Found a pencil trick for fast-forwarding a tape without jamming the spindles

I was in my car last week trying to fast-forward a thrift store find from Goodwill in Nashville and the player kept eating the tape, so I stuck a Bic pen through the reels and wound it by hand for 30 seconds like some kind of caveman and it actually worked perfectly - has anyone else MacGyvered their way through a sticky cassette mechanism?

2 comments

2 Comments

daniel5111mo ago

My wife rolled her eyes when I first tried the pencil trick, but after she watched me wind through a whole Side B without a single jam she started keeping a pen in the glovebox too.

the_phoenix1mo ago

Here is the thing nobody talks about with that trick. The pencil graphite works as a dry lubricant that actually reduces stress on the cassette player's drive belt over time. Most folks focus on the tape not jamming but they don't realize they are also extending the life of the motor and the rubber wheel inside the deck. I have a Pioneer from 1979 that would eat tapes like nothing and now it runs smooth as butter just from a quick graphite pass every few months.