Hi Mark,
I take seriously your concern over "the possibility of contaminants being wedged in between the mating surfaces." But, I see the same risk with the felt edges on the stock VPI tubes. After some consideration, I decided that the Walker Vortex is actually less risky in this regard than the VPI tubes.
With the VPI tubes, I've always been careful to rinse and "scrape down" the felts at the end of each session because I've always worried about something getting trapped in the felt and then scratching my vinyl. I don't have the same worry with the Delrin Vortex tube. The material itself is fairly soft (not like the hard VPI plastic of the tube), and it's easy to assure oneself that it's clean and not harboring some grit that might scratch.
Could some grit sitting on the surface of an LP get caught against the tube? Sure. But it could as well get caught against the felt of the stock tube. Still, we've all got to make our respective choices in the matter and I certainly respect your concern.
Oldvinyl, glad to hear you're having the same experience with Lloyd's newest creation as I am.
Regards,
I take seriously your concern over "the possibility of contaminants being wedged in between the mating surfaces." But, I see the same risk with the felt edges on the stock VPI tubes. After some consideration, I decided that the Walker Vortex is actually less risky in this regard than the VPI tubes.
With the VPI tubes, I've always been careful to rinse and "scrape down" the felts at the end of each session because I've always worried about something getting trapped in the felt and then scratching my vinyl. I don't have the same worry with the Delrin Vortex tube. The material itself is fairly soft (not like the hard VPI plastic of the tube), and it's easy to assure oneself that it's clean and not harboring some grit that might scratch.
Could some grit sitting on the surface of an LP get caught against the tube? Sure. But it could as well get caught against the felt of the stock tube. Still, we've all got to make our respective choices in the matter and I certainly respect your concern.
Oldvinyl, glad to hear you're having the same experience with Lloyd's newest creation as I am.
Regards,