NEWBY - Ten Things Lathe Newbies Should Know

[piaptk]

The Newbie Ten Commandments - where to start if you think “record cutting sounds cool!”

1. this hobby is expensive, and you get what you pay for. The less you know about mechanical things or record cutting specifically, the more you can expect to pay for a working lathe. But if you dont have at least $5,000+ to burn on your machine, accessories, equipment, blanks, etc, and a TON of time, you should reconsider whether this hobby is for you. Most of us have spent tens of thousands learning the craft.

2. An as-is or untested machine will almost definitely require work of some kind. If you arent prepared or knowledgable enough to do that work yourself, paying a premium for a guaranteed working machine is money well spent.

3. The learning curve is steep. You will not quit your job tomorrow and make your fortune cutting dub plates or poly. “There’s one thing Ill never forget... hey! You gotta pay your dues, before you pay the rent” Stephen Malkmus. Your best bet is to cut that learning curve in half is to shadow someone or come to one of my http://www.lathecutcamp.com.

4. If you dont enjoy trial and error and overcoming frustrating obstacles and weird problems that have many symptoms and potential cures, save yourself some ulcers and take up golf instead.

5. Not everyone who acts like they know what they are talking about actually does. Get a second opinion. The Dunning Kruger Effect is all around you in all aspects of your life.

6. There are many different machines, methods, types of styli and potential record materials, but they don’t all work well together.

7. Again. You get what you pay for... expensive blanks and needles will yield higher fidelity results than inexpensive blanks and needles.

8. There are, as of now, no readily available stereo machines on the market. Souri claims to sell a stereo machine, but search his name on this forum to understand why most of us do not consider his machine yo be “readily available”. However there are multiple entities in the process of developing a stereo head that will hopefully be mountable on a vintage machine.

9. There are plenty of scammers in any niche hobby, including this one. Make sure you are buying/commisioning repairs from someone who has references and a good reputation.

10. There are plenty of nice, helpful folks on this forum (who especially love when you have done your due diligence... see #11). However, If someone is a jerk to you on this forum, don’t take it personally... technical hobbies have a tendency to attract people who lack “common social skills”. These people make themselves known very quickly.

11. BONUS - spend a bunch of time browsing this forum and utilize the search function before posting. If you forget, one of the people mentioned in #10 will definitely remind you.

PS. I know these arent commandments. Just seemed like a snappier title than “Ten Things a Newbie Should Know...” actually. I take that back. Gonna change it now.

[soeffingodly]

Amen

[Greg Reierson]

Excellent!

[jjgolden]

Nice one mike!

[fredbissnette]

Real talk

[piaptk]

I've written a much longer and more useful guide here:
https://www.lathetrolls.com/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=8328

[soeffingodly]

Wish I had one of these to read before I got into cutting. Well done, Mike.

[boryo]

Thank you!

I think it will be also very good if there are some audio samples from all types of recording. Cutting, embossing, picnic plates, laquers, etc... so we can hear the difference between all of them.

Best,
Bob