Lockdown turntable and lathe - a DIY project

[Fattcamp]

to Fattcamp : If I understand correctly the 1mm wires you are talking about are the pushrods : their goal is to connect the drivers (speakers) to the torque tube (the torque tube is the tube that will hold the stylus). I mentionned earlier that epoxing them to the cone at the end of the drivers is a valid solution (as many have proved on this forum).

Heat to the stylus comes from really tiny wires that look like hair, they are way thinner than 1mm and they are connected to the stylus (not to the torque tube). They are not present in the last set of pictures because there is no stylus installed in the torque tube in those pics.

An other 1mm steel wire could be the piano wire at the back of the torque tube. It is part of the v-spring (V shaped piece that you can see on the previous series of pictures) that holds the torque tube in place, and allows it to move only in the desired directions. In this case, the piano wire (usually thinner than 1mm if I'm not mistaking) is there to not allow the torque tube to move backwards or forwards. It is burried at the back of the torque tube on one side, and attached to the body of the cutting head on the other. We don't see it either in those last pics, but if you look for piano wire or v-spring on this forum you'll find threads and pictures about them. When you talked about anchoring you were probably talking about this part.

Appreciate the info here. Yes, I was referring to the "piano wire" attached to the v-spring & torque tube. It's a part of the build, but there wasn't much info on it so I had to sort of work backwards to gain an understanding of its purpose.

Thanks again,
Dave

[Fattcamp]

Hi guys,

In this build, the 1mm piano wire is epoxied to the cutterhead and torque tube. Is there a way to have this stability in some other way without permanently adhering the wire in case I need to swap out the torque tube/v-spring? I'm concerned I'll need an entirely new cutterhead if there are any issues, given I'm working with 3d printed PLA+ and it's my first build ever.

I did see someone else in this thread with some sort of rubber stopper sitting between the v-spring and the inside of the head... Is that really mainly what needs to happen? I still want the stylus to move freely the way it was intended. I guess one could always snip the wire, replace the v-spring/torque tube and reuse the wire hole... but then I'll already have epoxied the push rods from the drivers to that same torque tube.

Thanks,
Dave

[Thelatheofus]

In many cutterheads the piano wire at the back of the torque tube is held by a small metal plate screwed into the cutterhead's body (this way it can kind of clamp the piano wire). Then rubber is added to the piano wire to dampen it and tame the high frequency resonations

I'm on my phone so I don't have pics on hand, but look at the back of the groovescribe cutting head or zdenek (iirc), you'll see what I mean.

Others just bury the piano wire into a piece of rubber at the back of the cutting head (like groove guy's cutting head) but I doubt that it's an ideal solution. I don't have anything to back this claim but my intuition is that it doesn't restrict backwards and forward movement enough

[Thelatheofus]

Resonnance not resonations of course*

[Fattcamp]

Great info! Much appreciated. Yeah I like the clamp idea (for now) until I get my own 3d printer so I don't end up blowing one of the cutterheads unnecessarily. I'll probably end up with alumide eventually anyways, but for now, I'm sticking with PLA+.

If I epoxy the torque tube to the v-spring as per the instructions, I can still replace the v-spring/torque tube combo and re-use the cutterhead if I clamp the piano wire as opposed to epoxying it (might be a bit tricky as the epoxied coin exciters may block the ability to remove the screws holding the v-spring in place). I have 2 cutterhead bodies made but was hoping to compare the aluminum drink can cones vs the small collar/steel pushrod combo.

I'm heading out of town for vacation on Sunday, but managed to arrange picking up a Stanton STR8.150 during my travels so that will be my high-torque turntable for this lathe. Hopefully the platter doesn't need to be replaced with a precision-machined option but I know it's quite possible.

After some reading on the forum, I've got 500ma fast-blow fuses in line between the amp and drivers for the positive line (hopefully this is where they are supposed to go!). Apparently this may alter the sound but I'd rather not blow the drivers. Feel free to let me know if I'm not understanding correctly.

More to come after vacation but getting close to being able to emboss something for the first time!

I'll be donating here in the near future once the vacation dust has settled. This is an amazing forum and folks have been super helpful for a noob such as myself. This is quite reminiscent of my Moog-inspired DIY patchable analog modular synthesizer from 20 years ago. I would have never been able to achieve that without the help of folks online... so thanks very much guys!

Dave

[Fattcamp]

Hey guys,

How can I adjust the vinyl burn software to play back the tracks at their intended speed? I've taken a quick look through the code but can't seem to figure it out. I'm working with 24-bit 48k WAV's and they are significantly slowed when playing back on my turntable at 45rpm (which is the setting I chose in the software).

Thanks,
Dave

[Fattcamp]

Hey guys,

I ended up sorting it out. I thought it was something to do with the software so I tried another computer with the same interface and it worked properly. False alarm!

