Removing the film (+ my first releases, woo!)

[displacedsnail]

Hello lathe friends,

Question: Is there some industry secret to removing the film from polycarbonate discs? One side is always easy because the saw leaves some strands hanging off to grab, but the other side really disrupts my flow making 7" records when I can't get a hold of the film anywhere. Any tips?

Also, I'm super excited to have my first two official releases from my "new" Presto 6D ready for the world! The first is a 7" soundtrack to accompany a little film I made in 2021 about the cats in my neighborhood:

https://www.displacedsnail.com/rta/the-cats-of-east-falls-official-soundtrack-7-trading-cards

The second is a re-release of a cassette I did with Joe Jack Talcum in 2019, Over the Moon, on double-sided 10".

https://www.displacedsnail.com/rta/jjtotm

The first is just for fun, and sort of what I imagined doing with a record maker--I've been running a cassette label for five years, and dreamed of making records in runs of 5-50. The second is more of a statement piece introducing the record lathe to my community. The statement was supposed to be, "hi everyone, I'm making records at home now, I'm going to re-release all the previous cassettes on records," but it's quickly becoming "dear god, making a double-sided 10" record is a crazy amount of work."

Thanks in advance!
<3 Joe

[discosdecorte]

Hi!

You can try using with a plastic scraper in the very edge of the blank, it should help lifting up the film so you could grab it and pull it off. Do it gently and you won't scratch the blank

Congrats on your first release! The trading cards are so cool!

BR,
Fer

[displacedsnail]

That worked! I tried using a penknife to cut a tiny piece of the plastic, and it worked so well I went and did it to the next ten records I had to emboss before even peeling the easy side and it helped a lot. And the cut is so shallow and near to the edge it's no danger to the music. Thanks!

[discosdecorte]

No problem, glad to help

Welcome to the cutting game!

BR,
Fer