rek-o-kut?

[woodhog]

i just got a rek-o-kut m-12s over head cutting lathe on a tr 43h turntable with a audax cutting head. does any one have any tips, info, or warnings about this sweet machine ?

[grooveguy]

I've heard some very good recordings from that setup. The Audax head may need some rebuilding, and, if my memory servies, the Audax was not normally happy carrying a heated stylus. You might overcome that by replacing the Audax damping material with Neoprene. What leadscrew did you get? The pitch is identified with engraving on the screw, near the big gear. It will say 210 OI or 120 IO or something like that. Congratulations.

[woodhog]

it says 120 oi 7 on the lead screw. i don't think the head needs to be rebuilt because it sounds pretty good on lacquer discs. . it is a bit hissy, but i think that may be because of a dull stylus. i have the schimatisc to make a heated stylus from a diy audio magazine article from 1956.. do you think that it's a bad idea to try it out?
thanks for the input, i appreciate it a lot.

[grooveguy]

The 120 OI means that it cuts with a pitch of 120 lines-per-inch from the outside to the inside of the record. 120 is a typical pitch for 78 r.p.m. records; at 33 it gives you about 3.6 minutes per inch of disc surface, or only about 3 pop songs per side of a 12-inch disc. The hiss you get is doubtless a dull cutting stylus. You can try heating a sapphire stylus, but you won't have much luck with steel or stellite because the heat is conducted away from the tip as fast as its applied. Also, a metal stylus will short the turns of a heating coil where a sapphire tip is the perfect electrical insulator.

Someone in this group has to becme proficient in sharpening styli!

[woodhog]

is there any where to sharpen these things, or to buy new sapphire or diamond short shank stylus?
i think i may have a stallite stylus but i'm not sure.

[bancho]

apollomasters sells the new blanks AND new styli.
.com for US and .de for EU