The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Any experience with ultrasonic baths?

Not really, but I know by experience that the owners of ultrasonic washing machines tend to clean objects that are already "clean" by common standards, i.e. if you give them a very dirty record they will refuse to clean it as it would cloud the washing bath of the ultrasonic washing machine. So I can hardly figure anyone accepting a gramophone motor full of oils, greases, graphite powders and so on.

In general, however, there is no need to clean a gramophone motor to such extent as an ultrasonic washer would do. It just needs to be "clean enough".

NEKTREG wrote: Thu Sep 12, 2024 1:26 am Any experience with ultrasonic baths?

I have a couple large ultrasonic cleaners (a 10l and a 16l unit) and I use them for carburetors, fuel injectors, mechanical injection pump parts, diesel injection pump parts, etc., as well as gramophone motors. They work great with a combo of distilled water and citrus cleaner. I wouldn't put a fiber gear in one though. Seems they make an attachment for records. I haven't gotten that far yet but I likely will one day. I will get another cleaner to use only for those, though.

I have just cleaned a couple of springs from an HMV motor. I disassembled the whole thing, scraped away the congealed old grease as much as possible, all as recommended above. The solvent I used to get rid of the rest was a little vegetable oil, which seemed to do the trick for most, with a little fine steel wool, pressing gently.