The Secret Society of Lathe Trolls

Awesome. And congrats!

Same here for the venerable VR-II. It's the not so secret weapon when it comes to playing back pure lateral cuts of any kind, and you can still get them for a reasonable price compared to modern carts made specifically for that purpose. I've been bashing my face against my K8 for years now, and I'm ...

Ah, yes! I was recording at 33 1/3 during all the above examples. Thank you for pointing out my (now painfully obvious) omission. :oops: Also, I realized that some, though not all, of the low-frequency rumble included a 60hz hum from the GE VRII pickup. At home, it is not bad, though evidently there...

Hi James! Always happy to hear of another K-series operator out there. To answer your questions: 1) Lithium grease on the rack gear (after a careful cleaning, of course). Fine machine oil for most other spots that need it. 2) The longer shank being louder makes perfect sense, since the tip of the st...

All I can do is join the rest in saying Bravo!

Hi Mark! Aw, that's a shame, but it is a busy time of year after all, especially after the last 24 months! I've got a friend based in Philly, and there's a good chance I'll be bringing my rig into town to cut some sides with him in the future - maybe then? I took some screenshots of a portion of the...

Audio samples and some technical information on the discs used posted here:
https://www.lathetrolls.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=9507

Hi all! In preparation for last Saturday's exhibition at the Bloomsburg Children's Museum's Maker Faire, I decided to delve beyond the confines of plastic plates and Lexan. I had read In other posts here about making DIY picture discs and embossing onto plastic sheeting, so I have investigated a sim...

Nice work! How is the noise floor on those? Cant tell exactly on the video. Actually, I'm getting much better results after switching brands and thickness of the PVC sheet covers. With the Fellowes brand I started experimenting with, it was hit or miss whether it'd be crystal clear or hissy. Curren...

Working on some prototype cardboard blanks for the demo later this month, based on the "picture disc" concept discussed on the forums here. Embossing onto 8mil PVC presentation covers spray glued to layers of card stock. Working well so far!

Video sample:
https://fb.watch/c7Ayj9GGFq/

...Also i noticed that when playing back a embossed record and it sounds a bit distorted or muffled that the play back needle isnt fully seated into the groove so you gotta give it a little nudge to have it correctly seated Very much this. Definitely sounds like it's not fully seated in the groove....

Nice! But, btw, the videos are marked as "for kids" so YT restricts commenting and other things. Might want to change that. I noticed during your cutting attempt that there's a lot of squealing from the stylus. That will only translate into noise in the groove. It could easily be that the angle of t...

I'm pleased as punch to announce that Circle Time Records is finally making a foray into the public on Saturday April 23rd, at the Mini Maker Faire at The Children's Museum in Bloomsburg, PA! If all goes as planned, we'll be setting up indoors at the museum from 10-4, and offering free "your voice o...

Revisiting this post to note that I eventually learned the proper term for this kind of driver is a "moving iron" or "reed" element. The plan for this example, considering the result from, basically, yelling near the bare opening, is to construct a narrow, straight horn (Edison recorder-style) and u...

You've got a long road ahead if your goal is to rehab that unit into a working cutter. Step one, build a plinth/box for it to be mounted in. You'll need to fabricate some kind of switched power supply for the motor, and make sure the drive system is in working order - chances are this will only spin...

A thought occurs, from my experience with pump organs and player pianos - has anyone experimented with the kind of multi-bellows vacuum pump used in several types of motorized player piano? I would imagine something like it would have been used in the early days of cutting for the same purpose. http...

They used tube amps because they had to but there is no reason now Very much this ^^^^ (says the guy operating a K8 onboard amp :lol: ) Besides, so much of the "tube/valve sound" is actually derived from the transformers in the signal chain. If you want to intentionally color the sound of your sign...

Contributed!

Come on trolls, do your part!

Wow! Guess I need to start hitting up auctions. Good finds!

Real Name: Ben W. Are you a Hobbyist/Experimental/and/or Small Business: Longtime Hobbyist finally making the leap to Small Business Business Name: Circle Time Records Website: (coming soon) Type of Lathe(s)? Presto K8 (restored), Presto 6N (in progress) Tell us about yourself? Record / Instrument /...