The Secret Society of Lathe Trolls

I used an SL1200MK4 a few times... it was pretty terrifying. Everthing happens so much faster! I don't recommend cutting at 78rpm, just cut at 45 or 33 and do the maths on the sample rates.

This sale has been temporarily withdrawn, pending further consideration. Any updates will be posted here.

Not exactly. OK so the method I use is as follows: 1) cut off a couple of inches of wire (length = 2 x distance of stylus from binding posts, plus 8 x windings, plus a little spare at each end to hold on to) 2) mount the stylus in the head 3) tie one end of the wire to a binding post, leave a little...

And what adhesive do you guys use? I’ve tried the dentist route(no pun!) and they look at you like your MAD & doing a spot of DIY Dentistry There is usually enough tension in the wire to hold it in place. I wind it reasonably tightly, and then tie it off, leaving a bit of slack so the head can move...

Has the record industry not already learnt it's lesson when it was unceremoniously ditched the first time around? Lacquer shortages aside, how long are the "big" orders (and let's face it, they aren't that big) gonna last anyway?

I think you have to weigh up the pros and cons. Yes there is a lot variation between styluses, but that is not something you can control. It's luck a lot of the time. The things you can control are the temperature of the disc, and the stylus. So, my argument is that its better to focus on successful...

Ok so are we saying it's a business decision on behalf of the pressing plants to prioritise the biggest orders.. because that is not gonna end well.

17 years of lathe trolls deserves a round of applause. Thank you for this invaluable resource

If you have the precision plate, you can use that to absorb heat from the lamp (shine it around the edge). This then transfers to the transparent disc quite quickly and easily. in my experience, 40 degrees causes more problems than it solves. I rarely go above 30 degrees.

I don't know anyone that uses timecode plates any more... ten years ago maybe!?

Hm, good question. I don't really know, styluses seem to vary so much (sometimes they break on the first cut, sometimes I get 200 discs from the same stylus). As far as I am aware, the temperature of the plate + the temperature of the stylus are what contribute to the "sweet spot" I mentioned. I can...

I am selling one of my lathes, as it will be surplus to requirements at the end of July 2022. It will be listed on Ebay on Sunday the 10th of July, and the auction will last for 7 days. Once the listing has ended I will be using it for another 2 weeks, so it can be collected or shipped on the 1st of...

I am hearing lots of horror stories at the moment about long lead times for record pressing. I understand that Covid + the Apollo fire are behind a lot of the problems, but I am interested to understand the specific ways in which things are being held up right now. What's happening? Can anyone shed ...

I would wear headphones while cutting, you really don't want the sound of the cutting head hitting your ears all day.

The answer is it really depends, there are too many variables to establish a fixed amperage. Here is my method: 1) make sure your disc is at about 25 degrees 2) start cutting silence with no heat, listen (with headphones, turned up nice and loud) to what you are cutting 3) slowly raise the current u...

Forgive me if this is common knowledge, but I have a warning about Ortofon Red (and possible blue etc.): its easy to pull the pins out of the back of the cart when you remove the headshell wires. I learnt that lesson the hard way, and it doesn't seem possible to reinsert them in a way that makes the...

well i remember Apollo masters started making those thinner dub plates for scratching and for Dj use. Yeah I remember those. 1mm thick "reference lites" I think they were called. I bought a box too, but never got on with them. Almost all of them had a massive dent the size of a 50p piece in the sub...

Rather than going to all of that trouble you could simply just drop the strobe tower inside the turntable. I did this around 7-8 years ago however it was short lived as I my experience an SL1200/1210 simply isn’t good enough for cutting, let alone lacquers. If you drop the strobe tower does it stil...

Aren't acetates a nightmare to scratch with? Being as they are so heavy, and delicate?

Correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think Sillitoe is so much new technology, as it still uses lacquers. HD vinyl is what I would call new tech in that sense. Is that what you mean?