The Secret Society of Lathe Trolls

Thanks. I am making some tweaks and you might have gotten caught up during the update.

Try again and see if it working now!

Thanks for the feedback.

Finally had to get into the 21st century...

www.wellmademusic.net

The Stax lathe is at Ardent Studios in Memphis.

My friend Jeff Powell cut on it.

Wow. That is cool!

Soak them in acetone.

So many other ways to do test cuts... Test cuts can be done on the outside of all lacquers. 14" is a bit tight but there is so much real estate on a 10" that you can cut almost the whole song and not run into problems. Don't have a tone arm on your lathe? There are new turntables out there that will...

Wow!

Thanks. That is very helpful. The crux of what we are talking about then is the possibility that those small facets are not polished correctly?

Is that what leaves the streaks in the grooves?

Opcode..thanks for your time on this.

Opcode: Is it possible to post a basic drawing of a cutting stylus? I would love to see where and why these imperfections happen. I think it would make a good way for us to talk about the styli in a more educated manner. I will be the first to admit that I could certainly know more about this topic....

Yes. If I tossed every stylus that had a streak, I would never get anything done! I use my ears to determine what is acceptable or not. Between two machines and over a 2000 sides a year, we have to rely on our best judgement these days. Lacquers look good for a few months, then not so much. Sometime...

http://shelbylynne.com/blog/shelbylynne/345150/vinyl-cutting

Pics and video of our newest cutting room!

Thanks Shelby!

Cameron: I have not noticed what you speak of, but sometimes it is months before we hear a test pressing of a job, so as you mentioned we can only seem to see trends instead of flaws in individual jobs. What I have noticed recently is this: 1) A stylus might have streaks on 14" plates but looks grea...

Cameron: I have not noticed what you speak of, but sometimes it is months before we hear a test pressing of a job, so as you mentioned we can only seem to see trends instead of flaws in individual jobs. What I have noticed recently is this: 1) A stylus might have streaks on 14" plates but looks grea...

Is it possible the that the large cap that is attached to the motor is bad? I am not strong with my electronics, but that seems like the only thing in your system that you did not mention. I am sure others with better knowledge than me can explain what that cap does, but I did have to replace one ex...

Those are not scratches.

Looks like bad plating (electroforming) to me. Could be a spray gun that was not shooting the silvering solution correctly.

It happened after the cut for sure. Real plating guys will chime in I am sure.

Reject that test press!

Yes, It was sadly my last trip to Albert's shop. He went in the hospital the night before I left and was kind enough to have Josh B. come over and complete the sale. I paid 1k for the motor. There was one other motor in the shop at the time and it was locked up. It was a strange and bittersweet trip...

Demand is high and prices are high for all cutting gear right now. There are a few folks here that broker lathe deals. Not sure what has been up for sale lately. I imported a lathe to the states a few years back and between shipping and customs charges it added over 5k USD to my buying price. Good l...

Thanks! I will add that to my "to do" list.

Great info. Much appreciated.

That is very interesting. My Grundy lathe drops very quickly and with the dashpot set for how I cut, there is a very slight bounce. My second lathe, which at one point had an aftermarket P/D system on it lowers very slow. I would be interested if that lathe had been modified as Paul suggested.

Wish I could come see that!

Just put a 320k on (A0159) and it was the nicest one I have seen in a while. Had an Adamant on before that that did not last very long. From my point of view the quality seems better on both styli and lacquers.