Cutting on tiny metal cylinders

[tobaccojones]

Hey all,

Hopping over from the newbie forum where I first posted this. I am in need of a very unusual audio cut:

1. the format will be 2 tiny cylinders, about 10-15mm in diameter, and as short as possible, hopefully 1mm tall or less. (depends on how wide 16 grooves are, I guess)
2. the material should be a sturdy metal that will last, I expect brass but if others are more robust and still cuttable, that'd be fine. I also need the needles to not wear out, so there might be a compromise to be struck somewhere.
3. there are about 14-16 tracks per cylinder, each one is about half a second long
4. I would like to have the grooves all starting from the top edge, so each of the 15 or so tracks has a unique starting point that my needle can find by simply spinning the cylinder to the right spot
(alternately I could stack the grooves and have each track be a single spin with no spiraling, but I think the first option is better)
5. I want to get thousands of plays from this thing, and it to last 100 years.

I know, it's crazy. I've considered 3D printing but that's definitely going to be inferior.

I know this will not be cheap to do, and I am open to any reasonable option. I expect that some kind of equipment will have to be hacked, at least temporarily.

Any and all ideas would be highly welcome!

Thanks so much,

Ed

original thread: https://www.lathetrolls.com/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=10298

[piaptk]

I have some very old (but seemingly unused) diamond cone styli, which I've been told were used to emboss aluminum back in the day. I haven't looked all that hard for an aluminum soft enough to match whatever it was they used in the 40s, but I know the aluminum cores of lacquers don't work. I've just been sitting on these styli, but would sell one or two for experimenting if you find someone who wants to take on yr project.

[tobaccojones]

Thanks @piaptk, found it: https://www.lathetrolls.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=3993 and reading now. Wild.

[mrd]

Sounds like an interesting project! You may like this:
https://www.lukejerram.com/talking-ring/

[tobaccojones]

I'm so impressed with all the leads that you guys have given me. Hopefully one will work out! (and I'll definitely let you know if it does.)

Thanks!

[flozki]

you should check the sonic properties of aluminium also