Cutting laserdiscs and blank pressed records...

[piaptk]

I just recently upgraded from my crappy little home lathe to a Presto 6N, and the last week after getting it finally up and running, has given me more crazy excitement than I ever felt as a little kid around Christmas time... It's like going from a piece of crap pickup truck that was about to fall apart to a Ferrari...

So, despite being VERY apprehensive about ruining my $85 ruby stylus (ruined one in the first 30 seconds of using the Presto), I sucked it up tonight, crossed my fingers, held my toungue just right and cut on a Laserdisc (the kind that looks like a big DVD (not the dark ones in the weird slide out package (which immediately snapped a sapphire on my home lathe a few months ago, they seemed too soft, but I might have just not known what I was doing and had too much weight on the head))) and the backside of a one-sided record that I released on my label.

And they sounded GREAT!

Has anyone else cut on these to a large degree? I know there were some people talking about buying some blank records from a pressing plant... how did that work out for everyone?? They sound great from the 20 seconds I cut on them... but I wonder how much they dull the needles after prolonged use. I don't have my heater set up yet, but even cutting cold there was very little surface noise, and the frequency response was totally decent. Did anyone ruin any needles with them? I'd like to know before I order a few hundred blanks...

If good luck has been had with them, and anyone is interested, I'm going to order a couple hundred blanks if anyone wants to go in on them and lower the setup cost.

As far as the laserdiscs go, these are also pretty great sounding... I pour the Smoothon Task 4 liquid plastic into the center hole (don't fill it completely, because it expands as it dries and makes a mound) and then drill out the center.

On both of these, I was getting great sound, even though the swarf (which is much "bushier" than normal swarf) bunched up around the needle. It would probably be more of a problem if I cut longer times. I'll probably have to hand hold the vacuum to suck it away from the needle.

Any feedback from people who have cut these things would be greatly appreciated!

[piaptk]

Just broke a ruby stylus on a laserdisc. :-/

[blacknwhite]

Very Cool!

Congrats on the new toy(s).

Looking forward to hear how things go. Would love hearing the MP3 you had mentioned on the other thread, comparing the original source signal vs. the playback of the cuts on different media! If your time allows.

I myself have within the last year gotten a much better upgrade from my previous lathe (a bottom-of-the-barrel 1940's 78 rpm Recordio lathe), and now have a truck-like Gates radio station turntable for the turntable basis, and the "larger-sized" rek-o-kut carriage (the one that's more like a presto), and an RCA Mi-11580 (?) head, but haven't cobbled it all together yet.

Sill reading up on electronics so I can learn enough to checkout the cutterhead beyond "yes it has continuity for the cutting coil and the heater coil", and to choose a suitable set of electronics to drive it...

- Bob

[dietrich10]

i still have maybe 20 blank 180gram vinyl records i made. i sold 100+ to guys on this forum but never had any feedback on them

[piaptk]

i still have maybe 20 blank 180gram vinyl records i made. i sold 100+ to guys on this forum but never had any feedback on them

How did they work out for you? How much are you selling them for, and where would they ship from?

I'm really gunshy again after chipping the tip off my stylus last night.

[mossboss]

Hey all
Just keep at it Diamonds soon at around the same price as Sapphire
Ok
PIAPTK
I will start another topic for Diamond styli and whoever wants them it may be best that posters there register what cutting head they have so we can provide the guy that WILL make them the variations on the mounting shank
Cheers

[buckettovsissors]

"feedback"
Sorry for never feedbacking about the blank 7"s you sent me.
I used a 78 wilcox gay (bottom of the barrel)
I tried using steel to cut, worked ok but good ammount of surface noise.
No heating no lube.
Same result with saphire.
I just found one that I havent tested yet but I need to somehow sharpen my steel first. Then I will try steel with lube.
-theo

[KALIA]

for dietrich10: yes sorry for this late feedback but here it come in public.

thank you for the bout 100 records - 10 7 12" black blank pressed vinyl.
i cut bout half of them..

with a ddiamond stylis. and hand hold vacumer.

i have had decent fequninsy response. Not the very well extra defined trebble you know from acetate + and a bit more surface noise.

but i liked it very much! useful vinyl records has been cut.,

They even won a dmc (scratch battle) champion ship in north europe..

on the other side:

my main problem was that some of them espeasially 12"(as they are bigger) was WORPED more or less..

and this gives problems with uregular cutting depth... and since i have a weak crappy turnalble base....(tech1210), picth problems and bad chip will acur.so i will expriment in flattin these records out.

PERHAPS ANY one here have a TIP to straighten out records??



concerrning DIAMOND STYLUS. the black pressed vinyl seem to harshing the needle more that TRANSperant LEXAN.
Witch also sound goood..

I also cut lexan . cut out with scissor and drill hole.

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laserdisc seems a bit like CD witch i also got decent results with..


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could perhaps be interessed i more black blank vinyl if MOSSBOSS or others will make a more affordable diamond afordable!!
the main economical issue is the expencive styluss, some time keeping us for cutting..

but ofcourse it will last longer as i get older. more turtle wax or other gravy grease on records bfore we cut.
and maby heating??
I never use heating or heated stylus.

and it is veryy cold in my room theese days!

last fresh diamond lasted for ca. 1,4 hour cutting time. with very nice result on black 7" and lexan in differnt shapes.

then the chip gets irrugular and noise sound like bad chip.



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[piaptk]

So, now that I actually know what I'm doing (many thanks to everyone here!) I have been cutting Laserdiscs with a LOT of success... I'm using a regular Apollo ruby stylus with no heat and a lot of weight. The chip gets wrapped around the stylus, but it is so light that it doesn't really effect the cut. The cuts sound great! I'd say almost as good as an acetate. Of course, the band I'm cutting right now is a feedback and echo driven space-country band, so it's already relatively lo-fi... but the cut sounds like the original!

Right now I'm on my 30th disc with no signs of problem with this stylus!

If I can keep my stylus from being a problem, these things are actually cheaper than blank poly carb (when you can find them!).

[tape]

sounds very interesting. How do you center the discs?

[piaptk]

sounds very interesting. How do you center the discs?

I'm going to go to a bolt company today to find ones that are perfect fits (hopefully, but not likely), until then, I have a washer that fits the center hole perfectly, and is jsut a sliver shy on the outside of the bolt, so I just eyeball it. It works ok, but there is occasionally some shifting during recording (especially if I'm having to brush off the chip with a rag) so that in about 1 out of every 4 records, the inside has some pitch warble. For playback, you can just set another record underneath it and move the laserdisc to fit on top of the record perfectly, thereby centering it. I might have some spacers machined if I can find a place to do it reasonably...

all in all, it's not a huge problem.

[filtersweeper]

sounds very interesting. How do you center the discs?

I'm going to go to a bolt company today to find ones that are perfect fits (hopefully, but not likely), until then, I have a washer that fits the center hole perfectly, and is jsut a sliver shy on the outside of the bolt, so I just eyeball it. It works ok, but there is occasionally some shifting during recording (especially if I'm having to brush off the chip with a rag) so that in about 1 out of every 4 records, the inside has some pitch warble. For playback, you can just set another record underneath it and move the laserdisc to fit on top of the record perfectly, thereby centering it. I might have some spacers machined if I can find a place to do it reasonably...

all in all, it's not a huge problem.

Hey I'll make you some out of whatever material you want (brass, aluminum, stainless) if you make me a drawing with dimensions. I'm a machinist. In return maybe you'd cut one of my tunes on one?? I'd pay for shipping obviously.... PM me if you're interested.