How to make a record lathe:
Now, I tell you all I know. For people, who want further knowledge about this lathe-subject, I highly recommend the website of the secret society of lathe trolls.
In the beginning of 2018 I heard about CDs, that can be played on a phonographic record-player. Well, I thought that was a joke, until I discovered some clips on youtube, where they definitely did exactly this. And I was fixed on the know-how behind this wonder.
Those guys had a secret weapon, which they had build in a “Do it yourself” style. It was a record lathe record cutter. They explained the way to construct such a machine and shared their knowledge from experimental try and errors. Some results were very impressing.
I made a list, what I would need for the building of such a DIY machine and started the project. I had a useless record-player, some parts of a broken printer, a motor to move the printer-arm and 2 speakers in a wooden triangle headshell, mounted on the printer-arm. For cutting into the plastic-plates, CDs or other materials, I used needles from the hospital or sharp sewing needles. Those have to be fixed to the speakers, to transfer the vibrations into the underground. The cutterhead has to have the right weight, so it does not cut too deep or to less. The motor has to have a slow speed, because the CD s are very small.
The first prototype was a disappointing failure. I simplified the machine to a mono speaker system and used a record-player tonearm between the speaker and the needle. This was a big step forward. I received some music-like sounds on my record-player, while testing the results. I used samples from one of the first trials, for a song on weeklybeats in the week 23, 2018, and named it “record cutter”. But I knew, this was not the goal, having only 1% music and 99% noise. It would never be like such a product, that blows you away.
I had to find another possibility to cut better results. I collected all informations about the models of the cutter history.
finding an original cutter
In the 90ies there was the legendary vestax VRX-2000 cutter and the kingston dubplate cutter, but much too rare and unaffordable. The 80ies japanese cutter Hara M-180 was offered on ebay one day, but still too expensive for me. The same problem with the Hara Matsusho and the Vanrock Atom A101. They can only cut singles and cost much more then 1500$. The vinylrecorder t-560 by Ulrich Sourisseau is almost a professional machine and much too perfect for my wish list.
I had to look for vintage cutters, that were build in the 30ies or 40ies, which were often sold on ebay, between prices of 200-2000 $. It could have been a Presto, Speak-O-Phone, airline, mss, Meissner or a Wilcox-Gay Recordette or Recordio machine. There were many more old vintage cutters for sale, but it was a risk, buying such things, because they could not be working anymore after 80 years, or would get damaged, when they were shipped overseas.
After studying the market on ebay worldwide, I was able to find hints in the description and photos, if the machines were broken or could probably work. And then there was the Wilcox-Gay recordio that looked fine and was not too expensive with shipping. I took the risk, bought it and had to wait a couple of weeks until it arrived. Of course I checked a power-transformer, to let it run with 220 Volts.
When it arrived, I could not resist to switch it on, after I opened the box. Thank god, that nothing serious happened. Ok, there was a light, but nothing moved. I could have died from an electric hazard shock, when touching the metal, if the tubes would have been broken.
make it work fine
I had to inspect the machine with a good friend, who knows to repair everything, as long as it is an electronic device. We changed half of the tubes, replaced 4 transistors and capacitors and did the first regular testing. Even the cutterhead did work fine after all this years. I ordered 50 sheets of polycarbonate, original turtlewax and all kind of needles. I even found a replacement cutterhead, which I bought, incase the old one would not work anymore.
ready to cut
And this is substantially and specifically not 100% correct. I should never cut something out. I had to learn to understand, that there is big difference between cutting and embossing or imprinting. The thin lines, I wanted to create, should be like mountains and valleys, on which the needle goes up and down. The regular vinyl-record works with grooves, on which the needle jumps from left to right and does not touch the ground. But as long as my cutterhead is called like this, I will still use the wrong vocabulary from time to time.
What I learned from the secret society of lathe trolls , is the importance of lubricating the discs or plastic plates with lighter fluid or wax properly first. The trolls usually take turtle wax!! Some People heat the plastic plates up, but I did not get a benefit from this. The best results from plastic, you can get, is using polycarbonate, what CDs are made of.
Furthermore I had to adjust the weight of the cutterhead and optimize the angle and the hight of the needle. I tested a sapphire needle, which was way to sharp and started to cut deep grooves and produced unwanted swarf. The tungsten needle was perfect and worked fine.
The cutterhead in this machine is really something special. It has a piezo-like crystal inside, that produces the sound, which is transmitted to the needle. It is unbelievable, that this thing still works after 80 years. The alternative common technique are magnet-cutterheads.
