I put a bid in on this one just because it's so odd. Looking at the patent information it seems to have been meant for use in making Vitaphone discs in the mid-20s. The long body is apparently one giant mechanical dampener. Has anybody else come across one of these, and could you even fit to an existing lathe?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/181021651224
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Angus McCarthy
- Posts: 760
- Joined: Mon Aug 23, 2010 6:22 pm
- Location: Bloomsburg, PA, USA
I think this is what they called the "Dspec" cutter that was, in fact, used for the Vitaphone recordings, but remained in use for many years after for other disc recording.
The damper was a long rubber or foam tube within a tube with a tube with a metal vane running thru the center that was attached to the cutter. The Morrison book on disc cutting gives a lot of detail on the history and design. I believe the damper was modified / shortened when lacquer replaced wax discs.
I don't have the book in front of me - that was all from memory.
The damper was a long rubber or foam tube within a tube with a tube with a metal vane running thru the center that was attached to the cutter. The Morrison book on disc cutting gives a lot of detail on the history and design. I believe the damper was modified / shortened when lacquer replaced wax discs.
I don't have the book in front of me - that was all from memory.
Good memory, Techie. That book, Disk Recording: 1930-1960 is choc full of lathe lore. I am reblown away by "D Spec" specs, such as:
Designed by Bell Labs, manufactured by Western Electric and "...leased on contract by the sales and service division, ...Electrical Research Products, Inc...
"...the cutting tool was received from the maker without any holding shank and had to be carefully lined up in the cutter stylus arm and shellacked in place.
"...The writer [Robert K. Morrison] found that sealing wax provided a better coupling..."'
And as you noted:
"...damping resistance in the form of a rubber hose about 10 inches in length. The "hose" really consisted of 3 hoses, one within the other, with a metal transmitting vane extending through the middle of this "hose nest." One end of the vane was fastened to the aluminum stylus holder and the other end left unclamped. The "hose stack" was loosely packed with sponge rubber and held in an aluminum holder. This holder was normally attached to the saddle and yoke assembly of the ... lathe, so one can see that this type of cutter was adaptable only to certain ... lathes. As the cutter [head] aged, the sponge rubber packing around the the hose disintegrated and had to be replaced to prevent an uncontrollable low end response..."
- Andrew
Designed by Bell Labs, manufactured by Western Electric and "...leased on contract by the sales and service division, ...Electrical Research Products, Inc...
"...the cutting tool was received from the maker without any holding shank and had to be carefully lined up in the cutter stylus arm and shellacked in place.
"...The writer [Robert K. Morrison] found that sealing wax provided a better coupling..."'
And as you noted:
"...damping resistance in the form of a rubber hose about 10 inches in length. The "hose" really consisted of 3 hoses, one within the other, with a metal transmitting vane extending through the middle of this "hose nest." One end of the vane was fastened to the aluminum stylus holder and the other end left unclamped. The "hose stack" was loosely packed with sponge rubber and held in an aluminum holder. This holder was normally attached to the saddle and yoke assembly of the ... lathe, so one can see that this type of cutter was adaptable only to certain ... lathes. As the cutter [head] aged, the sponge rubber packing around the the hose disintegrated and had to be replaced to prevent an uncontrollable low end response..."
- Andrew
Last edited by Serif on Wed Dec 05, 2012 8:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Angus McCarthy
- Posts: 760
- Joined: Mon Aug 23, 2010 6:22 pm
- Location: Bloomsburg, PA, USA
-
Angus McCarthy
- Posts: 760
- Joined: Mon Aug 23, 2010 6:22 pm
- Location: Bloomsburg, PA, USA
Here's another from the same seller!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/181027564668
Not in as good a condition, though.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/181027564668
Not in as good a condition, though.