Stuck Between Current Recordio 8j10 Resto or Trying to Find Another Lathe

[secc8sepp]

Hey I'm new here. Started poking around the forum when I ordered this Recordio and quickly realized I probably got one of the worse machines possible. I went to school for Electronic Engineering (drop out but took all the EE classes, lol) so I figure I have a decent shot at getting it working.

First time I plug it in everything seems normal. I start the platter spinning and hear an awful grinding sound so I remove the platter and it looks like it's not catching the wheel right. Also looks like someone tried fixing it with eletrical tape.



Thats when I notice the tubes progressively glowing up and it starts to smell so I turned it off and unplugged it. Now when I plug it in and turn it on it shocks me whenever I touch a metal part so I might be done with it but if ya'll have any ideas. Maybe a bad transformer? I was going to recap, but now im kinda scared to open it. Looks like someone else has been inside it as well.



I'm also looking at the cutting head and I can't tell but kind of looks to me like the tip is gone? Based on what I seem here I thought it was supposed to be crystal.



Anyways feel free to tell me this is a POS and recommend me another lathe. Thanks!

[apoklis]

The real problem is, the cutter head is not worth redoing, the crystal heads at their best is poor quality and don’t last. The tubes are worth more than the amp rebuilt. The machine only has a set feed screw.at a low lpi (lines per inch) At the end of the day ,the money/time you put in it will be lost .Chuck it up as a learning experience and move on. Look for something with a magnet head at least. The problem with that is, they are more expensive and harder to find. This is only my opinion. I haven’t had any good experiences with these machines.

[apoklis]

The real problem is, the cutter head is not worth redoing, the crystal heads at their best is poor quality and don’t last. The tubes are worth more than the amp rebuilt. The machine only has a set feed screw.at a low lpi (lines per inch) At the end of the day ,the money/time you put in it will be lost .Chuck it up as a learning experience and move on. Look for something with a magnet head at least. The problem with that is, they are more expensive and harder to find. This is only my opinion. I haven’t had any good experiences with these machines.

[apoklis]

But if you going to go forward, I would start searching the site to see who rebuilds these cutter heads. I think wes tec dose them but not sure if they do any more. Look on the site for your schematic .Then check the transformers. First the step-up line voltage then he amp transformer. Keep in mind the step up will be around 360V dc for the tubes. If you look at it, should be a simple push pull amp with a pair of 6v6s , 45s, or 7199 and a couple of caps and resistors on bass and treble after the input for the radio and phonograph. Test them to see if they are in spec.
If you need help PM me. Sorry I didn’t mean to be so negative on the last post. But like I said ,I haven’t had much luck with these. Maybe a little bite. Al
Definaly didnt mean to post it twice.

[secc8sepp]

The real problem is, the cutter head is not worth redoing, the crystal heads at their best is poor quality and don’t last. The tubes are worth more than the amp rebuilt. The machine only has a set feed screw.at a low lpi (lines per inch) At the end of the day ,the money/time you put in it will be lost .Chuck it up as a learning experience and move on. Look for something with a magnet head at least. The problem with that is, they are more expensive and harder to find. This is only my opinion. I haven’t had any good experiences with these machines.

Ya I finally got her open and it does not look good, I am surprised it powered on at all. Any suggestions of a decent starter lathe in the 2-3k range?

[piaptk]

I can get you started with a lathe at the high end of your budget. It will be WAY WAY better than that Recordio, will come with a starter pack of blanks and a needle, and include tech support. I can get you cutting good mid-fi records in about two hours after it arrives. EMail me through www.RecordLatheParts.com.

[secc8sepp]

I can get you started with a lathe at the high end of your budget. It will be WAY WAY better than that Recordio, will come with a starter pack of blanks and a needle, and include tech support. I can get you cutting good mid-fi records in about two hours after it arrives. EMail me through www.RecordLatheParts.com.

I believe I already reached out to you. Just awaiting a response.