Made my first diy cutter head

[YvesBonjour]

I made my first diy cutter head the last few weeks. I have no highs on the record and the quality is not very good. Would be great if someone has an idea why. Thank you guys

[farmersplow]

Hello,

it doesn't look too bad for a first attempt. As far as I can see from the pictures, everything necessary for a stereo cutting head is there.

What I can't see is the material on which the driver coils (speakers) are mounted. Is it aluminum or plastic? If it is plastic, then it is too thin and too soft. The driver coils won't be able to follow the high frequencies well. I also don't see how the speakers are mounted on the housing.

I also notice that a lot of glue has been used. I can't tell whether the glue is really hard or a little elastic. It has to be really hard and firm (for correct transmission of the frequencies). A lot of glue is also a lot of weight. If the weight of the moving parts is too high, high frequencies cannot be cut. (every 0.1 gram counts!).

A lot of weight is the enemy of high frequencies!

With regard to weight, the enormously large torsion tube also stands out. What material is it made of? (Looks like brass!). The weight should not exceed 1 to 2 grams. I estimate your torsion tube at over 15 grams. That is too heavy.
The fixing screw also looks like metal (much too heavy).

The cones (I assume they are perfume funnels) have a weight of about 5-10 grams. A weight of 0.5 to 1 gram per channel would be the target here.

Then you should improve the connection between the torsion tube and the V-spring (fixed connection is important).
The torsion tube should also not be attached to the housing with a screw, but only with a wire, so that radial movement is possible and only axial movement is prevented.


Other things such as "Raked angle" and "Vertical cutting angle - VCA" should also be taken into account. VCA (VTA) should be about 20° and the raked angle when cutting in Pet-G about 0-8 degrees (there are exceptions).

I can't say more precisely based on the photos alone. Maybe you can record a pink noise and post it here - that would help with analysis.
Some information about the lathe, audio chain and cutting pattern would also be helpful.

But keep at it and you'll get there.

Greetings from Austria
Thomas

[YvesBonjour]

Hello Thomas Thank you very much for your detailed help. I really appreciate that. I put a normal steel disc behind the exciter. This could possibly have transmitted noise since everything is made of metal. The glue I used is epoxy steel glue. I think it should be relatively hard. Yes, it definitely has a lot of weight. What is the best glue for this kind of thing? Yes, the torsion tube is made of brass and the screw is made of metal. Where can I find such light parts? Or how should I make them? Correctly seen, the funnels are perfume funnels. The test was carried out on a vinyl recorder T-560. I'll adjust everything cleanly and do a pink noise cut. I'll do a second head in the next few weeks and try to implement everything you said.
I will post the next upgraded head here.
Greetings from Zurich
Yves

[tragwag]

what's your setup like for inverse RIAA EQ?
that could very well be the culprit for missing high frequencies

[PMST]

It's likely just needing EQ. Like Tragwag said, what are you using for iRIAA? This is very likely to be your issue