Topic: diy record cleaning machine

finally made a very good working version. take an old record player, some hose, some polyester thread, an empty nutella pot and a vacuum cleaner, and voila. total cost can be as low as around 25 euro.

http://www.xs4all.nl/~rude66/images/schoon/schoonmaak1.jpg
http://www.xs4all.nl/~rude66/images/schoon/schoonmaak2.jpg
http://www.xs4all.nl/~rude66/images/schoon/schoonmaak3.jpg

based on the principle of the Loricraft machine: http://www.garrard501.com/prc2.html
and its german diy clone: http://secret-sound-labs.net/wash.htm

i tried several other designs first, but this one works super and vacuums your vinyl completely dry in about 10 seconds. the brush is made from some stripping you put under draughty doors. the trick is in the thread, the sucking cone rests on this so theres no direct contact with the vinyl. every few records you pull a new bit of string and the old one gets disposed in the jar with used fluid.

on scratched and damaged records you'll still hear the scratches of course, but on dirty records, even ones already washed with cleaner but not vacuumed, the result is remarkable. 90% of clicks and pops disappear. and its easy to build once you have the materials and other stuff figured out..

Re: diy record cleaning machine

nice one Ruud!

ik kom binnenkort even kijken smile

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Re: diy record cleaning machine

nice!!

Re: diy record cleaning machine

that is so awesome!

wish i had one, the clicks and pops drive me insane when i'm recording to the computer smile.

Re: diy record cleaning machine

hehehe jij willy wortel jij, cool

Showing the way for the modern man to become a Model Man.

Re: diy record cleaning machine

jacderida wrote:

that is so awesome!

wish i had one, the clicks and pops drive me insane when i'm recording to the computer smile.

just build one.. they are really easy to make, the hardest thing is to find the materials that will work and drilling a hole in the headshell to fit your sucking device. for the rest its glue and ducktape that holds the thing together..

Re: diy record cleaning machine

yeah i think i'll give it a try, this would be unbelievably good to have for recording vinyl...

Re: diy record cleaning machine

Looks great, but I'm not sure I understand what the thread is for.

Re: diy record cleaning machine

wow ruud, nice one.
been thinking of doing a DIY cleaner too, one day...

Re: diy record cleaning machine

the thread is there for 2 reasons: first act as a type of brush to help clean the record (it gets dirty too) and most important, to prevent the red cone that the hose is attached to, touching the record. otherwise your record woould be scratched. so the suction is literally a thread's length away from the vinyl, and this creates the necessary vacuum to suck the record dry in one go. i've tried other designs with a big thing that vacuums the record whole and is as wide as the whole record, but i never got that to work properly.

the only drawback here is that a fer a few records you have to let your vacuum cleaner cool off, as it gets really hot because it has to suck through such a small hole. in the pic of the inside, you can still see the small vacuum pump i bought first, but this doesn't create enough suction to vacuum the record dry in one go.

here are some more detailed instructions how to build it:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-yo … /step6/Go/

Re: diy record cleaning machine

cool, thanks for the more detailed link.

in general i always make a mess of practical things like this, i'm gonna ask my friend for some help, she is good with stuff like this...

Re: diy record cleaning machine

rude66 wrote:

the thread is there for 2 reasons: first act as a type of brush to help clean the record (it gets dirty too) and most important, to prevent the red cone that the hose is attached to, touching the record. otherwise your record woould be scratched. so the suction is literally a thread's length away from the vinyl, and this creates the necessary vacuum to suck the record dry in one go. i've tried other designs with a big thing that vacuums the record whole and is as wide as the whole record, but i never got that to work properly.

does it mean you play the whole record with the thread or do you manually move the sucker across?

the only drawback here is that a fer a few records you have to let your vacuum cleaner cool off, as it gets really hot because it has to suck through such a small hole. in the pic of the inside, you can still see the small vacuum pump i bought first, but this doesn't create enough suction to vacuum the record dry in one go.

here are some more detailed instructions how to build it:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-yo … /step6/Go/

maybe it could help getting an adjustable vacuum cleaner, so it doesn't get tired/hot that fast...

Re: diy record cleaning machine

on some machines you play the whole record, but with mine i just move it across. 45 rpm and after something like 1 or 2 rotations you slowly move the sucker over a little. takes about a minute per side.

i only heard last night that adjustable vacuum cleaners exist.. its not really my field.. big_smile

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there is a vent on most hoses for this purpose
http://img.alibaba.com/photo/205885411/EVA_Vacuum_Cleaner_Soft_Hose_extrusion_line.jpg

Re: diy record cleaning machine

with the vent closed it already makes a lot of noise, with the vent open its pretty unbearable when you are standing next to it..

Re: diy record cleaning machine

haha sure... it would be slightly ridiculous popping the attenuators in for a cleaning session

Re: diy record cleaning machine

rude66 wrote:

with the vent closed it already makes a lot of noise, with the vent open its pretty unbearable when you are standing next to it..

buy a long hose for your vacuumcleaner and put the vacuumcleaner in an other room

btw i'm busy building myself a record cleaning machine when it's finished i post a picture

thanks for the idea of building it yourself

18 (edited by Technicolor 2010-07-06 15:27:30)

Re: diy record cleaning machine

How did your machine turn out, spookie? I'm really curious about the home built ones. The retail ones are so damn pricey.

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i took mine out of the big box eventually. its now just a turntable with the hoses attached and a bottle under my desk. big spacesaver. and even easier to build this way..

Re: diy record cleaning machine

Did you ever solve the problem of the overheating vacuum cleaner?

21 (edited by Scarface 2010-07-06 23:28:14)

Re: diy record cleaning machine

Ah, nice to see you posting your home-made vacuum-recordplayer. Was quite impressed when you showed the one at your home. Tempted to build one now that I see this. Not sure if I got the patience and skills to do so.... Sometimes it's easier to throw some money at it then fiddling with old recordplayers,  vacuumcleaners, tubes and threads etc. wink But these things are around 800euro's and up right (?) new so well worth the effort then I suppose.

"Are you loving?"

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the vacuum cleaner problem is solved by simply not using the machine for too long at a time. and those things run well higher than 800 euro, for that money you get almost nothing or another one to use your own vacuum cleaner with. its crazy, i think if anyone makes an affordable one, there's be a big market for it.. as i said, it takes about 25 euro in materials and a vacuum cleaner..

Re: diy record cleaning machine

Very nice. I have a very simple cleaner. Works ok, but can be better. http://www.google.nl/imgres?imgurl=http … amp;itbs=1

Re: diy record cleaning machine

Freek wrote:

nice one Ruud!

ik kom binnenkort even kijken smile

Hey Freek, how's life? Gr, Kees

Re: diy record cleaning machine

NefariousKees wrote:
Freek wrote:

nice one Ruud!

ik kom binnenkort even kijken smile

Hey Freek, how's life? Gr, Kees

Hey Keessie! binnenkort even biertje doen?

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