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Excuse my english.
After I found back to the sound of good old vinyl I had the problem every record aficionado has. How to clean the records properly!?
There are many ways around in the Internet. Cheaper ways like the Knosti or the Discofilm but also more expensive to unbelievable expensive ways like the formidable and excellent Double MatrixDouble Matrix from the german company ClearAudio, which also makes very nice turntables. Or the Cleaning-Vinyl-Records-Instructable by mattdp.
But there are always recurring mechanisms. On of them I tried to build on my own and as I can say, it works fine. I have had washed some of my records at a store near by me. They wash with a Loricraft PRC3 or PRC4 and I couldn't here a difference - neither better or worse.
Sadly I built this record-cleaning-device before I thought of making an instructable. So the thing is done, but I will try to give you as much detail as I can.
Please know that there are similar constructions around. This one is quick, cheap and dirty. I did it this way, so you can see that it is possible to construct this thing, even with two left hands. But sure you can improve, upgrade or just built in more accurate way.
The drive of my turntable was the broken part I had to replace. Unfortunately I only had a less powerful motor in the house and - yes, this is ridicolous but also works if you have only the opportunity to clean records - it turnes only counterclockwise. The weakness of the motor is the reason, why I have to push the the table sometimes in the video.
Be careful in every step and practice on old records first. I assume no liability.
After I found back to the sound of good old vinyl I had the problem every record aficionado has. How to clean the records properly!?
There are many ways around in the Internet. Cheaper ways like the Knosti or the Discofilm but also more expensive to unbelievable expensive ways like the formidable and excellent Double MatrixDouble Matrix from the german company ClearAudio, which also makes very nice turntables. Or the Cleaning-Vinyl-Records-Instructable by mattdp.
But there are always recurring mechanisms. On of them I tried to build on my own and as I can say, it works fine. I have had washed some of my records at a store near by me. They wash with a Loricraft PRC3 or PRC4 and I couldn't here a difference - neither better or worse.
Sadly I built this record-cleaning-device before I thought of making an instructable. So the thing is done, but I will try to give you as much detail as I can.
Please know that there are similar constructions around. This one is quick, cheap and dirty. I did it this way, so you can see that it is possible to construct this thing, even with two left hands. But sure you can improve, upgrade or just built in more accurate way.
The drive of my turntable was the broken part I had to replace. Unfortunately I only had a less powerful motor in the house and - yes, this is ridicolous but also works if you have only the opportunity to clean records - it turnes only counterclockwise. The weakness of the motor is the reason, why I have to push the the table sometimes in the video.
Be careful in every step and practice on old records first. I assume no liability.
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Signing UpStep 1Supplies
What you need:
- an old turntable (with direct drive will works best)
- a jam jar or something with an air-tight cap
- a desoldering pump/solder sucker (which word is better? Help me to improve my English, please!) with a Teflon nib. As mentioned beneath, a piece of heat shrink tube will work fine also (maybe better, I haven't tried it yet.)
- nylon thread (you can also buy the original Loricraft thread as I have done it, but it is not mandatory.)
- record cleaning brush - I used some other but prefer the Loricraft goat brush
- tube (I used tube for the aquarium with 4mm (milimeter, about 0.16 in.) diameter on the inside and 6mm (nearly 0.24 in.) on the outside) which fitted nicely on the ib of the desoldering pump
- hot glue or super glue
- record cleaning fluid (I use L'art du son, which is not quite cheap but you're about to save thousands of dollars, so... - but for the cheapskates I will post how to make your own cleaning fluid in an Instructable or later in here.)
- lots of tape or a thigh of a person (probably you) that is not too algesic. (I do it the algesic way, because of... - I forgot why, it's very simple to solve this step with tape)
- if you use tape, you will also need a this vacuum cleaner nozzle
- optional a syringe
- dirty records
Tools:
- a drill, dremel or soldering gun
- a vacuum cleaner
- time, and while washing your records an empty house or an uncomplaining partner
- an old turntable (with direct drive will works best)
- a jam jar or something with an air-tight cap
- a desoldering pump/solder sucker (which word is better? Help me to improve my English, please!) with a Teflon nib. As mentioned beneath, a piece of heat shrink tube will work fine also (maybe better, I haven't tried it yet.)
- nylon thread (you can also buy the original Loricraft thread as I have done it, but it is not mandatory.)
- record cleaning brush - I used some other but prefer the Loricraft goat brush
- tube (I used tube for the aquarium with 4mm (milimeter, about 0.16 in.) diameter on the inside and 6mm (nearly 0.24 in.) on the outside) which fitted nicely on the ib of the desoldering pump
- hot glue or super glue
- record cleaning fluid (I use L'art du son, which is not quite cheap but you're about to save thousands of dollars, so... - but for the cheapskates I will post how to make your own cleaning fluid in an Instructable or later in here.)
- lots of tape or a thigh of a person (probably you) that is not too algesic. (I do it the algesic way, because of... - I forgot why, it's very simple to solve this step with tape)
- if you use tape, you will also need a this vacuum cleaner nozzle
- optional a syringe
- dirty records
Tools:
- a drill, dremel or soldering gun
- a vacuum cleaner
- time, and while washing your records an empty house or an uncomplaining partner
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The nylon nozzle tip of the vacuum arm does not touch the record. A fine filament nylon thread threads through the center of the arm and nozzle that allows the arm to lie very close the record. This un-calendared thread acts as a "ski" to support the arm and keep it a small fraction of an inch from the record. In fact, the distance is the thickness of the thread.
Pull a new piece of thread through each time you clean one side of a record to ensure clean thread rests on the record each time.
Hope that helps