Wet Dust Bug?

[Charlie S]

The red plush cylinder of the original Cecil Watts Dust Bug definitely does NOT rotate.in use. You can turn it a bit every few months to evenly distribute wear. This from another old timer. (Bought mine when it first came on the market.)
A one time A-T sold a similar device with a grounding wire. It had a metal arm vice the Watts' plastic arm. Don't remember what it was called but it worked the same and looked nicer.
Hint: If yours moves too fast toward the record center, move the mounting base a bit further away from the turntable center so that the stiff bristles underhang the spindle. This produces an outward skating force.

 

[tlainhart]

"Back in the day" I had the Watts Dust Bug and fluid applicator - small bottle with a wick blocking the opening, which you swiped across the plush pad to give it some moisture. That might be the only time the pad rotated. As others have said, it doesn't rotate while tracking the record.

 

[LoStrings]

I have been using a Dust Bug for years on all my tables. The cylinder does not rotate in use....here is a picture of the latest version I found.

 

[sKiZo]

Just because the dust bug brush never rotated properly doesn't mean it wasn't designed to ... just means it never worked right. <G>

Might have something to do with the re-design that went from the roller brush to a stiff bristle. They call that an improvement, but then don't most designers when they change something?

Guess we'll never know unless one of the original concept team chimes in with the definitive answer.

Oh. I CAN definitively say the Pickering brush was never intended to rotate. <G>

 

[MRL_Audio]

I have been using a Dust Bug for years on all my tables. The cylinder does not rotate in use....here is a picture of the latest version I found.

Where'd that base come from? I've never seen one so beefy. BTW - the brush never rolls. You manually move it to eliminate wear in a single spot.

 

[meggy]

For $20 bucks or so, new or vintage, they really are a must have. My felt head "roller" (that doesn't roll) is only about an inch wide. It does a great of job tracking in sync with the head shell and keeping dust off the stylus. I'm not so sure they're very functional for cleaning a record as much a keeping a narrow path clear for the stylus. On mine, adding any D4 or fluid seems like would only last for half a rotation. It might even end up embedding dust more than picking it up.

Which, I don't really think they pick up dust so much as snowplow through it. Kind of like a record brush. They're great in capturing dirt as long as you don't raise them off the surface. Then they just drop a dust line.

The other thing about them for 1'st time buyers is be careful about the length of the rear overhang. Not every dust bug fits on every TT allowing the dust cover to close. Mine comes within a hair.

 

[LoStrings]

Where'd that base come from? I've never seen one so beefy. BTW - the brush never rolls. You manually move it to eliminate wear in a single spot.

I found a guy who makes these...the base is very heavy and won't move around. It is fully adjustable up and down, and it is longer than most Dust Bugs out there, and you can adjust the roller (which is 1 1/2" wide) so it will line up with the spindle.

 

[4-2-7]

As for the "Wet Sanding".... Are you trying to tell me that a liquid causes more abrasion between surfaces than running it dry?

It loosens grit all the while the stylus digs it out of the groove and it wet sands the groove. I 'm also saying people felt that playing wet records sounded good back in the day. They also found out it wrecked the record. If you don't think there is still gunk in the grooves even after a washing. Wash one and don't dry it, play a side and get back to me about the ball of gunk on your stylus.

Thats wet sanding, but hey what do I know I'm just a beginner at this.

 

[rothwellaudio]

The newer style with the carbon fiber brush is supposed to do a much better job of discharging static.

I've got one of the original "dust and static bug" like devices ...

That style of brush attached to the headshell/cartridge will have an added benefit - damping the arm/cartridge resonance. That's a good thing (imho).
Unfortunately it will also increase drag which will cause more skating force. Still, adjusting the anti-skate setting to compensate for that should cure it.
I've been meaning to experiment with something similar, not for its cleaning action but for its arm/cartridge damping action. Another project on a back burner.

 

[Kico]

The Dust Bug was not designed to rotate with the record. Listen to us old timers.

Another "old timer" here and dr*audio is correct--

It's not designed to rotate with record. I have 3 of the Audio-Technica bugs and had the same question many, many years ago... correspondence with AT verified this.

 

[sKiZo]

That style of brush attached to the headshell/cartridge will have an added benefit - damping the arm/cartridge resonance. That's a good thing (imho).
Unfortunately it will also increase drag which will cause more skating force. Still, adjusting the anti-skate setting to compensate for that should cure it.
I've been meaning to experiment with something similar, not for its cleaning action but for its arm/cartridge damping action. Another project on a back burner.

That back burner do get sorta crowded every now and then, don't it?

I do know that a common problem with the Pickering brush is that people don't bother to read the setup instructions. You have to add a gram to the tracking force to compensate for the additional down force and drag of the brush itself. Works great if you set it up right. No issues with skating IF the brush is centered as designed, but easy enough to compensate for if it's slightly off center.

And speaking of designs, one more comment on the rotating dust bug and then I'll give the beaten horse a rest ...

had the same question many, many years ago... correspondence with AT verified this.

Wonder if they have the same ad men working the public as the appliance companies? The bean counters made them go to lighter gauge steel on refrigerator doors to save a buck or two, and that was thin enough that the metal looked wavy after paint.

"We can't sell this stuff looking like that."

Engineers had the bright idea of running the metal through a texture roller, and tada ... the "no fingerprint" finish was born.

I picture the same thing happening at Dust Bug HQ ...

"We can't get these suckers to spin correctly or consistently no matter what we do."
"Well ... just mount them solid, and tell everybody we meant to do that." ;-}

 

[thilaseen]

I'm another on the non-rotating brush. Been using them since time immemorial and have never been in doubt. Put simply, it just makes no sense at all if it was to rotate. Finish the record, brush it off and let rip again. Rotate every week or so. Sorry sKIZo. I agree with you on a lot of things but not this one.

 

[sfox52]

I just got my new "Antistatic Record Cleaning Arm" with no "roller" brush, only the paintbrush looking type. It has the grounding wire too. I'm going to try it on my SR 717.

 

[Trekmaster]

I just got my new "Antistatic Record Cleaning Arm" with no "roller" brush, only the paintbrush looking type. It has the grounding wire too. I'm going to try it on my SR 717.

I like mine you might have to experiment with the placement to find the spot that tracks the best. Actually I have mine sitting on an old discwasher as I have little room on the pioneer table itself.

 

[TobascoKid]

I have made Dust Bugs out of old pen parts, paper clips, and arts & craft brushes. You see my backup Dust Bug wiper made with pen parts and micro-fiber cloth.

 

[TobascoKid]

I know it does not fit your criteria of “wet” Dust Bugs yet this “Rexon” is an unusual and elegant looking device. It works very well. Used dry, it works by pulling out dust with static generated from rotating records. Its bigger pad cleans more. To modernize it, I make replacement pads out of micro-fiber cloth- I could wet it.