Home-made Acetates?

[Angus McCarthy]

Doing some research I came across a simple method for creating low-grade nitrocellulose lacquer - dissolve celluloid ping-pong balls in acetone! Putting this in the so crazy it might just work file I'm going to see just how horrible a surface this makes when sprayed onto something like glass plate.

This line of thinking got me wondering just how many ways have people devised to make similar recording surfaces. Somewhere on here I read about cutting onto boards coated in still-wet paint. What other ideas are out there?

[markrob]

Hi,

I think I'd try a spray lacquer first.

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Finishing_supplies/Finishes_and_solvents/ColorTone_Aerosol_Guitar_Lacquers/ColorTone_Black_Aerosol_Guitar_Lacquer.html

The ping pong ball method seems like a mess to me.

Mark

[blacknwhite]

https://lathetrolls.com/viewtopic.php?t=783.html

[Angus McCarthy]

Great to see the idea of a home lacquer factory has already been fleshed out (saves me the effort ). I agree, spray-can lacquer would be a lot easier to keep clean.

I was thinking more along the lines of the crazy, mostly lo-fi methods people have come up with, like... melting candle wax onto an old 78 and trying to scribe into the resulting surface.

[piaptk]

Honestly, there are enough decent lo-fi things like picnic plates, laserdiscs, cd-rs, acrylic, etc to keep me busy without melting ping pong balls for even lower-fi results.

Have you tried this method for reproducing records after you've cut one? If you can keep the airbubbles out, the sound quality is actually REALLY good.

http://www.synthgear.com/2010/diy/how-to-pirate-a-vinyl-record/

[Self-lather]

Hey Piaptk, just curious, what do you cast with? I've tried everything, and created tons of playable records, but they were always very noisy. I've tried resin, woodglue, and smoothon.

[piaptk]

Hey Piaptk, just curious, what do you cast with? I've tried everything, and created tons of playable records, but they were always very noisy. I've tried resin, woodglue, and smoothon.

I used the stuff that they recommended the Smoothon OOMOO 5 or whatever. I couldn't ever get the bubbles out, but the parts that would play (breaks in the bubbles) sounded just as good as the master.

[Angus McCarthy]

I suppose ideally you'd want to rest the mold on some kind of gently vibrating surface to let the freshly poured resin release those bubbles.

Top of the washer during the spin cycle? (only half-kidding)

[piaptk]

I tried to build a rickety shake table out of a 60's hand massager, but it didn't work very well. Part of the problem for me was that I live in Washington State, so the moisture in the air is probably what is causing the bubbles. I may try it in Arizona when I go down there over Spring Break and see if I can make it happen.

[fraggle]

what about negative pressure?
shouldn't be so hard to get a small device which can suck out the air. let it dry and the bubbles should be out?nah? cheers

[mossboss]

Negative pressure will accentuate the problem
The case is that the volatiles want to escape in the process they create vortices therefore bubbles
If you want no bubbles as well as a smooth finish you need to create positive pressure so as to slow down the evaporation of the solvents in the mixture so as to prevent them from boiling off to fast
As an example Acetone has a boiling point of 53 C and a flash point of -20 C so it will evaporate rather rapidly out of the mixture
Other solvents which are in the mixture will do the same according to their particular chemical characteristics
As a general rule the higher temperature solvent in the mixture the slower the drying process as a consequence of course the smoother the end result
So it is a case of looking at the ingredients of the formulation on the label before hand so as to experiment according to the boiling point of the solvents contained
Regardless a positive pressure is a definite requirement That has to be greater than atmospheric pressure in the case of making lacquers or moulding of records etc
Cheers

[fraggle]

ok interesting. shouldn't be a problem to do this as well if this guys is really interested in this:)cheers

[Angus McCarthy]

Like carbonation in a soda bottle. I see.

[ArchaicRecords]

I've got metal 45-RPM negative stamper records and was wondering what material I could use to create records from them DIY style. I now realize that maybe wood glue would work, as it is more likely to be peeled off the metal once it dries.

I had tried Smoothon but it stuck to the metal like permanent glue. Now that this has happened, do you know if the metal could be heated in order the peel the smoothon away, or is it damaged permanently?

Apparently, the Smoothon can only be peeled from particular material - vinyl, but not metal. Nobody warned about this.... but I guess nobody else ever knew or tried it.

That's why it's called Experimenter's Forum. Indeed!

[Self-lather]

I've got metal 45-RPM negative stamper records and was wondering what material I could use to create records from them DIY style. I now realize that maybe wood glue would work, as it is more likely to be peeled off the metal once it dries.

I had tried Smoothon but it stuck to the metal like permanent glue. Now that this has happened, do you know if the metal could be heated in order the peel the smoothon away, or is it damaged permanently?

Apparently, the Smoothon can only be peeled from particular material - vinyl, but not metal. Nobody warned about this.... but I guess nobody else ever knew or tried it.

That's why it's called Experimenter's Forum. Indeed!

Hey, I've actually had luck with smoothon on a metal stamper. It was still noisey, but playable. Which variety of smoothon did you use? I was trying the white fast drying stuff.

-Thomas

[audadvnc]

As for providing pressure/negative pressure, you could take a leaf from the vacuum-forming artisans and create a vacuum table out of one of those laundry storage vacuum bags (I saw some in Menard's just last night). Open up the storage bag with the mold frame inside, pour in the materials, place a piece of heavy cloth like burlap or pellon over the rubber to facilitate air transfer, zip it up and attach a vacuum hose. Ffffft! the bag is pressed by air pressure and any air bubbles are sucked out of the grooves, replaced by latex.

I'm considering trying something like this (and give a demonstration) for the Art-a-Whirl art fair they're holding this May in Minneapolis.