My wilcox Gay / Recordio Lathes

[Mulchefye]

so...i have posted this before....perhaps i ought to have posted it inna KIDDIE forum instead...so here it is n YES i am a KID that doesnt know what he is DOING....i been dreaming and FANTASISING about being able to record on RECORDS since i was SEVEN. therefore, a little HELP please....

two videos i have filmed so far https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEXANwh1Ar8 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diTo9BHM0KY have some pix too

i have learned a lot so far, since i have had these Platters. For one thing, i am DEFINATELY going to GREASE those UNDERGEARS , the cutter might be burnt but i could have sworn i heard that metal screeching when i tried it....

[Mulchefye]

i am so exited about this man no matter WHAT cutting head i put in either of these now i know how the mech works man ...im LEARNING man, and that is the most exiting thing! now i KNOW how to make a RECORD! AAND i have a machine that does it when the bloody CUTTER works which mine do not...but thats ok, i will fix them and i know now how the process works...only thing that is going to mess me up at this point is the fact that these Platters dont provide a method to put in a lead-in/out groove do they! betchya i figure out how to do it hehehe a CHALLENGE!

[Mulchefye]

is interesting to think about how they might have put an in/out groove on these discs...or did they ever even bother? i WILL figure it out

[Techie]

Those machines do not have a lead in or lead out feature.

To prevent my playback stylus from sliding onto the paper label and also avoid possible destruction from the drive pin hole, I usually continue cutting a silent groove for a minute or 2 after the end of the recording. That at least give me some time to get the turntable if I'm listening from another room. I also have moved the cutter close to the label and cut a few grooves there to stop the playback stylus. Be careful. When the cutter reaches the end of the feedscrew it will stop moving and the cutter will dig deeper into the lacquer with each pass. When you hit the aluminum base, your cutting stylus is trash.

If you find a better way, let me know.
Have fun!

[Mulchefye]

howdy Techie, thanks for the response!

i did a couple of tests on some blank space on a 12 inch disco single hehehe and i found something interesting...if i push ever so slightly on the cutter while lifting it a bit i CAN make a groove between songs, so now i am examining the mechanics to see if theres some sort of lever thing i can build into it which will allow me to temporarily disengage the guiding tonearm between songs...still experimenting but it does grind a nice groove so far...and i suspect i may have trashed my Sapphire needle already cuz when i first got the things the screw was frozen on the one i tested and it grinded down into the aluminum for like 2 revolutions at 33...but im an optomist hehehe....of course this is just preliminaries so that when i finally get my cutting heads rewired im all set to go! btw ya wouldnt happen to have a spare cutting head 4 sale would ya? and also, i have been wondering if is possible to mount a stereo cutter onto these units....from the looks of it a stereo cutter would be too heavy, the tonearms on these things weigh a ton!