PRESTO RECORD LATHES HAVE ARRIVED !!!

[THEVICTROLAGUY]

we just got back from new york, 2,000 miles in 3 days, drove to new york, picked up the lathes and drove back. got a presto 6d with the original amp, and microphone preamp and five feed screws. a presto k-10 and a j-5. all of them sitting on the floor of my shop running !!! the 6d has five feed screws, the one in the machine is 136 outside in, there is a 112 outside in and the other 3 are not marked. plugged it in and it didnt work, found that the momentary toggle on the speed selector was frozen. broke it loose and the machine is running perfectly so far. vibration free and tracking perfectly. the feed screw in the machine is marked 136 o i, others are not marked at all so will have to test them to see what they are.

the k-10 is running well, virtually silent, have not done anything with it yet but powered it up and got the motor running. the j-5 is a bit rough and sounds like a washing machine when it is running, needs to be lubricated as do all of the others as well. the last time these machines were used was 1962, they have been on display in a private collection for the last 54 years.

it was a long trip but worth it i think, i traded an Edison cylinder phonograph for all of these machines, but the only one i was really after was the 6d, if the head is good the machine technically could make a recording now, i will not be using the original amp or preamp. i need to see if the head is good but i am betting it will need to be rewound, but wont know until i meter it and see what is what. for today i am just getting the 6d lubed and tuned a bit, so far so good. here is a video. the machines are on the floor of my Edison shop so forgive the mess, i do. more to follow...

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO OFFER ANY ADVICE YOU POSSIBLY CAN, I HAVE READ A LOT ABOUT THIS BUT I HAVE BEEN RECORDING EDISON CYLINDERS FOR THE LAST 6 YEARS, THIS IS THE CLOSEST I HAVE EVER BEEN TO A RECORD LATHE. I HAVE A GREAT DEAL TO LEARN AND DONT MIND ADMITTING IT

[rsimms3]

Nice haul! A few things to look at with the K10 and 6D -

1. With the K10 you'll want to move the arms to the side, pull up/off the platter, and see if all four worm gears are included. There is one on the platter shaft and should be 3 more attached to the machine base under the platter. You get 112 and 224 LPI, 1 each for inside/out; outside in.
2. Check the rubber on the outer rim of the platter for flat spots or cracking. Flat spots can momentarily affect speed when the platter comes around to a flat spot. If it needs to be replaced, there's a post here regarding a seal ring used for pool pumps that was reported to fit really well.
3. With the 6D, I think your gear is fixed on the end of the feedscrew, correct? I have a Frankenlathe where the screws are similar to a 6D but the gear comes off after you loosen a set screw. For the 6N the gear remains in the overhead assembly so you only remove the screw itself to switch them out.
4. To calculate LPI, count how many threads are on the screw within 1 inch. Multiply that by 8 (gear ratio) and you'll get the LPI of the unknown screws.
5. You'll want to check the rubber on your pucks that contact the motor and platter for flat spots, hardening. Hard pucks with flat spots will transfer noise to your recordings. Same for the rubber bushings that the motor is mounted with, if they are hard it can transfer motor noise to the plinth and then to the recording.
6. You'll probably want to try and track down a crank. I'm not sure if the 6D can accept one or not, I'm guessing it can. That way you can crank lead in/out grooves and space grooves. Right now you're locked into just recording at the same LPI all the time.
7. Will probably need to check, clean, and refill the dash pot.




That's all that comes to mind right off. Congrats!

[recordboy]

Congratulations again.
looking forward to yr future post.

cheers