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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 Expert digitization services for Audio Video 3K scanning for film 8mm-35mm Timeless Recordings Music Label www.audiovideofilm.com [log in to unmask] Tripadvisor level 6 contributor, level 15 restaurant expert 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 > www.audiovideofilm.com<http://www.audiovideofilm.com> > Audio Video Film - Digitization, Tranfering Old Videos, Convert > Slides To Digital<http://www.audiovideofilm.com/> > www.audiovideofilm.com > Audio Video Film digitization and reformatting at archival quality. > 20 years experience. Broadcast, home movies, institutional, archives, > libraries, Universities. > > [log in to unmask] > Tripadvisor level 6 contributor, level 15 restaurant expert > > ------------------------- > Email sent using Optus Webmail >