Post by snazz123 on Dec 8, 2012 13:47:25 GMT -5
Hello all. I'm a newbie to the Edison Fireside Cylinder Phonograph which I recently purchased on eBay. I have several cylinders: Some look virtually new, some are moldy but look salvageable if cleaned properly, and some are cracked, broken and useless. In the article which I found online, the process described seemed like a perfect way to clean my cylinders but the fluid is only sold in industrial-sized quantities and I don't need to spend $100+ for 8lbs. of the stuff so I'd like your thoughts, please.
I found this intriguing post online. Perhaps you've seen it. This Curator is no longer at U of Michigan so I don't know where to reach him. Here's what he posted:
"Cleaning Cylinders
Geoffrey Brown
Curator of Conservation
Kelsey Museum
University of Michigan
In the early 70's I carried out a project which involved, prior to transcription, cleaning over 3000 wax cylinders, most of which had fungal growth on them. The same technique (and the equipment I built) were then used by the Library of Congress (for 9000+ cylinders) and the Archives of Traditional Music at Indiana University (for 7000+ cylinders). This cleaning process was quite simple and extremely effective:
1. Mix a tepid solution of Labtone Detergent (a proprietary formulation from VWR Scientific) until the mixture feels slippery (about 1% or so). Use deionized water to mix.
2. Immerse each cylinder in the solution while holding it with spread fingers inserted into the interior only.
3. Saturate a small (3x6") piece of polyester velvet or velveteen in the solution and while the cylinder is immersed, gently drag the velveteen around the cylinder's circumference, allowing the pile of the velveteen to gently "scrub" the grooves.
4. Rinse the cylinder thoroughly in running deionized water and stand on-end to dry on an absorbent or drained surface. The remaining water will bead on the surface and may be removed with "Webril Wipes" or similar non-abrasive cotton wipers (used for cleaning copier machine drums).
The reason that I specify Labtone is that it is a balanced detergent that is formulated to effectively remove organic gunk and oily material. It is very effective on removing the fungal mycelium but doesn't harm the wax. It rinses off completely, leaving no residue. This detergent is intended for hand washing, so it doesn't destroy your skin although you will probably want to wear surgical gloves to protect the cylinders from skin oils. Although I have tested a broad range of other formulated laboratory detergents and individual detergent agents, none seems to perform as well as Labtone for this
application.
Avoid returning cleaned cylinders to the original packing. Discard any wool, cotton, glassine or felt liners in the cylinder boxes (they are actually pasteboard tubes) and insert new liners of 2-3 smoothly fitted layers of polyester felt. Cylinder boxes should be ventilated to avoid further fungal growth and often have a hole in the bottom which serves this purpose. If no hole is present, it might be a good idea to cut a 1" diameter hole in the box bottom. Alternatively, the Library of Congress had developed a nifty telescoping archival cylinder box that supports the cylinder from the inside on pyramid-shaped projections. They may still have these available and might be willing to sell a few."
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Well, it seemed like this was the best route to go and this professional had quite the systems. Well, the other day, I contacted VWR Scientific. The long and short of it was that their smallest sized bottle of this "VWR® Labtone® Laboratory Cleaning Compound" is EIGHT pounds at over $100! There was no way I could get, say, 8 or 16 ounces of the stuff! Clearly they are not targeting end users like us. One ounce mixed with a gallon is all I'd need at first.
So, this leaves me in the lurch re: proper cleaning of the cylinders I purchased. Do you and of you experts out there have any cleaning tips, tricks and "solutions" (in all meanings of that word!) for getting the most from cylinder recordings and avoiding damaging them?
Thanks a lot for your feedback!
SNazz123
I found this intriguing post online. Perhaps you've seen it. This Curator is no longer at U of Michigan so I don't know where to reach him. Here's what he posted:
"Cleaning Cylinders
Geoffrey Brown
Curator of Conservation
Kelsey Museum
University of Michigan
In the early 70's I carried out a project which involved, prior to transcription, cleaning over 3000 wax cylinders, most of which had fungal growth on them. The same technique (and the equipment I built) were then used by the Library of Congress (for 9000+ cylinders) and the Archives of Traditional Music at Indiana University (for 7000+ cylinders). This cleaning process was quite simple and extremely effective:
1. Mix a tepid solution of Labtone Detergent (a proprietary formulation from VWR Scientific) until the mixture feels slippery (about 1% or so). Use deionized water to mix.
2. Immerse each cylinder in the solution while holding it with spread fingers inserted into the interior only.
3. Saturate a small (3x6") piece of polyester velvet or velveteen in the solution and while the cylinder is immersed, gently drag the velveteen around the cylinder's circumference, allowing the pile of the velveteen to gently "scrub" the grooves.
4. Rinse the cylinder thoroughly in running deionized water and stand on-end to dry on an absorbent or drained surface. The remaining water will bead on the surface and may be removed with "Webril Wipes" or similar non-abrasive cotton wipers (used for cleaning copier machine drums).
The reason that I specify Labtone is that it is a balanced detergent that is formulated to effectively remove organic gunk and oily material. It is very effective on removing the fungal mycelium but doesn't harm the wax. It rinses off completely, leaving no residue. This detergent is intended for hand washing, so it doesn't destroy your skin although you will probably want to wear surgical gloves to protect the cylinders from skin oils. Although I have tested a broad range of other formulated laboratory detergents and individual detergent agents, none seems to perform as well as Labtone for this
application.
Avoid returning cleaned cylinders to the original packing. Discard any wool, cotton, glassine or felt liners in the cylinder boxes (they are actually pasteboard tubes) and insert new liners of 2-3 smoothly fitted layers of polyester felt. Cylinder boxes should be ventilated to avoid further fungal growth and often have a hole in the bottom which serves this purpose. If no hole is present, it might be a good idea to cut a 1" diameter hole in the box bottom. Alternatively, the Library of Congress had developed a nifty telescoping archival cylinder box that supports the cylinder from the inside on pyramid-shaped projections. They may still have these available and might be willing to sell a few."
---------------------------------------------------
Well, it seemed like this was the best route to go and this professional had quite the systems. Well, the other day, I contacted VWR Scientific. The long and short of it was that their smallest sized bottle of this "VWR® Labtone® Laboratory Cleaning Compound" is EIGHT pounds at over $100! There was no way I could get, say, 8 or 16 ounces of the stuff! Clearly they are not targeting end users like us. One ounce mixed with a gallon is all I'd need at first.
So, this leaves me in the lurch re: proper cleaning of the cylinders I purchased. Do you and of you experts out there have any cleaning tips, tricks and "solutions" (in all meanings of that word!) for getting the most from cylinder recordings and avoiding damaging them?
Thanks a lot for your feedback!
SNazz123