boreas
"If it sounds good, it IS good." E.K.E.
I'll start by saying that this may not apply to all styli. Differences in the material used for the suspension bushing may result in different, even disastrous, results.
Okay, the subject of the experiment was a used ADC RXM-I (114-DET). It came to me mounted on an ADC Integra integrated headshell and cartridge. The suspension had largely collapsed. The cantilever wasn't completely bottomed out but it was close. Since the stylus tip showed only a little wear, I decided to try to resurrect it.
Based on some erroneous information on the interwebs, I chose to treat the bushing with WD-40. I had read that the principle ingredient of WD-40 was fish oil and I thought that would be relatively benign. Turns out, however, that WD-40 is petroleum based.
Too late! I had already applied some to the suspension so I just went with it.
Here's what I did. I took a piece if paper and folded it onto a small shim which I then slipped between the cantilever and the stylus grip. This raised the cantilever significantly. I decided to raise it past the point where I believed it should be, thinking that it would slump back a little when the shim was removed. I was right.
After I inserted the shim I sprayed a little bit of WD-40 into a bottle cap and dipped a very small paint brush, about 1/8" wide, into the WD-40. I then proceded to apply WD-40 to both sides of the bushing. (This isn't always possible. On some styli all you can access is the front of the bushing.)
After about an hour I reapplied the WD-40 and, after another hour, I applied more. An hour after that I removed the shim and cleaned off the excess WD-40 with a dry Q-Tip. The stylus didn't spring back on its own but when I pressed on it it did, just a little and just where I hoped it would go. Since then, time and more pushes has made no additional change. I think it worked. The test will be when I listen to it, which I'm about to do.
John
Okay, the subject of the experiment was a used ADC RXM-I (114-DET). It came to me mounted on an ADC Integra integrated headshell and cartridge. The suspension had largely collapsed. The cantilever wasn't completely bottomed out but it was close. Since the stylus tip showed only a little wear, I decided to try to resurrect it.
Based on some erroneous information on the interwebs, I chose to treat the bushing with WD-40. I had read that the principle ingredient of WD-40 was fish oil and I thought that would be relatively benign. Turns out, however, that WD-40 is petroleum based.
Too late! I had already applied some to the suspension so I just went with it.
Here's what I did. I took a piece if paper and folded it onto a small shim which I then slipped between the cantilever and the stylus grip. This raised the cantilever significantly. I decided to raise it past the point where I believed it should be, thinking that it would slump back a little when the shim was removed. I was right.
After I inserted the shim I sprayed a little bit of WD-40 into a bottle cap and dipped a very small paint brush, about 1/8" wide, into the WD-40. I then proceded to apply WD-40 to both sides of the bushing. (This isn't always possible. On some styli all you can access is the front of the bushing.)
After about an hour I reapplied the WD-40 and, after another hour, I applied more. An hour after that I removed the shim and cleaned off the excess WD-40 with a dry Q-Tip. The stylus didn't spring back on its own but when I pressed on it it did, just a little and just where I hoped it would go. Since then, time and more pushes has made no additional change. I think it worked. The test will be when I listen to it, which I'm about to do.
John
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