Records with tight spindle hole

I had to click on this thread because it reminded me of a scene from the film "Ghost World". Anyone else?

 

wouldn't reamers and files potentially leave dust that can get in grooves

 

I did too - with Little Creatures (Talking Heads). I put it in the tray, closed it and it played fine. But it wouldn't come back out again. The tray would stick half open, then close again over and over. I had to hold the tray open, pull the plug on the unit, then use a kitchen knife to pry the CD out. Fortunately, there was no damage either to the CD or the player.

(Hope this isn't threadcrap)

 

The reamer I use simply shaves a bit of plastic off - no dust. How much is shaved depends on the amount of pressure you use. Works like a charm.

 

I just put on disc two of a new copy of the McCartney Firman album and the spindle hole's too small, i barely got it off the table. Anyone know how to remedy this without damaging the record?

 

Sharp knife inserted into the spindle hole and twist gently worked well for me. Not too vigorously.

 

I read something once about taking a pair of siscors, take the screw out in the middle, and flipping them around backwards so that the sharp edges are facing the wrong way. Make the width small enough and stick that in the hole and rotate a few times. Hope that makes sense? I've never tried it. YMMV

 

Take the handle of a file, or something else with a taper on it, and insert it into the spindle hole and rotate it. Then do the other side of hole: same thing.

Go very slowly and in very small increments, testing each time. But be careful. You can go very quickly from having the hole too small to having it too large.

A pencil can work as well but I like the file handle better-just don't overdo it.

 

Another variation on a theme, a biro pushed down fairly tight and twisted.

Begin with light pressure and build up if hole still doesn’t fit, don’t go full pelt and end up with a hole that allows slippage!

 

If I recall correctly, the standard size of a spindle hole is 1/4". So just take a 1/4" drill bit and bore it out just a tad with a drill.

 

Sounds like a bore!

 

Sounds a bit hairy to me!

 

You need to put a punch line drum bit on your signature.

 

I use an EXACTO-KNIFE blade It's tapered and sharp. Works great.

 

I use the scissors method - I have only ever had to shave off a tiny extra bit of material from the center hole. We are talking a gentle twist of the scissor blade once the sharp part has resistance.

 

www.instantrimshot.com works well! I use it in my office all the time!

 

DON'T USE a knife/Exact/etc.

Usually, the hole is just very slightly too small, and frequently it's because there's a little flash excess plastic in the region.

You can almost always loosen up the hole by taking a pen with a tapered barrel (where the barrel gets wider than the hole at the widest point), and pushing it through the hole, turning it back and forth as you get to the point where it's getting snug in the hole. That's usually enough to open up the hole enough to solve the problem. And it avoids bringing anything sharp near your record.

 

This is the method I use too...fortunately I've only had a handful that required it and the using a tapered pen has worked on all of them. I don't think I ever had an issue with my VPI tables but the Marantz TT-15 seems to have a slightly fat spindle.

 

I use a very small rat tail file. It usually only takes a few draws across the disc to make it big enough.

 

I'm against the knife/scissors method, too. I used it for awhile, but have got much more uniform results by using an old (round profile, as opposed to square profile) cooking chopstick. No cutting involved--it just widens the whole without damaging it.

 

The easiest and safest method is to use a Bic Biro or a pencil, stick it into the hole and apply a bit of pressure, turn the LP over and do the same thing. I have been doing this for over 20 years and it always works. Because the biro (or pencil) has a tapered end it won't do any damage at all.

I wouldn't dream of using any of the previous methods suggested.

JG

 

Sounds like a recipe for disaster.

 

Ta Dah!

 

Love it!