Tascam 38 Restoration Almost Complete - Capstan Wheel sliding and grinding?

Nate74

Nate74

HR4FREBR
I've replaced the capstan drive belt and thought I was good to go on my Tascam 38, but I've discovered now that when the unit is sitting upright, the capstan wheel (not the motor but the heavy flywheel side) slides forward towards the front of the unit just enough to rub against the plate it's mounted to. There doesn't seem to be any way to adjust this and when it's on it's back, there seems to be a 1/16" or so gap so no rubbing and it runs fine.

Any help at all would be MOST appreciated. I can't really run it on it's back...

Thanks in advance.
 
Hmmmm... a little more investigation and I can tell the capstan shaft is moving just a small amount and letting the flywheel hit the back of the plate it's mounted to. I took the whole assembly off and there's no way that I can see to keep the shaft from sliding. I could make a long enough bushing I guess to add a spacer back there, but it hasn't had one since it was built so that seems like the wrong approach. The two screws that mount the flywheel to the shaft don't seem to do anything about how much the shaft can move within the bushing assembly... crap, crap, crap.

Maybe one of you Tascam experts can help me out here?
 
Hi,

I had the same problem with my Tascam 34.

Inside the flywheel, there is a metal washer with rubber bonded to it. The rubber will have turned to goo. On my 34 I added an M6 x 5mm or 6mm Teflon spacer to the flywheel shaft.

I don't know if you will need the same size spacer as I don't have a diagram of the 38 assembly, the attachment is of the 34 capstan/flywheel shaft

  • From the front, go through the same procedure as replacing the belt.
  • Lift up the complete assembly with the flywheel.
  • Undo the two screws that secure the flywheel to the shaft, (take note of how much of the capstan protrudes below the flywheel
  • Remove the washer from inside the flywheel and clean away all the goo
  • Fit the nylon or Teflon spacer to the shaft, then put the cleaned washer back
  • Reassemble the flywheel onto the shaft
  • You can now put everything else back together
 

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quiberon said:
Hi,

I had the same problem with my Tascam 34.

Inside the flywheel, there is a metal washer with rubber bonded to it. The rubber will have turned to goo. On my 34 I added an M6 x 5mm or 6mm Teflon spacer to the flywheel shaft.

I don't know if you will need the same size spacer as I don't have a diagram of the 38 assembly, the attachment is of the 34 capstan/flywheel shaft

  • From the front, go through the same procedure as replacing the belt.
  • Lift up the complete assembly with the flywheel.
  • Undo the two screws that secure the flywheel to the shaft, (take note of how much of the capstan protrudes below the flywheel
  • Remove the washer from inside the flywheel and clean away all the goo
  • Fit the nylon or Teflon spacer to the shaft, then put the cleaned washer back
  • Reassemble the flywheel onto the shaft
  • You can now put everything else back together
Click to expand...

Wow! Thanks you so much for the in depth reply. Yes, a space would seem to be the best option. I was hesitant when I had the assembly apart yesterday since I wasn't sure how it would impact the rotation, but I can't see any other way to go. Off to the hardware store...

Thank you again for the input.
 
Yep, 2 20 cent plastic washers and I'm off the races! Seemed like cheating I guess yesterday, but you can't argue with a simple solution. Thanks again.
 
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