Tascam 246 - Clean Reels?

M

Martwa

New member
The takeup reel on my Tascam 246 was slipping, so I’m replacing the idler tires. In the process, I noticed a sort of rubber coating on the edge of the reels where they contact the idler tires. Is this rubber supposed to be there or is this rubber and goo from being in contact with the idler tires? Should I clean this stuff off the edge of the reels or is the rubbery stuff supposed to be there? This will be the 3rd set of tires on my 246 (I’ve owned it since 1986), but I’ve never cleaned the edges of the reels, so maybe they just have years of tire goo build up (?)

Thanks for any help with this question. Edit: Sorry, this probably belongs in the Tascam forum.

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You’re posting in the right place AFAIC.

That looks like something you should clean off. I would use 90+% isopropyl alcohol. Should clean it up nicely.

And then I would try to clean up the idler tires with window cleaner.
 
Sweetbeats, thanks for your suggestions. Just to try to understand this a little better, are the edges of the reels a smooth surface like the body of the reel? When I run a fingernail across the edge of the reel, I scrape off a bit of black stuff. I thought perhaps the reels were designed with a some sort of friction surface in order to give more "bite" for the idler tires.

The top tire is pretty gooey, but I have some new replacements.

Thanks again.
 
Sweetbeats, thank you again for your guidance. As I start cleaning the reels, I didn't want to remove some sort of coating that was meant to be there.
 
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