On Wednesday (11/28/2012 at 07:38PM +0000), Tony Duell wrote:
Correct.
These rollers were not gooey in any way on inspection.
They were NOS replacements I ordered from a DEC parts supplier.
Unfortuantely, they deacy with time, not really with use. So a NOS one is
likely to be unusable.
Yes. I've learned this now. I mistakenly assumed my original ones had
decayed due to how the unit was stored (basically outside)-- and it was
extreme heat, cold and ozone that did it in. Now, it's pretty clear
it's an issue of the material and time.
I have correct
diameter (5/8"OD, 7/16"ID) tygon tubing as well as
various types of o-rings on order that I will try as replacements.
I am guessing about the durometer of the rubber so have a selection of
different hardnesses to try and see what works.
Rik Bos reported that a Citroen seelve seal (the largest size) could be
stretched ovr the hub of the capstan in an HP tape drive that uses
simialr-sized cartridges. That mey be suitabkle for the TU58 too.
OK. Thanks for that. I've got the Tygon tubing in hand and will try
that first. Having a little trouble coming up with a good way to cut
it squarely though as it likes to deform while cutting. This is causing
the first attempts to come out non-uniform in height. I think I need
to put a 7/16" dowel inside it and then cut it on the dowel (or through
the dowel in a small mitre box)-- unless others have a good technique
for getting a nice square cut?
Chris
--
Chris Elmquist