Repairing Skips

[Guest]

hi there,

if i remember right there was a discussion aout repairing skips on here not long ago and someone said that he would repair it if someone sends the record to him. i have a record that i would love to get repaired. does anyone remember who it was?

 

thanks in advance

henning

[Pete S]

I used to be able to do it but can't see well enough now.

It's very easy, all you need is a good magnifier and a scalpel.

I think Boba said he could do something.

[Peter99]

I'll put me equipment away - I thought you needed help repairing this

 

 

 

 

 

Peter

 

 

[boba]

you need a good magnifier but a scalpel is like 4-5 grooves wide. you can use it to fix a skip but it's sort of like taking a bulldozer to remove a weed and leaves a big gouge mark. you need a really tiny needle. i do fix skips for people.

[Dave West]

Yeah guy on here called Gene-R cured mine. Lives in london. Gave him a few quid for his trouble and postage back to me.

Dave

[Pete S]

you need a good magnifier but a scalpel is like 4-5 grooves wide. you can use it to fix a skip but it's sort of like taking a bulldozer to remove a weed and leaves a big gouge mark. you need a really tiny needle. i do fix skips for people.

 

An artists scalpel is thinner than one groove Bob!  Even a stanley knife blade will do the job.

[Benji]

hi there,

if i remember right there was a discussion aout repairing skips on here not long ago and someone said that he would repair it if someone sends the record to him. i have a record that i would love to get repaired. does anyone remember who it was?

 

thanks in advance

henning

 

If skip comes from pressing fault, e.g. grooves too close, then there's nothing you can do about it.

 

Magnifier plus a really thin blade/needle works only if the skip results from a scratch going across two or more grooves. I managed to repair quite a few discs that way tho

[boba]

An artists scalpel is thinner than one groove Bob!  Even a stanley knife blade will do the job.

 

I bought like 4 different sizes of exacto knives, including the smallest size. Is that the same thing as an "artist scalpel"? I bought them at an art supply store. Grooves are surprisingly thin, much more than it would seem from looking at a record regularly. You can only really see them under 60x magnification. Were you using a 60x magnifier? Using something wider than a groove (like a sharp pencil) will fix the problem, it just leaves a gouge mark.

[boba]

If skip comes from pressing fault, e.g. grooves too close, then there's nothing you can do about it.

 

Magnifier plus a really thin blade/needle works only if the skip results from a scratch going across two or more grooves. I managed to repair quite a few discs that way tho

 

What you're saying is true, but it's almost never the case that the skip comes from a pressing fault. Once I had a record where I tried to fix the skip though and I found a bunch of grooves literally going nowhere, like they were pressed like the = - with two grooves going into one, it was crazy.

[Northern Soul Uk]

I know this sounds brutal, but true and it works.
When the record is playing and it reaches the skip, press down on the headshell making sure your finger moves with it on it's natural course. The stylus will take any crap out of the groove and will cure the skip.
Like I say, brutal but it does work, and it won't damage the styli or the record if done carefully.
The above only works if the skip is caused by groove clogging, and not a pressing fault.

Edited May 9, 2013 by Northern Soul UK

[Len]

I'll put me equipment away - I thought you needed help repairing this

 

 

 

skip.jpg

 

 

Peter

 

Beat me to it!  - Being a welder I've repaired lots of Skips in my time

 

Sorry guyz - Good luck with the repair

 

The only time I repaired a skip (let's say jump) I simply put pressure on the needle (by pushing on the cartridge) while it went through that bit, and it worked - Maybe more luck than judgement though, I don't know.

 

All the best,

 

Len  

 

......and that's exactly what the last post said - Doh!  .....I'll go and have a read  

Edited May 9, 2013 by LEN

[Northern Soul Uk]

Beat me to it!  - Being a welder I've repaired lots of Skips in my time

 

Sorry guyz - Good luck with the repair

 

The only time I repaired a skip (let's say jump) I simply put pressure on the needle (by pushing on the cartridge) while it went through that bit, and it worked - Maybe more luck than judgement though, I don't know.

