Help with Wilcox-Gay recordette 3

[vchcardozo]

Hello trolls,

I'm new in the lathe cutting world.

Probably many of you are tired of this question, but let's go again:

I'm getting a Wilcox-gay recordette 3. Is it possible restore by myself the crystal cartridge? I spent weeks looking some person or service who can restore it, but no luck.
As far I know the method to replace it with a piezo element works for playback but not for recording.

I'll make the rochelle salt but still no clear how install it in the cartridge. Any help would be appreciated!

[markrob]

Hi,

I would stay away from Rochelle salt. Its hydroscopic and has a finite lifetime. That was what was available back in the day. You should be able to source a proper PZT element that will sub for the crystal. You might take a look at the elements uses in grill igniters. They should be of a large enough size to give you the excursion you need. There was an Astatic series of magnetic cutter heads that was a drop in replacement for the crystal cutters. Might be hard to find these days. See the attached spec sheets. If you have the skills, you might be able to fabricate a magnetic replacement similar to the Astatic. Not sure if the effort is worth it given the low quality of these machines.

AstaticM-41-8M-41-500p1.jpg

AstaticM-41-8M-41-500p2.jpg

AstaticM-41-8M-41-500p3.jpg

Mark