The Secret Society of Lathe Trolls

Motorino, your video looks really cool!! I glanced quickly at it, but I look forward to watching the whole thing.

http://www.glowlab.com/lab2/issue.php?project_id=96&issue_name=4

How does my method differ from yours?

My Recordio has a crystal cutting head. I think it works by driving a current through quartz (?) crystal, which then vibrates. The stylus vibrates as the quartz does, and makes the cut. In a magnetic head, the oscillating magnetic current drives the vibration. I am under the impression that magnetic...

wow!!!! I didn't know that about the angles! that might answer a lot of questions!

What do you mean by 0 degrees and 15 degrees? Different angles of the tips? and why is that the case?

Have you tried NEW blanks from Transco or Apollo? That's another possible problem. Acetates harden over time and if you are using old ones, your cutter may not be able to handle them.

Another vote for Gib!!! He got me started on my way! He's fun to talk to, too!

Welcome! I'm in Brooklyn, too. Perhaps we will meet sometime. Please post questions! We're still trying to get the kindling to catch around here.

Super cool! Thank you. Is that the Presto?

(I'd been holding off responding in the the hopes that someone else would!)

am i cutting to deep not deep enough Probably not deep enough. Do you know how to alter the depth on your machine? Look for a manual online. That would help. Try going extremely shallow and extremely deep, and see what happens on each extreme. "Too Deep" would mean that the grooves would actually o...

Hmmm! I'm sure anything's possible. Perhaps you could mess with the motor or electricity in some way if you were that sort of whiz (which I am not...I would fry myself if I tried, and I bet you would, too). BUT...most record players seem to control speed mechanically....that is, by changing the way ...

When Gib Epling ... http://www.west-techservices.com/ ...fixed mine, he put a 1/4" line into the microphone jack, so I could switch my crystal mic in and out with a line input. He also made a special line input cord to plug into that jack, which had some sort of resistor in it to make the impedances...

It could be a lot of things. I don't know anything about your particular lathe. But likely contenders: 1) A very dull cutting stylus. Buy a new one from Transco or Apollo. (See the links section). That'll run you about $80. 2) Cutting depth set wrong. If the stylus is dull it will cut shallow anyway...

I'm aware of people melting old cylinders to make new cylinders. I also know that some crappy-sounding 70's pressings used ground-up, recycled vinyl that had the paper labels mixed in, but lordy, I'd personally be afraid of messing with molten plastic. But sure enough, I think it can be done.

Eventually, yes, but I don't want to delay you, so I'll try to describe it as well as possible. UNDERSTAND: Doing this using your Recordio COULD DAMAGE the crystal to the Recordio! The crystal is not supposed to get heated beyond 120 degrees, and I believe that I am doing just that. I'm doing this o...

That is SUPER COOL! And only $24 plus shipping? I gotta get one. and yes, recording an EP using a plastic cup, very cool. ****** from http://library.thinkquest.org/19537/Line.html : 1893 Emile Berliner realized the need and business potential of inventing a process that could inexpensively duplicate...

Does silicon/latex harden enough to make any sort of a stamp? And when I hear "resin" I think "tree sap" or bugs in amber...or is that rosin? and I think of it as brittle but sticky. I'd think that would zap a needle if you tried to play it, but I agree that it could look good. This is a good topic!...

Tell me more about this kit! Does it use an acid/etching process? My limited understanding of Berliner's discs is that they involved a process akin to lithography, with the sounds burnished into, what, animal fat? Am I making that up? Something crazy like that. And that the records sounded abysmal. ...

Update: I plugged in my 300mA adaptor and kept it at 3V. It made the stylus VERY hot to the touch. I tried cutting into an acetate using it, and lo and behold, the thing was MUCH less noisy than before. I feel I am reaching the upper end of the possible fidelity I can get out of my Recordio. The cry...

I delayed responding in the hopes that someone else would. It's sad to come to the page and see my name as the "most recent entry" for each thread. I hope that this site catches fire more (crosses fingers)! Amok, there are no dumb questions here! Yes, indeed, one cuts the edges off the plate and use...

What sort of lacquer?