The Secret Society of Lathe Trolls

piaptk wrote:You got a Grampian? Nice. That will definitely get you there!

Yes. I followed Len's advise and was lucky enough not only to track down a beautiful Grampian, but to find one that was well cared for.

Michaela

It's official - I cut my first keeper. That is the first record, that was "acceptable" in the ears of my audiophile husband. Here's what I learned: It's not a good idea to get mono by simply combining left and right channel outputs from the computer. So I used audacity to convert the song to mono, t...

A little heat will clean that up. Are you cutting or embossing? If your styli is missing the heating wire, it can be replaced with nichrome wire and dental cement. Both can be acquired on eBay easily. What medium? Lacquer or plastic? FYI, you groove walls look clean. Congratulatons! That is most im...

opcode66 wrote:When grooves don't cut 100% cleanly, little shavings of material hang from the tops of the groove walls. They are referred to as horns. Are you using heat?

Nope. Its a used sapphire.

mm.

opcode66 wrote:That magnification is sufficient. I see 6 grooves (3 lines per groove). Looks like a lot of horns on the top of the groove walls.

What are "horns" ?

mm.

groove.png Howdy: I am trying to take microscopic images of grooves. But I don't know if the magnification is sufficient and I wouldn't really know what to look for in an image. Please take a look at the snapshot provided and explain to me if that image is ok (or - if not what needs to be changed) ...

opcode66 wrote:I don't think the accuracy would allow for such a configuration to work.

That's what I thought. But I'll look for somebody who knows about hydraulics and ask.

mm.

Hi, Sorry to hear you are not able to get the levels you need. I assume in addition to the half speed mastering, you also bandwidth limited and peak limited the source material. The only other thing to try is to re-magnetize the magnet or try upgrading to a newer rare earth magnet. There is a nice ...

While floating in the pool I came up with a crazy thought process: Instead of trying to squeeze magnets and spools into a cutter head, why not have the heavy weight under the table and transfer the force via hydraulics or pneumatics to the cutting head?

Michaela

Well folks, I tried it. Processed the audio in audacity, slowed it down an cut it at half speed. Increased recording volume to just about distorting. And it gives me a few dbs more. But not close enough to the levels from pressed 78rpms. Still missing at least 4 dbs.

Michaela

Of course:

t was made by Audax for Presto.Checked and working. But not loud enough for me. Make offer via pm.

Michaela

Hey : I am looking for a Presto 1D or Grampian Mono cutter head. Please drop me a PM

Thanks

Michaela

Thank you so much for the advise. I can handle audacity well so all digital processing shouldn't be a problem. However - while tinkering with my ancient cutter head I found the reason I am blowing fuses all the time. Turns out the impedance is well below 2 Ohms. Expected the coils looking for a shor...

Hello again: I am learning rapidly on the expense of poly carbonate, lacquer and cutter head fuses. I have an Audax / Presto cutter head (see attachment) on a rek-o-kut and I am quite happy with the quality of the results. As my lathe didn't come with an amp, I am using home brew equipment including...

Hah .. made a boo boo myself. Turns out the the audio chain was flawed and the input signal on the right channel of the amp (which is the one I am recording) was distorted, while the left channel (the channel I am monitoring) was ok. The equalizer setting for the channel was off - corrected - everyt...

Howdy: I am now starting to cut lacquers with my beautiful Rek-O-Kut. Am very happy and the quality of the cuts is good though I am cutting with a steel needle in a Presto cutter head. Here are my questions: The recording is not really loud - compared to a manufactured disk I would say maybe 30% to ...

Hello:

I am preparing to start cutting 78rpm Mono records. I was wondering if you would suggest using a compressor / limiter in the audio chain? Keep in mind, that the target is a 1937 jukebox with an original amplifier and modified lightweight ceramic cartridge (no RIAA)

Michaela

Thanks Patrick. Though the motor is a bit weak. But it works ok for imprinting. I am going to try cutting as well, not sure if it works though. Hope you admired my counter wights

Michaela

I guess we're talking celsius here I haven't had the guts to buy and try a diamond, so I guess I let the heat lamp do its work. I am going to try that. Thanks.

Michaela