Groove pictures

[sunkingrecords]

Hi!

I took some photograps with the USB microscope, at around 200x, of several records.
Trying to compare the grooves I'm recording with some others.

Picture039.jpg

Picture043.jpg

Picture044.jpg

On the sound, the first is noisy because it's a beat up record. The second one has a little noise, but sounds good.
The third, the one made by me, is very noisy

It seems the material itself, looks noisy even outside the grooves...
also the grooves have little modulation, and look strange, but I'm not sure what I should be looking at

All comments are welcome!

Regards

Miguel

[Big Al]

Hey Migel

A couple of suggestions!

Do you have a different stylus that you can try with? You mentioned in another thread that the stylus that you were using needed cleaning
so perhaps this one is dirty / broken and causing the problem?

Also I think it is a good idea to have a reference when experimenting so that you know what your equipment is capable of, then you know what you are aiming for, in your case, could you get a disk that has been cut by the person who made your machine?
Maybe he tested the machine before he sold it to you, in which case he may still have this disk which you can then use as a benchmark to compare to.

Then you will clearly know what your machine is capable of and you know what you are aiming for when trying to get it setup.

In any case, I think it would be wise (if you haven't done already) to speak to the person who made it and explain your problems, as he would be the best person to assist you in setting it up correctly!

Please report back with your findings as I and I am sure a lot of other people on this forum are interested in this machine and what it is capable of
as it is one of the very few machines (2?) that are still manufactured today!

Good luck!

Al.

[sunkingrecords]

Hello Al!

Yes I'm trying to get some answers from this guy, with variable luck. Unfortunately he is moving to another country and he's not answering right now.
I will ask for a reference record made with the machine, it's a very good idea.

I also have another stylus (a ruby) which is brand new. I'm trying to get a little more hand at the process, to avoid damaging it as I damaged the first one! I'm sure things will improve with a good stylus.
Do you think the very low audio level can be caused by a broken sapphire? It seems like I'm cutting with the wide part of it, instead of the tip (I believe there's no tip anymore on this stylus)

Kind regards

[Big Al]

Hey Miguel

Yes the if the stylus has been chipped that could be causing your problem!
If you feel more confident using the machine now, then you could try doing a careful short test cut and seeing if you get better results.
This way you will know if it is the stylus that was causing the problem, or if it is something else.

Another thing, do you know anyone else who has one of these lathes??
If so try and speak to them and see if they can offer any advice, maybe they have had similar problems and have worked out the best way to use it.

Best of luck!

Al.

[tragwag]

is the magnification the same on all your pictures there?
like you all mentioned, your 12" cut looks to be on a very unstable material.
It doesn't look flat and smooth like the pressed 12" above it.

[sunkingrecords]

I will try with the good ruby this week, I'm waiting for the heat lamps so I can work with the proper temperature of the disc. I'm not using heat on the stylus.

The pictures are all the same exact magnification, just adjusted a bit the focus, but its the same x factor. That's how the records look at the same scale. Not the best surface it seems

Kinds regards!

Miguel

[tragwag]

I will try with the good ruby this week, I'm waiting for the heat lamps so I can work with the proper temperature of the disc. I'm not using heat on the stylus.

The pictures are all the same exact magnification, just adjusted a bit the focus, but its the same x factor. That's how the records look at the same scale. Not the best surface it seems

Kinds regards!

Miguel

that would be my first guess for your tracking/audio issues for sure.
best of luck!