Hi Karl
I've been using IPA without mixing it with anything for the past 35 years.
I have no idea if it dried out a pinch roller faster or not since I haven't
tried other methods. I have had to throw away some cassette decks that had
odd pinch rollers that I couldn't find new ones anymore, but those were not
many and after 20-25 years of service I really couldn't ask for more.
Cheers
Shai Drori
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On Thu, Jul 4, 2019 at 12:14 PM Tim Gillett <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
>
>
> Hi Karl,
>
> Especially if more than one person is doing the cleaning, I'd consider
> the possibility of human error. I used to regularly service cassette
> decks from a recording facility and often I found cotton caught in the
> pinch roller, and wound around the capstan shaft, obviously from less
> than careful cleaning.
>
> Tapes weaving at the capstan shaft and roller could be caused by a few
> different things including a faulty pinch roller but also incorrect
> pinch roller pressure, incorrect take up tension and back tension.
> Once tapes start riding up or down the capstan, a permanently damaged
> tape is often just about to happen.
>
> Cleaning of cassette deck tape paths can be easy to almost impossible
> depending on the deck. Tascam 122 decks can be dreadful for access.
> Years ago I made up a dummy cassette to fool the deck into engaging
> the pinch roller so it would rotate for cleaning purposes although
> access was still difficult.
>
> I don't think the interval of cleaning the tape path can easily be
> stipulated. Basically it's when it needs cleaning, which can depend
> greatly on the tapes being played.
>
> Cheers
>
> Tim.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List"
> <[log in to unmask]>
> To:<[log in to unmask]>
> Cc:
> Sent:Wed, 3 Jul 2019 19:10:48 +0000
> Subject:Re: [ARSCLIST] How often do you routinely clean your rubber
> capstan rollers , with what and why?
>
> Thanks for sharing your experience, Shai.
>
> I've been warned off of IPA in the past, being told it could
> prematurely dry out rollers. Not hard to imagine if used a lot. It is
> valuable to hear you've had success at your rate of use, Shai.
>
> By the way, as once advised by a trusted mentor, I have successfully
> used 90% or higher IPA mixed 50/50 with water, for rare cases of
> stubborn cleaning.
>
> I didn't say it well earlier, but the thing I grow concerned about is
> the combination of fluid AND frequency. I am concerned that the water
> I chose to use may be drying rollers out faster now that we have been
> cleaning more often. I may be overthinking it, but I quote someone in
> our book conservation department, "For Conservation use, DI is so pure
> it’s aggressive and will strip paper (documents, book pages, etc) of
> valuable components. So in conservation treatment, additives are added
> back in. " Granted I am using Reverse Osmosis (RO) or Distilled -
> maybe not as aggressive as Deionized (DI) - and paper and rubber are
> rather different.
>
> But maybe my having chosen RO or distilled may already be
> overthinking roller cleaning and inviting issues if it is not much
> different than DI. Is tap water typically just fine for folks out
> there?
>
> The problems we have had, by the way, are namely tape not tracking
> well, i.e. slipping side to side as it goes past roller/capstan. I
> wonder about a reduction in roller suppleness and size. I know that
> symptom can be related to capstan drive belt too though. I've been
> waiting for months for new drive belts to experiment with too.
>
> A final note: CAIG makes a rubber reconditioner for printer rollers.
> I've had success with that, getting paper to pass through a printer
> more reliably. Anyone tried it on cassette deck rollers that are
> suspected to be too hard?
>
> -Karl
>
> ________________________________
> From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
> <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Shai Drori
> <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Wednesday, July 3, 2019 11:54:47 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] How often do you routinely clean your rubber
> capstan rollers , with what and why?
>
> Hi Karl
> I clean whenever it’s needed. Reel to reel about twice a week.
> Cassettes
> about 1-2 a month. I use technical grade IPA
>
> On Wed, 3 Jul 2019 at 6:20 Karl E. Fitzke <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
>
> > Time for another check in on this subject.
> >
> >
> > I used to clean my casptan rollers once a week unless noticeably
> dirty.
> > Life was good. Others began doing it every morning on our cassette
> decks
> > and now and the decks seem to be more problematic lately. I'm
> starting to
> > think you can over do it.
> >
> >
> > Maybe another factor is advantages/disadvantages of tap water vs
> reverse
> > osmosis vs distilled vs deionized?
> >
> >
> > Thanks in advance, brain trust.
> >
> >
> > -Karl
> >
> --
>
> Cheers
> Shai Drori
> Expert digitization services for Audio Video
> 3K scanning for film 8mm-35mm
> Timeless Recordings Music Label
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