DIY Record Cleaning Machine

LoStrings

AK Subscriber
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Like many of you here, I wanted a vacuum record cleaning machine. The pricing is just crazy on many of the decent machines out there, so I decided to build my own. I ordered the cabinet off of Walmart.com, found a Ice Cream maker for the motor at a thrift store for $3.99, purchased a wet/dry vac 2hp from Walmart,went to Lowes for the plumbing and hardware, I purchased the platter from Ikea. I ended up spending a grand total of $97.00 to build this machine. It took me a couple of weeks to put it together. I had many bugs to work out along the way, but in the end it works fantastic and like everyone says..if your into vinyl, there is nothing like a Vacuum Record Cleaner.






 
Very nice. I have been thinking about making one of these myself. I too would be interested in more details about how you made the vacuum wand set up. Also, you say the platter is from IKEA? Interesting... What is it from exactly?
 
Geez, ............ nice job. How it the vacuum wand set up/made?

Thanks for the compliments...Ok, the wand was abit tricky. Lowes sells a adjustable PVC coupler that will let you adjust the height of the wand by a couple of inches, which is nice, but figuring how to mount it is another story. I ended up using a 2"x4" and drilled a 1" hole with a hole saw and I had to open up half of the hole with a Dremel tool to accommodate the PVC coupler. If you look in the one pic I posted you will see the mounting. I used Elmers wood glue to lock it in and it worked great. The rest of the wand is just 1/2" PVC with a slot cut with a dremel and I glued a nickel to the end of the 1/2" PVC to seal it, and I bought Velvet ribbon and used double sided tape to mount it. Another thing that worked out good, was the hose from the shop vac fit perfectly to the PVC coupler.
 
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Very nice. I have been thinking about making one of these myself. I too would be interested in more details about how you made the vacuum wand set up. Also, you say the platter is from IKEA? Interesting... What is it from exactly?

Yes, the platter is from a lazy susan that Ikea sells for $7 or 8 bucks. It is actually very nice...I painted it flat black for the machine, but it is originally a natural wood finish and it is very smooth, so if you do paint it like I did, it looks great. Also, I had to cut it down to album size because it is a couple inches bigger. I traced a album with a pencil and cut it to size with a jigsaw and sanded around the sides very smooth so it would look good painted. I used a rubber mat that Ikea sells for couple of bucks on top of the platter with a hockey puck and a 1/4"x20 threaded rod with a plastic hold down nut.
 
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Yep, a blow by blow, step by step would be great, including a parts list. Maybe even make it a sticky if it gets people in the end with a good RCM.
 
Yep, a blow by blow, step by step would be great, including a parts list. Maybe even make it a sticky if it gets people in the end with a good RCM.

I would vote for that! And the cabinet from Wally World looks like it would fit in really well with the IKEA Expedit shelves that I use for record storage.
 
Nice!

I added a link in the DIY RCM sticky thread, too. :thmbsp:
 
I like the adjustable PVC coupler (BTW American valve model #P232). I think I may steal that idea for my own. Thanks.
 
I like the adjustable PVC coupler (BTW American valve model #P232). I think I may steal that idea for my own. Thanks.

It is nice because it gives you adjustability depending on the cabinet thickness, mounting configuration, etc. Also, it allows you to lift it up off of the record when your done vaccuming.
 
That's really nice:thmbsp:

How did you attach the platter to the motor?

I'm starting to look into building an RCM myself and that's one of the things I'm trying to figure out. I have a TT platter laying around but not sure how/the best way to attach it to the motor:scratch2:

Thanks:thmbsp:
 
That's really nice:thmbsp:

How did you attach the platter to the motor?

I'm starting to look into building an RCM myself and that's one of the things I'm trying to figure out. I have a TT platter laying around but not sure how/the best way to attach it to the motor:scratch2:

Thanks:thmbsp:

The platter I used is wood, so it was just a matter of drilling a couple of holes thru the platter into the plastic motor gear and screwing the platter to the gear. I then drilled and tapped a 1/4"x20 hole in the center for the hold down nut. Every motor is going to be alittle different, so when you get the motor your going to use, you'll have to figure out how to mount your platter to that motor. I used a motor from a ice cream maker because it has a very high torque...you need the torque because of the vacuum suction.
 
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Yeah, I have an ice cream maker motor I want to use and the more I think about it the more it makes sense to use wood; which I also have; instead of trying to use a TT Platter:scratch2: because that will present a whole 'nother set of challenges in terms of attaching it to the motor:yes:

More stuff to figure out:yes:


Thanks LoStrings:thmbsp:
 
I used sheet ABS for mine and an ice cream maker as well. I used the drive from the canister lid. There's a pic by pic in the DIY RCM sticky.
 
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