Building from scratch?

[Brickwall]

Hello all!

So my band and I have been working on our EP, and with the recording aspect wrapping up, we've been looking for a unique way to distribute it. I stumbled across this site and figured that creating some DIY cuts would be exactly what we were looking for.

I seem to be getting the impression that a lot of you have old lathes that have been revamped/modded (please correct me if I'm wrong, I really don't know), but I was wondering if it would be possible to just build one from scratch. I really don't even know where I would begin with that, and before I spend the countless hours that I'm sure it would take to build, I just thought I'd ask if it was even possible to do.

Thanks!

Ps. Sorry if this is a stupid question, despite the forewarning that there are none haha

[Lima Victor]

Yes, it's possible. I'm working on a 'just for fun' cutter myself. Many have done it, results vary wildly.
It takes about a day, an SL-1200 (or another turntable with lots of torque and tacho control) and less than $50 to build something that sounds like AM radio or 78rpm records.
However, it will take a lot more time and money to build something that actually sounds good. For professional results, you kind of have to buy a professional cutting head. As far as i know, the cheapest ones are about $250 on ebay, but only if you're lucky.

There are a few people on this forum who offer lathe cut records. If you're trying to get professional results, and you have only a small series of records to cut, you are probably cheaper off letting them cut it.


If you want to go down the rabbit hole you need:
- A random inkjet printer. You mount the cutting head to the part that moves the cartridges.

-Something to slowly move your cutting head with like this - add a geared (low rpm) motor to it to rotate it.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/12-acme-leadscrew-1-2-10-with-delrin-nut-bearings-clamp-coupler-for-CNC-router-/141311155307?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20e6cd1c6b

These to cut or emboss your record with
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Record-lathe-cutter-presto-record-in-stylus-needle-styli-rek-o-kut-recorder-/281255271864?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item417c1eddb8

These to make a cutting head out of - i did some preliminary tests with piezo transducers and they seem to work as good as homebuilt cutting heads made out of speakers.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-Piezo-Transducer-Sound-Discs-YOU-CHOOSE-SIZE-Drum-Trigger-Guitar-Pickup-/121253903935?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item1c3b4bbe3f

And various bits and pieces to put everything together with.

[Brickwall]

That was super helpful, thanks so much. I think I might take a go at building one! The links you supplied are awesome, and I'll definitely look into them.

The only thing I'm a bit confused about are the transducers. I've seen the cutter heads made out of speakers, but I've yet to come across this. What exactly was your process for making a cutter head out of transducers? And is there any benefit to using them, aside from (presumably) saving a bit of money?

Thanks again

[opcode66]

A lot of homebrew heads I've seen are based on speakers.

There are a number of folks using older mono cutterheads based on horseshoe magnets, simple coil, damping material and a moving iron holder for the curtting sylus. If you dont want to use a speaker then this might be a good place to start. Making something similar to a mono rca or presto head.

High quality heads like the neumann, westrex, and ortofon use a custom made coil/piston system. They are precision made. The coils are made differently than a speaker voice coil in some respects. Also, they typically have extra coils for feedback. Those are not present in tweaters....

Sc-99 and Caruso also use custom made coils/pistons

There are a number of pictures of the internals of various cutterheads on google image search. I think seeing the inside of the various heads will help you understand. Essentially, a speaker is not designed to move a rod thereby moving a torque tube. They are made to move a membrane. A better designed system for making a rod move back and forth via electomagnetism looks like the inside of a cutterhead.