DIY lathe , new to this , what am i doing wrong ? :)

[Nedelcu Constantin]

Hi , recently i started to build a vinyl lathe , the transport section works pretty ok , but , as you might expect , the cutterhead is a disaster . When i try to play the recording there is a lot of noise and the needle don't stay in the groove . I use 2 no name 3 watts / 8 ohms speakers , powered by an Akai amplifier 2x30 w at 8 ohms ( i know , the power is too big but i ran the speakers for a short period of time at about 2x10 watts , they still work ) .I glued on membranes 3d printed parts made from PLA in order to connect them to the center shaft . For the center shaft i used an aluminium 6 mm tube and some printed parts . For the cutting needle i used a 1.5 mm drill , first cone shaped and then piramidal . The turntable is a Stanton STR8 60 with about 1 kgf / cm , a bit too weak . I used for testing cd s and blank vinyl ( recorded only on one side ) . I ddin't used any solvents for softening the surface of the disc neither an lamp for warming the disc . Please excuse me for bothering you , if you have any advice i'm glad to hear it .

[Nedelcu Constantin]

Hi , still working on the vinyl recorder . This is the 3rd model , i managed to get some audio ,i reduced the background noise pretty much , comparing to the previous versions . I still have a lot to learn about the audio settings . One problem is i can't record stereo even though the cutterhead is a skinny copy of the one made by Souri . For the recordings i used polycarbonate , sheet and cd , a Stanton STR8 60 turntable and an Akai AMU 310 amplifier . Any help or tips are welcome . I attached 3 videos with some recordings .

[PLD]

I'm slightly surprised about the lack of reaction to this, as I think it's a great effort and much better than anything I could come up with myself. I won't address technical issues though, there are others who are far more qualified to do that than me.

[Nedelcu Constantin]

Still here , still working , even if sometimes i feel on this forum like in madamme's Tussauds museum , exhibits but no one to talk to :l . 4th model , embossing , all plastic parts designed and 3d printed by me . I reduced considerably the background noise , increased the output volume , a better density of grooves / mm . Still not sure if warming the disc improves the quality of the recording , not sure also about the Turtle wax , but don't bother , i'll figure it out . Here are some photos and 2 samples , one house track and one latin song , on both songs there are some overmodulations in the upper area of the audio spectrum .

[fonogabor]

Hi Constantin!

Some thoughts about your issue....
Personally I am building my lathe from scratch.. It is another way....
As you did wrote you did not used any method to soften the surface of your disc.
Try it- I recommend. Because for example some industrial lathes are using "thermo stylus" wich is an individually heated needle. But it is difficult now. More simple to hang up an infra lamp above your platter and measure the temp. of your disc surface with a non contact thermometer.

Good luck!

Gabriel

[Nedelcu Constantin]

Hi Gabriel , thanks for the response . Yes , i was considering the infrared lamp , actually now i design the stand for it . I saw that the recomended surface temperature is about 35'-45' C . Today or tomorrow i'll make some tests . Another thing that's still blurred for me is the embossing weight . Now i got some decent results with 185-190 grams . Is it too much , too little ? Probably the embossing weight influences the background noise too . About the thermo stylus i don't find it very difficult to build . Any ideea what should be the temperature for the stylus durring the cutting ?

[fonogabor]

Hi Constantin!

Sorry but I cannot to give to you correct answer about the ideal weight for the recording.
My lathe is in the " under construction" status. BUT! I recommend for you two approaches wich are can I summarize in two sentences:
1/: Do not change the content of your victorious team! (If something works...)

2/: Trial and error method is works well on the unknown area of knowledge.(If we don't know better...)

So: If you have got good results with some weight value try to gradually decrease it. Less mechanical effort- less mechanical problems. ...I think....

Experiment,experiment,experiment!

Happy New Year!

