diy

[JamieMcC]

Hey guys I never really imagined I would be mucking about with diy audio stuff a few years ago BFBH (before Bottlehead) but now I’m finding the Mainline hd800 combo is proving very helpful in evaluating some diy turntable platter upgrades I have been having a bit of fun with.

I decided to knock up a few different platters after looking online for some upgrade options and choking a bit at how much some sellers were asking for Acrylic platters and carbon fibre record mats.

Thanks guys for such great sounding amp and tool.

Orange 20mm thick flat
Green 27mm thick "flywheel type (like on Rega 6)
Hybrid Carbon cork carbon record mat    2.5mm thick

[johnsonad]

Cool stuff! Thanks for posting it!

[JamieMcC]

Yes more diy 

So a diy record cleaning machine has been on the to do list for some time and after ages looking I bit the bullet and picked up a ultrasonic cleaning tank off of ebay. After bodging some bits of mdf together into a frame this afternoon I now have a working ultrasonic record cleaner 

Ok I know it needs a bit of finessing to make it a bit more safer and user friendly but I ran out of time as I was keen to get to the local auto parts store  to pick up some deionized water before they closed and test it out.

I need to refine a few aspects of the construction like fit some proper cabling and a box for the motor add some small rubber o ring grommets on the spindles etc all to make it safer and perhaps some pieces of ptfe sheet for bearings and bit after of paint.

But importantly it works and after putting a few LPs through that I knew were bad with lots of pops and crackles etc its proving a very effective way to clean deep into the groove. The difference it made is genuinely outstanding from terrible to as clean as digital on many of the tracks what a result and I can honestly say hand on heart my records have never sounded so good.

I'm kicking myself a bit for not doing it sooner.

[rockpassion]

Jamie,

What size tank did you get for this project.  Looking on Ebay the tanks are not as expensive as i imagined and I would be interested in a RCM DIY project. 

Thanks

Richard

[JamieMcC]

Hi Richard, I used this tank.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/201388312013?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

And this motor (you can find motors for a less) but this one had a M4 threaded female shaft which made it real easy to attach the spindle to.   You could always just turn the records by hand instead of using a motor.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151604587292?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[sl-15]

interesting project, do you only use de-ionized water or also some kind of cleaning fluid with it? does the tank make a loud unpleasant sound?? i worked with an ultrasonic cleaner before and I could not stand the noise. the thing put out some frequency that made my skin crawl. i am surprised how cheap these tanks have gotten. the one i worked with was over $1000 but that was 6 years ago. anyways, thanks for sharing.

[JamieMcC]

interesting project, do you only use de-ionized water or also some kind of cleaning fluid with it? does the tank make a loud unpleasant sound?? i worked with an ultrasonic cleaner before and I could not stand the noise. the thing put out some frequency that made my skin crawl. i am surprised how cheap these tanks have gotten. the one i worked with was over $1000 but that was 6 years ago. anyways, thanks for sharing.

The recipe I followed was temp 40 Degrees Celsius and 2 tsps of Isopropyl Alcohol per gallon of distilled water

[denti alligator]

I'm interested in trying this. What did you use for the frame portion?

[JamieMcC]

I used some 19mm mdf offcuts I had to hand

[rockpassion]

Jamie,

How did you source the spindle?  Sorry for all the questions but I cannot find anyone that supplies spindles or shafts that might work. 

Thanks again,

Richard

[JamieMcC]

Jamie,

How did you source the spindle?  Sorry for all the questions but I cannot find anyone that supplies spindles or shafts that might work. 

Thanks again,

Richard

Hi Richard

I used a short length of 4mm threaded stud bar then used a piece of small alloy tube to go over it.

Both should be easy to source at a local hardware store or on ebay they are only a couple of dollars. The 4mm stud bar winds  straight into the motors 4mm threaded drive spindle.

You will get the idea from the pics

[denti alligator]

And what did you use for spacers?

[JamieMcC]

And what did you use for spacers?

I cut some discs out of a plastic bread chopping board and covered them with some foam sheet which had a self adhesive backing