Critisize my swarf tube.

[sameal]

Seriously give it hell. And my spelling and punctuation for that matter.

Ive made some test cuts and the tube does pick up some swarf, so there's a little win there, but it will eventually leave a tail swirling on the record surface.

I think i need to flatten the tube more, and get closer to the stylus. But id like some input from people who know what they are doing, as opposed to my fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants approach.

[rsimms3]

First off...holy crap that heater wire is thick! Did you pull that out of the wall and wrap it around your jewel? Looks like it comes in contact with the shank too, I don't think that's a good thing.

As for your tube, looks pretty sharp and jagged to me. The front looks like it was cut with a dull hacksaw. I'm a total layperson but that looks like all sorts of trouble. I would get some fine sandpaper and smooth out the edges as much as possible - the surface as well as the angles on the inner and outer edge of the tube. You want the swarf to have nowhere to go but in the tube and to go smoothly. I think I've seen some that were flared but most were flattened so that you can get them in between the cutting head and the disc more easily.

[Voxster1965]

Flat is good - no jagged edges - are you using talc to coat the tube before cutting? Also see Moss Boss' post on use of venturi.

[sameal]

First off...holy crap that heater wire is thick! Did you pull that out of the wall and wrap it around your jewel? Looks like it comes in contact with the shank too, I don't think that's a good thing.

As for your tube, looks pretty sharp and jagged to me. The front looks like it was cut with a dull hacksaw. I'm a total layperson but that looks like all sorts of trouble. I would get some fine sandpaper and smooth out the edges as much as possible - the surface as well as the angles on the inner and outer edge of the tube. You want the swarf to have nowhere to go but in the tube and to go smoothly. I think I've seen some that were flared but most were flattened so that you can get them in between the cutting head and the disc more easily.

Cool. That's the kind of stuff im looking for.

Do you have a size nichrome wire i should get instead? I thought i purchased the right stuff.

[rsimms3]

0.005" was recommended several times by Markrob and I believe is also the size noted in an old lathe/head manual I read.

[sameal]

0.005" was recommended several times by Markrob and I believe is also the size noted in an old lathe/head manual I read.

I can't remeber what i ordered. I think it was .009, which would explain it. Not sure where i messed that up.

Ill look around for that, and measure my coil too make sure i didn't blow it.

[tragwag]

I made my own swarf tube too, and I've found the suction to be the culprit, more so than the tube itself or the placement.
I also use the VR so it's setup to be behind the stylus, and I copied the exact shape and size of the original VR tube, which has about 3-4" of flatness toward the pickup side, and has a slight angle to help scoot under the head a little better. You have more clearance with the long shank stylus so that might not be an issue, but it's worth mentioning.

[sameal]

I suppose i should state, im using an ametek lamb.

But the spindle took some damage and i repaired it, so maybe im losing power at that point.