The Secret Society of Lathe Trolls

jessefreelance · Joined: 12 Jul 2005 Posts: 13 Location: vancouver bc

hi
i recently purchased a western sound laboratories lathe from 1950??
anyways when i kut into the acetates i can barely get an audible sound and there is a krazzy dist. i bought this on a whim and have no real knowlege of how to work these things. if anyone can help please send me som info.
peace

Steve E. · Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2005 2:57 pm Post subject:

It could be a lot of things. I don't know anything about your particular lathe. But likely contenders:

1) A very dull cutting stylus. Buy a new one from Transco or Apollo. (See the links section). That'll run you about $80.

2) Cutting depth set wrong. If the stylus is dull it will cut shallow anyway.

3) A lack of heat will make for a noisier cut. Does your setup have a heater? You can buy one or rig one.....see other threads for ideas!

4) you could also have a burnt out tube? a messed up magnet?

You probably need to find someone who fixes these things to give it a once-over. I got my Recordio for free, but ended up spending $250 to get it working, and another $250-$400 to get myself going with cutting needles and acetates/assorted media to experiment with.

Welcome to the board, by the way! Please stick around and let us know how you progress with your lathe.