Dave

[rubdubreggay]

Hello, would it be possible to have this work without the computer and relative Vinyl Burn software? I have plans of building this in a remote location, and since i only own one computer, it would make it impossible to have my computer at the location needed for this to work with the Vinyl Burn program assembly. Would it be possible to send a line/phono signal directly in the cutterhead through the amplifier, and have the platter speed fixed to 45rpm-ish/22.5? Perhaps with a switch? As for the linear rail, I'm willing to have less record duration per side, as long as i can get the groove spaced out at a standard range that doesn't make it a problem for interlocking groove or too much of a movement for the playback head to follow...
Since i will be using a tape recorder as a source material, i was hoping i could send the signal unprocessed to the amp, and the head... Let me know what you guys think. This is looking promising, will need me to learn quite a few things but i'm sure i can handle it.

The arduinos are a new thing to me, but i'm sure they can manage working by themselves without the input of the software, if programmed correctly to work in one direct way...

keep on cutting!!
Matt from Italy

[evildrome]

Hi All!

I'm building a similar overhead for a friend and he suggested looking at VinylBurn for controlling it.

Just reading through the thread, the photo interrupters seem to be causing some people grief.

If all we're trying to do is get a 1 or 0 out of a physical sensor, why not use a Hall effect sensor or just (the simplest solution) a reed switch?

Reed switches need no associated electronics (its just a switch), are immune to dust & crap in the air and just go on & off as a small magnet passes them.

Also, they are dirt cheap and if you get decent branded ones (still very cheap) have bomb proof reliability.

Kudos to the original poster and all you guys building this project !

[grooveguy]

I'm with you on that, evildrome; thanks for suggesting a simple solution. I'm building a new lathe right now and opted for "Microswitches," you know, those little plastic blocks with a metal lever sticking out off the side. Here's a snapshot of how I'm implementing these on my project as limit switches to stop the carriage from causing any trouble at the ends of its travel. These are mounted on little aluminum blocks and secured to the lathe base with one screw so that they can be swiveled to adjust for closure at the proper point. Microswitches have built-in hysteresis so they operate with a definite 'click' without having to use a Schmitt trigger to establish logic levels as might be necessary with optocouplers, etc.

Limit switch detail.jpg

[Thelatheofus]

I'm using similar end switches. The only problem I had with them is because I didn't "debounce" them. Using a debounce library in arduino fixed it.

[grooveguy]

Being a minimalist, I question the need to resort to an Arduino to cut a record. But then I've been doing it for just over 70 years, yet still not so feeble as to have trouble with a totally-manual operation. Yes, a single R/C low-pass (real or virtual) will debounce those guys nicely; it's not like they have to respond in nanoseconds. I imagine that my control box for this lathe will contain a few relays and maybe a bit of CMOS logic... haven't addressed all that yet.

[Thelatheofus]

There is no need for an arduino, it's just the most accessible way to do it for someone with no experience in electronics and coding. There are plenty of tutorials, accessories, ressources... It seemed to me like a way more "plug and play" solution.

[imisanthropeofficial]

I'm currently getting the parts I need. The 3d printed parts came in this week, and that really upped my excitement for this project. Question - where can I get the TEAX19C01-8 coin exciters? Seems as if every place is sold out of them except for an eBay store in Austria. I know Dayton Audio has a 19mm 4 ohm version that looks very similar, and I have an amateur cutterhead I made with those. Would these work, or is it best to get the 8 ohm Tectonic exciters?

[grooveguy]

Hey, imisanthropeofficial, looks like US suppliers no longer carry that exciter. I'd opt for a very similar one from Dayton Audio:
https://www.daytonaudio.com/product/1174/daex19ct-4-coin-type-19mm-exciter-5w-4-ohm
It looks to be the same 19mm size, just the fine points of mounting might require a refinement of the cutterhead design. As I recall, I cut off that tab that holds the solder terminals and ran those flexible wires from the voice coil to a couple of brass nails stuck into tight-fit holes in the phenolic.

[Fattcamp]

I still haven't resolved my photointerrupter issue but I honestly haven't bothered for awhile now. They are wired exactly as the build notes/documentation shows too. I'm just manually stopping the motor using the transport controls within the vinyl burn software during testing. Once I'm actually embossing something, I zero out at the outer portion of the disc so I can easily return to zero at least. Once the inner/outer dimensions are provided, it'll know when to stop in the center as well. Basically, it works so I decided to live with it and have some fun. I should really solve that issue one of these days though. I didn't even know about reed switches so thanks for the suggestion evildrome!

Being my first build, I found David's guide super helpful and the arduino fun to work with. I guess there's many ways to approach builds but I actually really appreciated the fact that it's all packaged up in one big bundle and if you stick with it, it really works well!

