The Secret Society of Lathe Trolls

Steve E. · Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2005 4:45 pm Post subject: Vacuuming those groove threads

How do you get the hair out of the way of your cutting stylus? And what's that stuff called, anyway?

Amishman35 · Joined: 24 Jun 2005 Posts: 2 Location: Tiverton RI USA

I once saw a website that showed you how to build vacuum suction for a record cutter, I forgot where, but it involved using copper tubing hooked up to a shop vacuum and a jar which catches the swarf.

harper · Joined: 25 Jun 2005 Posts: 30

<<im gonna try and make one soon>>>>
probbly use a handheld 'dustbuster' vacccume thingy...

figured the hardest part will be machineinnng the zone for the suck tube to hang out next to the chip/

for the water collector the idea is that you just have it fall down gravity style into water// like thru a mason jar .

Guest · Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2005 3:18 pm Post subject:

(Steve E. here...)

Someone told me that you make a jar with two holes in it. The small tube runs from the cutting arm to a small hole in the jar. A bigger hole in the jar has a mesh screen on it, and the vacuum cleaner hose attaches to that hole.

Hi, Harper! I don't quite picture the water idea yet. Is it sort of like a water pipe? Smile

I wish it were easier to draw pictures on the internet.

sirkut · Joined: 27 Jun 2005 Posts: 8

When I use mine, I generally guide the spree (modelling term when stretching plastic to be used as a antenna, etc on airplanes) with my hands and keep pulling gently while using a small makeup brush with really light bristles so it doesn't interrupt the cutting process.

Perisphere · Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2005 12:17 am Post subject:

Generally, the thread (aka chip or swarf) should throw to the spindle of the turntable. Early on, this was aided by an engineer drawing it to the spindle through the use of a chip brush. (This practice can be seen in a brief scene in the old Barbra Streisand film FUNNY GIRL.) I think one argument for inside-out cutters (like some Presto and Packard-Bell models) was that the cutter moved away from the expanding ball of chip as the recording progressed, reducing the likelihood of a part of the ball breaking away and then coming around behind the cutter, spoiling a recording in the process. The reason for the water in the jar is to reduce or eliminate the likelihood of static electricity igniting the chip. (I'm sure subtle changes in lacquer formulations over the years has made this less of a worry today than it was many years ago.) On cutting systems equipped with a suction system the hose is a cylindrical tube that flattens into an oval as it approaches the stylus from the rear....

doug · Joined: 18 Sep 2005 Posts: 8 Location: Richmond, VA

rainbow vacuum cleaner

Steve E. · Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2005 4:57 am Post subject:

"rainbow vacuum cleaner"

What's that?

doug · Joined: 18 Sep 2005 Posts: 8 Location: Richmond, VA

A Rainbow vacuum cleaner uses water to filter the dirt. The vacuum motor sits above the water, and the hose connects to side of the water 'tank'. Air is pulled through the hose, through the water, and through the vacuum mechanism. The water catches the dirt as it flows in.

Or at least that's how I remember it. I don't know if they're made anymore. Last one I saw was twenty or more years ago.

motorino · Joined: 24 Aug 2005 Posts: 207

its a good system, i have a similar

a co2 fire extinguiser near the lathe its good too Very Happy

other extinguisers arent good, a lot of dust

need good ventilation, for the co2......

re · Guest

i just use a can of air or a hairbrush to grab the excess as it spins to the center...seems to work? i cant picture this water technique for some reason

re · Guest

i just use a can of air or a hairbrush to grab the excess as it spins to the center...seems to work? i cant picture this water technique for some reason

ameisevinyl · Joined: 25 Dec 2005 Posts: 16 Location: cutterlonia

you could use something like this:

it works for me but there are better solutions...
the lady in the headshop, where i bought this one
went: "are you stoned, buddy?" when I told her that i need this
waterpipe for removing tiny "hairs" from my record cutting machine Smile

I use a normal vacuum cleaner attached to it with a adjustable transformer
(ähm some kind of thing wher you can regulate the output voltage to the vacuum cleaner, light dimmers might also work)
..you dont have to run the vaccum cleaner on full power, it might result in noise on the plate...

you HAVE to use a heated style to get a good "chip" ...

better solution are aquarium vacuum pumps, they are more quite a friend of mine uses these and neumann also took some for their VMS82 as far as I know...

some experts say that waterfiltering is not always needed...you might get some bubbling sounds on the recordings...

biggest problem: what kinf of tubes hose to use?
i think silicone is the first choice, and small copper tubes near to the styli...

check it out
mart[/img]

Steve E. · Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2006 1:30 am Post subject:

That is so funny. Bong technology, my word. Thanks for all the cool posting, ameisevinyl!

endleseries · Joined: 04 Mar 2007 Posts: 1

my current vacuum rig sucking the chip is way too loud. anyone know of a vacuum model that is quiet with enough power? people say that acquarium vacuums will do, but the ones we've tryed are too weak.

let me know about a specific one

thanks for the help

grooveguy · Joined: 22 Jun 2006 Posts: 40

A lot of industrial vacuum 'pumps' are made by Lamb Electric. The word 'pumps' is in quotes because you definitely don't want a reciprocating-type of pump, and sure enough the vibrating aquarium pumps just don't move enough air.

The Lamb electric devices are multi-stage turbines and come in two general varieties. The most expensive, and almost never found, use an induction motor and are very quiet. Because strong induction motors are hard to make with speeds over about 1750 r.p.m., these Lamb units have 6 or 8 stages and take a good long while to get up to speed.

The other Lamb vacuums are sometimes found in shop-vacs. They use "universal" motors (with carbon brushes) and develop high no-load speeds. A 2- or 3-stage one of these is great (I use one on my Rek-O-Kut), but you must use them with care.

You don't have to move a lot of air when sucking chip. Once the vacuum goes down to a 1/4" nozzle, not a lot of air volume moves through. The motor, on the other hand, wants to move a lot of air to help keep itself cool. The best way to deal with this is to reduce the voltage to the motor so that you have just a bit more suction than you need to initially grab the chip once it's thrown off the stylus. What I did was to take a 35-volt filament transformer and wire the secondary in series with the AC feed to the motor. This subtracts 35 volts from the 115V mains, delivering about 80 volts to the motor. That seems to work great. I even put the motor in the same cabinet as the cutter by suspending it in a wooden box on springs. Quiet, vibration-free and... "it really SUCKS!"

I don't know how to post pictures on this group, but if someone can tell me how to upload them, all this becomes abundantly clear.