GEM Dandy Record Cleaner - Has Anyone Tried It ?


Have you read this review of George Merrill's record cleaner in the latest 6Moons.com?http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/gem/dandy.html

Best ever record cleaner (according to the reviewer) and uses ordinary tap water for the rinse. Exclusively for garage sale purchases, or would you have the nerve to try it on an audiophile reissue, too?
randyk
Building my own version of the Gem Dandy took about 20 minutes ( after a trip to Home Depot ) but instead of the label protector pipe caps as shown I substituted the Groovmaster. Probably the most difficult part was in obtaining the Groovmaster as the seller sells via ebay auction one item at a time.
I will attempt to post pictures and specs as soon as time allows and I believe that should answer most questions.
I haven't had an opportunity to go to Home Depot to look up part numbers or take pictures yet but I can tell you a bit about how I accomplished the spray attachement.

What you want is a dishwasher adapter in place of your aerator. Years ago they had stand alone roll around dishwashers and this fitting would adapt your faucet to the dishwasher. Take your aerator with you for proper thread sizing. If Home Depot does not have it try your local plumbing supply. If I recall it did take a couple more fittings to adapt down to an appropriate size hose barb ( 1/4 in. or so )
On the spray end I used a fitting with the hose barb on one end and threaded a female cap on the other. I then experimented with a couple size drill bits to get the pressure I wanted. I do recall I ended up smaller than 1/8 in.
Now, having described all that, the truth is I don't use that sprayer any more because even though my water is filtered it bugged me to use tap water.

I now mount my records on the home built Gem Dandy, spray them with record cleaner ( of your choice ) scrub the record with a natural bristle paint brush, let it soak for a couple of minutes and then steam with the Perfection Steamer purchased at Walgreens. I then rinse with a hand held spray bottle utilizing Peak demineralized water ( also used in the steamer ) purchased at Pep Boys.

I would like to build an auto drier sometime in the near future but for now I dry with a micro fiber cloth and then air dry for a couple hours in a rubberized dish rack.

You can find a wealth of information regarding steaming right here in the steam cleaning records thread.

I can't take credit for any of this I just took in the information and adapted the various devices to suit my needs.
Kbamhi: It appears you have all the essentials for a hand operated dryer. Have you given any thought to lightly spining the Lp on the "Gem" while holding a powerful, blowing hair dryer 12" or more away, on air dry or low, to speed up the drying time? I believe distance, lo or no heat and hi-fan will do the trick. The disc should be dry in moments. All the best.