440 Meltdown Pics!!

[technoplayer]

Finally got pics of the capstan roller meltdown. I pulled these off the machines and placed them o a piece of cardboard on the bench. I had to CUT THEM OFF as they continued to ooze off of the metal cores.
The one roller is melted almost to the core....the cap from the top of the roller is shown sitting next to it. This was a MESS.

 

[jpmorris]

Good grief.

 

[technoplayer]

Not exactly my words for it, but that'll do!!!

 

[Treeline]

What in the world could cause that? Some unknown lube?

The Attack of the
Killer Capstan Rollers​

 

[Slowrider]

Damn, looks like chemically dissolved!?

 

[technoplayer]

They were solid as ...well....hard rubber when I picked up the machines from the radio station I acquired them from. A few hours in the trunk of my car in the Texas heat turned the rollers into ....well...something akin to tar with the consistency of syrup. They have never really recovered their firmness even after several weeks indoors.

I might be convinced that years of improper cleaning with who knows what kind of chemical may have altered the properties of the rubber. Then again, I
have heard of a bad run of capstan rollers...

Thankfully I had them FACE DOWN in shipment, so the goo did not run all over the heads/controls/etc etc

 

[The Ghost of FM]

What in the world could cause that? Some unknown lube?

I'm not exactly sure but, I have seen my own rubber pinch roller almost develop into that transitional stage from being exposed to sticky shed syndrome with old 456 tape stock...most likely a chemical reaction to the binder glue in the tape mixing with the rubber and starting a chain reaction.

I was lucky to catch mine at an early stage and save the roller with a product from Caig Labs called Caikleen RBR which is a rubber cleaner and conditioner that does an admirable job of renewing aging and partially damaged rubber.

I'm not sure if this was the same case on the roller in question here but it may have been a contributing factor.

Cheers!

 

[Treeline]

That's a hell of a picture to use in warning against ... something.

 

[technoplayer]

It happened so FAST tho....

And the heads/guides/ and all were surprisingly clean. Not at all what I would have suspected it it were sticky shed. Which again makes me think, if eveything else were so clean, what were "they" using to clean those rollers.
The machines had been in storage in the studio for three years before I got them, so maybe it was just the action of the heat accellerating the reaction.

The machines are nice tho.....

 

[technoplayer]

That's a hell of a picture to use in warning against ... something.

Don't put stuff in the trunk when it 110 f-ing degrees in the shade