 

All the best,

 

Len  

 

......and that's exactly what the last post said - Doh!  .....I'll go and have a read  

LOL! Thats' what I just said too Len, and it does work providing it's not a press fault.

[boba]

I know this sounds brutal, but true and it works.

When the record is playing and it reaches the skip, press down on the headshell making sure your finger moves with it on it's natural course. The stylus will take any crap out of the groove and will cure the skip.

Like I say, brutal but it does work, and it won't damage the styli or the record if done carefully.

The above only works if the skip is caused by groove clogging, and not a pressing fault.

 

it works sometimes. if you can clean a record well enough that the skip isn't caused by dirt, it rarely will work.

[Northern Soul Uk]

it works sometimes. if you can clean a record well enough that the skip isn't caused by dirt, it rarely will work.

It's very difficult if not impossible to clean a record enough to remove gunge that is stuck in the grooves. Normal cleaning only takes off the surface dirt as all you are doing is wiping the top. If there is dirt that is stuck in the grooves and causing a skip, then you have to take more drastic action to get it out.

Another way which it tried and tested over many years is the warm water method, this can actually desolve clogged grooves. Method is, bowl of warm water, 1 drop of washing up liquid, stir water with finger slowly not to cause bubbles. Soft cloth dipped in water, thoroughly wipe affected record rubbing fairly hard, rinse record under cold tap making sure not to get water on label, dry record with dry soft cloth or paper towel. If it still skips, try again, if that still doesn't cure it, more harsh method is needed as in earlier post.

Edited May 10, 2013 by Northern Soul UK

[Ncfc]

Bought a copy of Mark 1V on Brite Lite in late 80s knowing that it skipped,pressed down on needle(by pushing down on cartridge) and its not skipped since

[Northern Soul Uk]

Bought a copy of Mark 1V on Brite Lite in late 80s knowing that it skipped,pressed down on needle(by pushing down on cartridge) and its not skipped since

Same here, bought loads cheap because the seller thought it jumped, and me knowing that I had a very good chance of fixing it.

[boba]

It's very difficult if not impossible to clean a record enough to remove gunge that is stuck in the grooves. 

 

I can get out all the dirt that is in the grooves. Send me a record to clean if you don't believe me.

[Steve Plumb]

I have been fixing skips with a couple of 45's in my collection recently (thanks to some great info from boba in a previous thread) and have had some great success. It's not easy but with plenty of patience, a steady hand and the right tools it can pay excellent dividends.

The same method is also useful in cleaning really stubborn shit that gets in the grooves that won't come out with normal/deep cleaning.

[phillyDaveG]

I find my Loricraft cleaning machine cures about 90% of skips, so that would indicate that dirt fragents are the cause of most. If that doesn't work, and the problem is something else (like a hairline crack in the wall between grooves), then I find that playing the record in reverse (by hand), over the affected area a number of times sometimes works.

[boba]

I find my Loricraft cleaning machine cures about 90% of skips, so that would indicate that dirt fragents are the cause of most. If that doesn't work, and the problem is something else (like a hairline crack in the wall between grooves), then I find that playing the record in reverse (by hand), over the affected area a number of times sometimes works.

 

i agree with all of this. you have to be careful to not play it back so many times that you cause groove damage though (obviously styrene is much more susceptible to it).

 

"real" skips are scratches that obstruct the groove that you have to manually repair somehow

[Northern Soul Uk]

I can get out all the dirt that is in the grooves. Send me a record to clean if you don't believe me.

No I didn't say I didn't believe you Boba, I said It's really difficult. What method do you use? The magnifying glass and pin method?

[boba]

No I didn't say I didn't believe you Boba, I said It's really difficult. What method do you use? The magnifying glass and pin method?

 

I don't use a pin to clean dirt, not a good idea imo. There are lots of things you can do. I don't do this, but you can use the glue cleaning method if you want, it will get almost everything.

[Northern Soul Uk]

I don't use a pin to clean dirt, not a good idea imo. There are lots of things you can do. I don't do this, but you can use the glue cleaning method if you want, it will get almost everything.

Yes, the PVA type glue. I've heard of this but not tried it.