makes a gallon of fluid, but costs $20 - steep in my estimation..
I can probably get a couple of those bottles from Digikey..
Cool, I'll get a couple of those bottles and give your suggestions a try.
Currently I use a single step with fluid which is mostly distilled water, about 2% windex, about 5% isopropyl alcohol, and a drop of dish washing detergent diluted with some distilled water. (This is a half gallon of fluid.)
Doesn't seem to leave any residue and records so cleaned are noticeably quieter..
Future version of the fluid will consist of Kodak Photo-Flo, distilled water and isopropyl alcohol.
The VPI stuff is single step, 1oz of concentrate makes a gallon of fluid, but costs $20 - steep in my estimation..
I can probably get a couple of those bottles from Digikey..
Greetings Ladies and Gentlemen, well I finally got round to building the chassis for my RCM and about all I need to do is drill the holes for the spindle and vpi suction arm. A couple of questions, what is the optimal mounting distance from the platter spindle to the suction arm centre.Also some people are adding a collection jar for fluid beneath the chassis. Could someone describe in kindergarden language how that is implimented (pis most welcome). By the way guys this has been a great thread, most helpful and inspiring
peace and goodwill fergs
peace and goodwill fergs
On my Keith Monks machine, the collection jar is effectively a jar with an airtight screwed lid with an inlet from the arm on a rigid pipe that goes to the bottom of the jar and an exit pipe to the vacuum pump that only drops about half an inch from the top of the lid. A glass jar would allow you to see when it needs emptying - avoiding sucking mucky water into the vacuum pump.
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