Gabriel from Budapest

[Nedelcu Constantin]

Hi Gabriel , Happy new year ! Sorry for the late reply . Yes , i make small increments adjustments untill i get better results and than i write the values in a notebook and make photos of the set up . Very primitive way but apparently it works )) . You know what they say : if it's stupid but it works , it's not stupid ))) .

[fonogabor]

Hi Constantin!

Please give me some information: How many milimeters is the OVERALL LONGITUDINAL length of your cutterhead?
In other words: how many milimeters from the base ( where it is assembled to the advance mechanism) to the end .

I am now choosing the place of the "bridge" of my machine. I would like to leave enough place for the future cutterhead. You can see my progress in the "Newbies" topic- "From scratch".

Thank you for your help!

Gabriel

[fonogabor]

Hi Constatin!

I did listened your recordings.... and I got an idea: Your sound is a little "boxy" and lack of highs....
Did you applied the RIAA correction?
When you are recording: Anti RIAA- this is empasizes highs and cuts the lows.
When you are playing back: RIAA this is emphasizes lows and cuts a little the highs.

Use your EQ!

Some more info to read: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RIAA_equalization

All best!

Gabriel

[Nedelcu Constantin]

Hi Gabriel , sorry for the late reply . Check your FB messages

[Jesus H Chrysler]

185 grams seems really heavy to me, even for embossing. I'd definitely lighten up on that weight. When embossing on my presto with a reversed standard pitch sapphire I think I'm around 50, cutting with a sapphire or diamond it's around 15-20. The extra weight of embossing will cut your high frequency response a lot. Have you tried with a proper cutting stylus?

[Nedelcu Constantin]

Hi Jesus , this way i obtained some results . I tryied to lighten up the weight at about 140 grams and to the end of the record , when playing , the needle didn't stayed in the groove . The tracking force of the turntables used for listening the recordings is around 3-3.5 grams , as i usualy use when listening / mixing . The embossing needle that i'm using now is made from a 1.5 mm drill , cone shaped at 90' and tilted back at 65' . Probably if i want to use a lighter weight i have to use a sharper needle . I didn't used a proper cutting / embossing stylus , yet . . Any ideea where can i get one ? Can you tell me what is the geometry of the needles you use ? I live in Romania and i don't know anyone here that i can talk to about vinyl recording

[xrc]

Hi Nedelcu, it's great how do You do it! looks very nice:) and the sound is also o.k. if we take into account that it's made with steel embossing on CD!
Some notes: give a try with different materials (polycarb, axpet) and also with the cutting stylus of myshank.
Before i got such a stylus from them, i worked with NTI tooth-drill diamonds:) https://www.kerrdental.com/kerr-rotary/nti-diamonds-diamonds#buy
I also didn't experienced any difference with heating or not those materials while tried embossing polycarbonate...
And one more: for embossing, probably it's better to use exciters instead of speakers. Exciters makea more straight groove, easier to keep for the player.
Good luck!

[Nedelcu Constantin]

Hi XRC , thanks for the tips . I noticed your work , with better results than mine and if it's ok with you , i'll ask some more advices . Thanks alot once again !

[xrc]

+ sorry i forgot something: i see it's going to be a stereo head - You can also play with small phase differences between the two channels in order to find the best cooperation berween the two speakers (I usually phase-invert one of the speakers)
+2: with cutting stylus, the membrane speakers are more efficient than exciters

[Nedelcu Constantin]

The head is a copy of the one made by Souri , 3d printed and with car tweeters . Yes , i reversed the phase of one speaker . Also , if you find anything interesting in my project , ask . I can send you the .stl s .

[Nedelcu Constantin]

This is a movie a made last month . https://youtu.be/y_u7oGvssoA

[ilovedrums247]

Very nice to see the progress, and the youtube vid sounds great.

One idea that crossed my mind, to lighten the moving mass, is using a 'set screw' instead of a normal phillips head. Is it an M3?

[mrd]

This is great! Would really like the STLs if possible please!