Restoring a Scully 501 lathe-anybody have literature/manual?

[Deke Dickerson]

Hello all--

I'm a newbie to this forum, though I've been lurking for a while.

I recently bought a Scully 501 lathe. It's a restoration project, though it appears to be 98% complete, it is in about 100 pieces in a bunch of boxes. It has the 1574B Westrex cutting amp w/power supply, the Westrex 2B cutter head, fully mono....

I'm friends with Len Horowitz and he is going to be doing the restoration for me to get this machine back up and running.

I like the mono format and I like 45's and 78's, and some of my favorite records were cut with this machine and the 2B cutter head. So no need to tell me how limited a fixed pitch/mono machine is. I know what it is and I love it!

My question, however, is in regard to the fact that nobody seems to have an original manual or literature for the 501. Len doesn't have anything, there is nothing on the 501 in the "Basic Disc Mastering" book, nothing online. Hard to imagine that literally nothing exists anymore on this machine, considering how prevalent it was at the time.

Anybody out there have anything regarding the 501?

Thanks in advance!

Deke Dickerson

[studiorp]

Hello, can you gently post here some photos ?
I never seen a 501...
Thanks.

[Deke Dickerson]

Ha, well I'm not posting pics of mine until it actually looks like a lathe! If you google "Scully 501" you'll see that it looks a lot like the 601, but with a "gearbox" instead of the variable pitch dial, simpler electronics plate, simpler motor drive configuration, etc.

Right now mine literally looks like a bag of junk....boxes of parts, completely disassembled. Looks to be all there, though.

Deke

[studiorp]

Ok, no problem, good luck for your restoring project.

[W.B.]

I'm curious - are the secondary "finer" pitches seen below the 88-136 lpi range on the gearbox, 150-234 or 178-274 lpi? I know Columbia, in their New York studios, used a 501 with the 150-234 secondary pitches through 1966.

Also, what would be the serial number of the 501 with which you find yourself?

[Deke Dickerson]

W.B.--When I got this thing, it was missing a couple pieces, such as the gear box cover with the lpi indications. I thought I was really screwed until I called Len Horowitz and found out that the guy I bought it from had actually taken it to Len about 20 years previous, and Len had retained a few pieces to get them plated. Talk about a small world, I called Len and he said "Oh, I have a few pieces to that machine still around here somewhere." Bottom line to your question is--I haven't seen the gear box cover yet, so I'm not sure what the pitch range is just yet.

Where is the serial number located on a Scully? Although I've been looking at all these pieces in the boxes I haven't seen a number I'd identify as a serial number.

Deke

[W.B.]

One key would be to look within the "pyramid" setup on the lathe - such as on an earlier version of the "knob dial" setup as from 'dubfidub' as can be seen on this photo (his lathe is S/N 489). Another place to look would be on the manufacturer's plate (which would presumably list "Scully Machine Co." rather than the later Scully Recording Instruments Corp. - and which doubtless would list 501 as the "type").

[THD]

I don't know if it's to any help for you, but did you see the Scully part in this book:

http://rayrayburn.com/rca/RCA_manual.pdf
( The Scully chapter is a bit further than the middle of the book )

[MBL]

Howdy Deke! Nice to see ya on here.
Tim
MBL

[audadvnc]

Hello, we've got a Scully 1940 era lathe (S/N 423) that may be a model 501. It's a gearbox style transmission. As shown it has a Westrex 3DIIa cutting head (using 1700 transistor electronics), but right now we're using a 3B head, which works just as well.

As for pitch as marked on the panel versus reality, it depends on whether you have the right transmission pulley. I use the panel designations merely for my own reference, but use the microscope to determine actual numbers.

This lathe has been up and running for a few months, we're cutting commercial releases with it:

[concretecowboy71]

Welcome Deke.

Those are beautiful machines.

There is a gentleman named John Hull at Musicol in Columbus, Ohio that has an old Scully. He showed it to me when I visited.

http://pitchfork.com/features/articles/9067-musicol/

This is a recent article about them and has a picture of John with his lathe. He told me it was from 1944, but I am certainly not an expert on those machines.

He is a super nice guy and might have some info, don't know for sure.

Just finished a job for somebody you might be acquainted with.. Crazy Joe Tritschler. Great project we did from 1/4 inch tape.

Good luck on your restoration.

