Re: [ARSCLIST] ultrasonic bath for records

[Ken Fritz <kftooldesign@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

  Gentleman,

  Two years  or so ago, while  using my VPI 16.5 to clean an LP I  
bought for a buck, I thought " There has to be a better way." Well  
there is!!

  While attending the CES last year I saw a machine made in Germany.  
Imported by Axxis Audio, it had a wand that held a record brush and  
an electric  spritzer  that sprayed the cleaning fluid just ahead of  
the cleaning brush. You needed to press the brush down and gyrate it  
on the disc as it rotated. When you felt you did a good job you would  
lift a powered stylus/ vacuum arm, ala Keith Monks, on to the record  
and let it suck the fluid and dirt off, about a minute or so. One of  
the problems with this machine and the Keith monks  and Loricraft  
machines is that , at 85 rpm , the fluid gets thrown off the platter  
to ??? A vacuum gage told you the BAR rating while you wondered why  
it 's price was $6,500.  Today it's probably a bit more.

  The Odyssey RCM, is by far,  the best commercially available  
machine you can buy, IMHO.

   In 1963 I worked in the resister research lab at Allen Bradley to  
get myself through  college. We used Branson  ultrasonic units to  
clean the ceramic slugs that became  chemically deposited resistors.  
If it worked great then to clean ceramic slugs, would it work on  
records. A call to Bransonics yielded this reply, "Gee, nobody ever  
used them for records."

  I bought a $650  cleaner, used the water / alcohol  ratio they  
said would  maximize  cavitation and---- Viola!!!  It worked great. I  
have a dc gear motor that will  enable me to rotate the lp's at the  
optimum rate for cleaning. Branson said the lp's should be stationary  
and not in motion for best  performance. I have 6  sets of  
Groovmasters so I can clean 6 records at once. A stepper/ time delay  
relay along with everything else is still in the boxes. I haven't had  
the time to finish the project, however , my fellow RAS members have  
carried the ball to excellent results.

  Not to be outdone by an  offshore RCM mfg. I began with an  
aluminum  platter 2 inches thick, 15 inches in dia. Inside dia. is 14  
inches machined to a depth of 1 1/2 inch with a 10 degree negative  
rake. This forces the excess cleaning fluid to the lower inside of  
the cavity when it is spun at 140 rpm where it is sucked up by a  
vacuum ball riding in the bottom of the negative rake .  Platter  
drive is a Bodine Electric 1/17  hp dc , right angle drive motor  
driven by a variable dc drive controller.RPM from  0 to 145 rpm.

  Three Mercedes Benz windshield washer motors spritzing thru 90  
degree windshield nozzles are mounted on overhead fixtures each  
holding VPI cleaning brushes. Vacuum is supplied by a KNF  vacuum  
pump supplying 40 liters per minute of suction. A teflon stylus  
modeled after the Loricraft is moved across the record via a Thompson  
linear drive mechanism driven by a DC motor driven by a variable  
power  drive.

  While all the component parts are in place for both gadgets, the  
final assembly will take place when the spirit moves me. Completing  
projects has never been my strong point and it seems as though  
nothing has changed.

  Ken Fritz




On Feb 6, 2008, at 5:57 PM, Tom Fine wrote:

> Why not just use a VPI or the machine Graham Newton sells?
>
> -- Tom Fine
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kurt Nauck" <nauck@xxxxxxxxx>
> To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Wednesday, February 06, 2008 4:16 PM
> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] ultrasonic bath for records
>
>
> > I have a large ultrasonic tank which would accommodate anything.  
> > However, I am concerned about labels.
> > I envision a spit with multiple records separated by spacers,  
> > driven slowly by a stepped down electric motor. As far as the  
> > solution is concerned, maybe the LC cleaning formula, perhaps with  
> > some extra Fotoflow. With enough Fotoflow, the liquid should  
> > quickly recede from the advancing side of the disc, thereby  
> > preventing liquid from dripping down the face of the label. What  
> > do you think?
> > Kurt Nauck
> > c/o Nauck's Vintage Records
> > 22004 Sherrod Ln.
> > Spring, TX  77389
> > Website: www.78rpm.com
> > E-Mail: nauck@xxxxxxxxx
> > Phone: (281) 288-7826
> > Fax: (425) 930-6862