The Secret Society of Lathe Trolls

The stripe marking on paper foil caps was not a polarity indication in the normal sense. It was placed there to indicate the location of the outside of the foil wrap. The idea being that it might provide some electrostatic shielding in certain instances. For a typical modern film cap, probably not ...

Try this website: https://www.justradios.com/capacitors.html You can use metalized polyester film caps (orange dips) to replace old paper and oil electrolytics. They have no polarity, but what I do is mark the negative (striped) end in the circuit on the new cap with a sharpie, just in case someone ...

Yes Mike, I don't think stellite (hard steel) cutting points have been made since the 1950s and were mainly sold in dime stores for home machines like Recordios, Montgomery Ward, etc. machines for aluminum or fiber based blanks. Burnishing facets were an innovation of Isabel Capps in addition to hea...

Any plastic media; sheets or discs cut from acrylic or other plastics will damage a sapphire stylus quickly. I've found for the most part it's because sapphires that are meant for cutting lacquer have burnishing facets. They work fine for lacquer, but plastic will damage the stylus tip quickly; that...

Contact Aaron at Blanq; I've tried these and they are excellent. Just be sure to use a diamond cutting point or an OLD sapphire or stellite cutting point - made for consumers or before burnishing facets. You can't use a stylus with burnishing facets on plastic. That's where the major noise gets crea...

OK that seems to be a chemical reaction; if they did come from Louisiana, it's possible heat and moisture affected the surface of the disc. Yes, there's nothing wrong with cutting old lacquer that's dried; just not too dry, otherwise it will flake away leaving a noisy or even rough looking groove. I...

Lacquer discs won't support combustion, but the chip cut from them is dangerous if sparks or flame come in contact. Chip jars on recording lathes originally had a small amount of water in the bottom to keep the chip from igniting. The discs you have are most likely too dry to cut, due to their age. ...

OK, I misunderstood. I haven't had any issues with masters for pressing or dubs. The pressing masters were licensed and other original work that was pressed, I think the client supplied me a rights statement to send to the pressing plant about the material being original. Don't know about others.

Music licensing isn't as difficult as it may seem. If you're cutting something for an artist, it's their material (just as you said, not published) and they're "releasing" the material themselves, you're fine. Even a pressing plant probably won't question that process, although they may ask for a do...

Judging from the chip you're getting and the photograph of the cutting stylus, it looks like you have it in either backwards or sideways. The flat face has to face the motion of the disc; e.g. if you look at the stylus from the side (like your photo), the flat face should face backward toward the cu...

Red label audiodiscs were the "professional quality" line with the fewest imperfections. Blue label discs were intended for the home recording market, with the coating being on a thin substrate. Reds were thicker. Yellow label were also intended for home recording, but the product was offered with e...

Try Aaron at https://blanqrecords.com/ - I've tried these and of all plastic materials, they are the quietest.

It's most likely not mildew; it's palmitic acid leaching from the lacquer coating. This happens after a number of years. The best way to clean this off is to use household ammonia. Dampen a soft terry cloth (not microfiber) towel or washrag with it and apply to the disc in a circular motion. Allow i...

If you do change to an M41 head (magnetic, not crystal) make sure you get a matching transformer because the output of the WG amp for the cutting head is off the plates of the tubes = high voltage; 180VRMS or there about. That will cook an M41 in seconds.

And if I recall you need what's called a spanner wrench to loosen/tighten them:

https://www.mcmaster.com/spanner-wrenches/adjustable-pin-spanner-wrenches-for-holes-on-the-side/

mine looks like this one.

Let's see. A portable disc recorder, stereo, very good quality, $2,000 - $3,000 pricetag. Hmmm. In 1940, a Presto 'K' recorder sold for $215. To buy that same machine today, you would pay $4000. In 1942, a Universal "Professional" lathe in the Allied Catalog was $250. To buy that same machine now ac...

terrysrubberrollers.com he does excellent work; just have it re-buit. He's not taking orders at the moment because of the coronavirus, but hopefully will soon. If you try sanding/grinding you will change the diameter and hence the speed of the turntable.

This is a transcription turntable; not a recorder. The device in the arm is a pickup, not a cutter. I'm not aware that Fairchild made any "tonearm" style recorders like the Presto 75A. The recording machines made by Fairchild would have an overhead/feed mechanism with the recorder attached to that a...

For just about any dashpot, traditionally glycerine is the fluid of choice. If you could get a silicone fluid that was of the proper viscosity that would work as well, but most silicone materials are too "thick" for dashpot use. Oil of any kind probably wouldn't be a good choice because of viscosity...

Yes, the older style idler or rim driven turntables provided a good amount of noise. Have you checked the turntable bearing? It's at the bottom of the well where the TT shaft sits. Those wear out and need replacement when they become scored, which makes noise as well.