[Deke Dickerson]

Hello audadvnc:

I just sent you a PM. I am going to be in Minneapolis in a couple weeks and would love to see your lathe in person, if possible. Thanks! Let me know!

Thanks again to everybody else who chimed in to help on this thread. My 501 restoration is going to be a slow project, I can tell, but I'm committed to making it happen! Thanks!

Deke Dickerson

[audadvnc]

Deke, do you have photos of parts and assemblies you may have questions about? I might be able to give you some hints via the internetz.

[Deke Dickerson]

IMG_3261.JPG

Hello all--

I've had a long break since I first posted about my Scully lathe project. Been going through an 18-month divorce but finally back to concentrating on the Scully 501 restoration.

I have visited Len Horowitz at HRS Sound here in LA and he let me copy some invaluable Scully literature which really helped me figure out what parts went where.

Although the lathe looks really rough from years of storage, 99.5% of everything is there, it just needs to be cleaned up, polished, re-chromed, new bearings installed and reassembled.

I do need the following items, if anybody can help, that would be great: Pipe stand/table, lamp and base, microscope and base, tonearm base, terminal strip, relay box. I prefer to find the real vintage stuff but I know there are a couple folks who make reproductions of these items.

Serial number, which I found located on the aluminum base near the turntable drive shaft, is 0263. Or, 026-3, possibly. Len says it's the earliest serial number he's ever seen, possibly a 1930's machine, possibly early 1940's.

The machine was fitted with a variable pitch unit at one time, but strangely enough all that was missing when I got it and it had all the parts to the original "gear box" fixed pitch assembly.

WB, to answer your question about the pitches, I have several different pitch marker plates, but it would appear as though the gear that I have for the gearbox would be the one already mounted on the machine: 88 through 136. I've taken a picture of the other pitch plates for you, though, showing the secondary pitches. I don't believe I have the correct gears to make any of those work, however.

Last question, anybody know what happened to Robert Hughes, in Minneapolis, who was "audadvnc" here on the forum? He's not an active user on the forum anymore, and I am going to be in Minneapolis this weekend and would love to visit him and see his Scully 501 lathe in action.

Here are a few pictures of the lathe "BEFORE" shot--please don't laugh. It's rough but just wait until you see the "AFTER" photos....

Deke

[smithadamm]

IMG_3261.JPG

Hello all--
Last question, anybody know what happened to Robert Hughes, in Minneapolis, who was "audadvnc" here on the forum? He's not an active user on the forum anymore, and I am going to be in Minneapolis this weekend and would love to visit him and see his Scully 501 lathe in action.

If you are going to be in the midwest, It might be worth your time to make a trip to Columbus, Ohio and talk to Mr. Hull at Musicol recording, he cuts on a modified 501, has for decades.I worked for him for several years, one of the nicest, most knowledgeable men you'll ever be likely to meet. It's also cool to see Studio A and the small pressing operation in action. Call ahead, of course.

Edit: just realized concretecowboy71 pointed you in that direction already. Sorry I didn't read the thread carefully enough and gave you double info.

[Deke Dickerson]

Smithadamm, thanks! Next time I drive through Ohio I definitely want to visit Mr. Hull at Musicol.

Anybody else know of anybody actually using Scully 501's today? Besides Robert Hughes in Minneapolis and Mr. Hull at Musicol, I'm not sure how many 501's are still in existence, especially with the fixed pitch gearbox intact. Len Horowitz thought that Palomino in Kentucky used a 501. Rare beasts, indeed.

Deke

[ejemmons]

Welcome to the great odyssey! I have restored a Scully 501 with variable pitch and depth, all tube electronics fully automated with a Crestron PRO2... I would be happy to share what I have learned, of course with Len's utterly invaluable help.

[Deke Dickerson]

Thanks, EJ! I have Len helping me as well. I'm sure I will have several questions for all the current Scully owners/users once I get a little further along on the project!

Deke

[Virtalahde]

If you need a relay box + other parts, I have one from a 601 lathe. No idea if it's of any use for a 501..

[Deke Dickerson]

Virtalahde--

Kiitos! (Been to Finland many times)

I DO need a relay box, and a microscope w/stand, light w/stand, turntable attachment, carriage stop arm, and a few little doo dads.

If you can, send me a PM with a list of what extra parts you have, I appreciate it!

Deke