And this is substantially and specifically not 100% correct. I should never cut something out. I had to learn to understand, that there is big difference between cutting and embossing or imprinting. The thin lines, I wanted to create, should be like montains and valleys, on which the needle goes up and down. The regular cutted record works with grooves, on which the needle jumps from left to right and does not touch the ground. But as long as my cutterhead is called like this, I will still use the wrong vocabulary from time to time.
What I learned from the secret society of lathe trolls , is the importance of lubricating the discs or plastic plates with lighter fluid or wax properly first. The trolls usually take turtle wax!! Some People heat the plastic plates up, but I did not get a benefit from this. The best results from plastic, you can get, is using polycaronate, what CDs are made of.
Furthermore I had to adjust the weight of the cutterhead and optimize the angle an hight of the needle. I tested a saphire needle, which was way to sharp and started to cut deep grooves and produced unwanted swarf. The tungsten needle was perfect and worked fine.
The cutterhead in this machine is really something special. It has a piezo-like crystal inside, that produces the sound, which is transmitted to the needle. It is unbelievable, that this thing still works after 80 years. The alternative common technique are magnet driven cutterheads.
first testings
check this out:
The sound of the motor and the driving belt is quiet loud and will make its way onto the recording. I got used to it and I think this creates the charm of the old fashioned sound.
Unfortunately, I have to render my songs to a lower speed, because of the different Hertz adjustment, electronic devices have in europe. That means, the cutter runs too fast, while recording. But that is not a big deal, except the playing time is reduced a little bit. Onto my sheets of polycarbonate, I can record about 7 minutes of music on each side. I have to find out how to make regular 12 inch plates, that I can impress more songs on the record in the future.
While playing the songs into the good old Wilcox, it is better to make a RIAAS EQ for each track, to achieve better sounding songs in the end. But still there is only a frequency of 500 to 5000 Hz to hear while playing the song on the stereo. That means you only hear the mids. That is not too bad, because everything sounds warm and far from being digital anymore. It is like the golden sweetspot to our ears.
The sound of the motor and the driving belt is quiet loud and will make its way onto the recording. I got used to it and I think it makes the charm of the old fashion sound.
Unfortunately I have to render my songs to a lower speed, because of the different Hertz adjustment, electronic devices have in europe. That means, the cutter runs too fast, while recording. But that is not a big deal, except the playing time is reduced a little bit. Onto my sheets of polycarbonate, I can record about 7 minutes of music on each side. I have to find out how to make regular 12 inch plates, that I can impress more songs on the record in the future.
While playing the songs into the good old Wilcox, it is better to make a RIAAS EQ for each track, to achieve better sounding songs in the end. But still there is only a frequency of 500 to 5000 Hz to hear while playing the song on the stereo. That means you only hear the mids. That is not too bad, because everything sounds warm and far from being digital anymore. It is like the golden sweetspot to our ears.
the result
It is a very individual and personal piece of plastic, with self-made music on it. Perfect to offer it to friends and connoisseurs. The label-stickers for the record-lathe are designed on my iphone with several photo-apps and printed on adhesive film.
There seems to be a rising market for this kind of material. Many bands have releases on record lathe labels. Even the beasty-boys did this for a limited release.
the history behind
Wilcox-Gay Recordio model 6A10 record cutter.
This model was manufactured in the mid-1930s.
Maybe you noticed the gray and green military look of my wilcox-gay recordio. It was the model, that was produced specially for the US-Army.
I would like to know what this machine has been through. Probably it was offering voicemails to the soldiers and back to their families. Like whatsapp does today. Or it just was for recording music and playing it back with the extra tonearm on board, in times the soldiers did not have to fight.
Record cutters played an important role in American history, allowing average Americans their first opportunity to record in the privacy of their homes. Since the machines were portable, they were taken into such places as public schools, fraternal lodges, offices, and even bars. It was popular to record special events such as heavyweight fights, World Series games, or important political speeches.
Wilcox-Gay Corp., which began in 1910 as a small company creating radios and transcription recorders in Charlotte, Michigan. As their business grew so did the product line they carried and in 1939 they launched the Recordio.
The Recordio device not only played records but also allowed the user to use a microphone that accompanied the player to record themselves onto a blank record – a “Recordio Disc.”
The Recordio machine recorded at 78 rpm with decent fidelity. These machines were marketed to the middle class through such media outlets as Ebony and Life magazine.
The player/recorder found its way into the hands of musicians, and Johnny Cash and Les Paul were known to use these devices.
In its debut year the Recordio device sold 25,000 units, but with the Great Depression underway and the adoption of magnetic tape the Wilcox-Gay Corp. sales declined.
In 1961 the company moved to Chicago and lasted two more years before finally declaring bankruptcy a second time and closing its doors for good in 1963.