I'm currently getting the parts I need. The 3d printed parts came in this week, and that really upped my excitement for this project. Question - where can I get the TEAX19C01-8 coin exciters? Seems as if every place is sold out of them except for an eBay store in Austria. I know Dayton Audio has a 19mm 4 ohm version that looks very similar, and I have an amateur cutterhead I made with those. Would these work, or is it best to get the 8 ohm Tectonic exciters?

imisanthropeofficial, I ran into the same issue and just bit the bullet with the eBay store. I bought 4 of them to have a backup pair for another cutterhead or if any problems occurred. I'm happy to report that they work great. I use 500mA fast-blow fuses in line with the amp for some added protection as well after digging around the forum.

Dave

[Fattcamp]

Hey guys,

This post is overdue, but here's my first build! A lockdown lathe in it's current state with a Stanton STR8.150 turntable for embossing. I must have lucked out with the platter on it as I don't appear to have any noticeable issues. I stayed as close as possible to David's build in every way and it works great!

I'm currently troubleshooting a whistling issue on the outer portion of 12" PC blanks specifically, but I'll know soon enough if it's on my end of something with the stylus and can then troubleshoot from there. There are no issues with smaller media though. As mentioned prior, I still haven't figured out why my photointerrupters aren't working yet, but I've been just using the transport controls and my eyes for now.

There's still plenty to do and upgrade. Lasers for calibration, better heat lamp/source and probably 1000 other things but this is ground zero. I'll eventually want to be able to cut slower than 33-1/3 but for now I'm utilizing the 33-for-45 method to squeeze in a bit more top end. I may look into cutting down the road, but the goal was always embossing and I'm happy with the results given the known limitations of embossing and the materials I'm working with.

I joined the forum in Jan '24 and was hellbent on completing this build, and managed to get it functional back in Sept! This was entirely done in my spare time outside of my day job and navigating life with my wife & 2 young kids. They also think it's pretty cool! I am grateful for the endless knowledge, support & talent here on the forum. A huge thank you to David for putting this build together and everyone on the forum for lending an ear to allow a noob like myself achieve his first functional build. This was really just a fun project for myself, but I plan on working with local artists for small runs for merch booths and things like that.

Here's a few pics of the build. I haven't enclosed any of the electronics yet. I actually like the exposed spaghetti mess but it'll get cleaned up at some point. I've got a breadboard there mainly for the LCD display to live on and to troubleshoot the photointerrupter problem using the handy-dandy dupont connectors. If anyone has any questions that's attempting the build or whatever, I'm happy to share my experiences, sources for parts etc... I'm in Canada for what it's worth.

I'll add some audio soon, but just wanted to show you guys my rats-nest in all it's glory!

Dave

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[grooveguy]

Gosh, Dave; that's remarkable progress in such a relatively short time, and dealing with such 'adversities' as a family Once the electronics are nailed down (and wiring appropriately dressed so you don't trip and fall), be sure to share a sample of the results. Some of the embossing audio samples posted on this site and on YouTube are almost too good to believe, based on performance I've been able to achieve, at any rate. Good job!

[Fattcamp]

Thanks grooveguy!

You have been so helpful along the way. The main reason I didn't add an audio sample is because I'm at work and have been meaning to post this for awhile! Had to take a break from everything after recent surgery too but I'm bouncing back. OF COURSE the Canada Post mail strike has my new embossing stylus stuck in transit. haha.

I'm really happy with the 33-for-45 results and I'm using the spinnertownblanks calibration method. I ended up with a secondary match-eq prior to pitching down the source material and a primary match-eq after pitching down doing most of the heavy lifting. The primary match-eq took care of the most obvious issues, but was still needing a bit more help and the second one seemed to get it in the ballpark to where I'm happy to show some results. If the new embossing stylus shipping takes too long to get here, I'll use the current one and show you guys some results.

All the best,
Dave

[imisanthropeofficial]

Thanks for the info! You guys are quick and spot on! Dave, that looks awesome! Hoping I can get those kinds of results. This is basically my upgrade from a Teenage Engineering Record Factory, which I love but am hoping to improve on sound quality and be able to cut or emboss larger media. I even experimented on x-rays and am pretty impressed with the results.

Just to keep in line as much as possible with the lathe plans, I ordered the Tectonics from the sole eBay seller. Once I have to order more exciters, I'll go with the Dayton Audio 4 ohm. It may be a month or two (or longer) before I have everything I need, but I have all the main parts except for the exciters, v-slot rails, and the electronics. This will be my first time using a breadboard since the mid 90s (and I didn't do well in that class), but I understand electronics a bit better now than I did then. Wish me luck - I will update you all on my progress.