DIY Record Cleaner

[madmike46 398]

Not sure if this is the right place to put this, but here goes.  I have been slowly getting back into my vinyl collection and was in need of a easy record cleaner.  I had seen and read reviews of the GEM Dandy Hydraulic Record Cleaner.  I took a look at it and figured I could build one myself and save a bunch of shipping costs.  Here in Canada if something comes out of the US we pay through the nose for shipping.  This is why I built one of these.  Here are some pictures:

 

Assembled Unit.

 

 

Here is a view of the brass axle I made up.

 

 

 

Label protectors.

 

 

Label protectors started life out as a couple of these: and with a little machining and we had label protectors/record clamps.  Here is a shot of my new and improve spray nozzle.

 

 

I will take and post pictures of this being used. Enjoy.

 

[zumbini 6,146]

Nice job Mike. I'd love to see that a video of that in action.

[madmike46 398]

Nice job Mike. I'd love to see that a video of that in action.

 

I'll wait till my son gets home from school, he can help me out with that.

[weitrhino 1,441]

I love homegrown ingenuity. Love to see how it works and how well it works.

[dennismiller55 4,741]

Interesting build.  I am also looking forward to the action video.

[B-Man 4,769]

I too am very interested in seeing this thing in action.

 

A question for you Mike - are your albums so dirty that you need a washer like this ?

 

Just curious - I never cleaned mine with anything other than an old Discwasher set-up.

 

Not criticizing, just trying to understand !! 

[Blues Pwr 766]

I too am eager to see your cleaner in action.........

[Guest RodH]

Any of us who regularly purchase used vinyl - a cleaner is a very good idea!

[weitrhino 1,441]

I never had anything beyond a Discwasher but my sense is that as the CD took hold and people let their vinyl go or simply stopped caring for it those who bought up collections needed an efficient way to deal with all the cleaning. It would seem that lead to the popularization of cleaning machines. In my vinyl purchasing days I never once saw a cleaning machine but positively everyone had a Discwasher.

[madmike46 398]

 

 

I too am very interested in seeing this thing in action.

 

A question for you Mike - are your albums so dirty that you need a washer like this ?

 

Just curious - I never cleaned mine with anything other than an old Discwasher set-up.

 

Not criticizing, just trying to understand !! 

 

Well my records had been in storage for close to 20 years.  Also as RodH said about garage sale purchases, some can be very filthy and by using this one can make a lot of these records very playable.

[Balok 1,604]

Looks like some kind of  turbocharger!

[PDR 1,192]

Mike.....your a man after my own heart.

If you build it.....then you have it.....excellent! 

[oldtexasdog 2,430]

Neet!-Love to see it in action

[galaxyoilcan 88]

This looks trick and pretty simple to build. Can't wait to see it in action.

 

[madmike46 398]

I will be a few days, my video expert, my son has a really bad cold, I'll give him a day or two to recover.  He is way handier at manipulating video files then I am.  I can play them and that's about it.   I would rather use a computer to make parts as in CNC.  RodH knows what I'm talking about.

[madmike46 398]

OK I finally got this video together,  let me know if you have any questions.

 

 

 

 

Hope this works out.  My son did the video for me, it was easier for him to do it then try to explain it to the old man.

[zumbini 6,146]

Nice job Mike.

 

How about an MKII version with an air motor to spin the disc and a kwik-clamp replacing the wing nut?

These quick release cymbal nuts from Tama and EXA might do the trick.

 

 

Here's the video

 

[dennismiller55 4,741]

Great Job!  The video did answer a lot of questions.  I like the simplicity.  Thanks for sharing.

[madmike46 398]

Thanks for posting the video for me Dom.  All I could post was the link, I quess I have more reading in the how to section lol.

[trav0810 586]

I hadn't watched that video in a while. Awesome little setup!

[CWT50 60]

Aside from ultrasonic cleaning , what does everyone use for everyday cleaning of a record when you put it on your turntable?  Have been using D4 cleaner, but have seen some reports of the alcohol in the solution affecting the vinyl. Anyone using a silicone roller type unit?

 

Thanks,

Wayne 

[RodH 4,865]

Alcohol won't hurt the vinyl, it will hurt ancient lacquer 78's though.

 

The silicone rollers don't get down into the grooves very well, where the dirt you want gone resides. They clean dust off the top and the record may look better, but it won't usually sound appreciably better. 

 

Aside from ultrasonics or steam, you need a system that uses a solution of some sort, a brush to free up the deep seated dirt and a vacuum system to get it all out.