Tape shed?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Herm
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Herm

Herm

Well-known member
I have picked up a couple of reel to reel tapes of one of my favorite groups
that is about 35 years old.
So I placed one on my machine (2340 teac) to listen to. But with in two songs the quality of the sound goes down and my pinch roller and everything else is loaded up with tape dust and shed.
Now my question is can they be saved when they are this far gone or will baking the tapes bring them back? I have heard or read somewhere that you can use a piece of cotton to wipe the tape first but Im not to sure about that process.
Also since these are on plastic reels will the plastic take the heat of baking at the recomended temp.

Thank you
 
That sounds like sticky-shed, alright. Do NOT wipe the tape with cotton. That will just smear the oxide. But when you say "dust" that makes me wonder if it's too far gone for baking. If it was stored badly before you got it, it could be that the moisture that the binder absorbed was starting to dry out. Of all the tapes I've ever baked, ony one did not make it through the process, though. You can bake on the reel - remember it's done at a fairly low temperature, around 150 degrees F, so the reel will not melt, nor should the reel affect the process.
 
Convection oven or food dehydrator. I've even heard of a guy using a hair dryer and a cardboard box to do the job.
 
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