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Post by edisonphonoworks on Apr 5, 2011 15:44:42 GMT -5
Chuck and I both make recording blanks, there is us and Paul Morris in England at that is it, as far as I know.
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Post by edisonphonoworks on Apr 5, 2011 15:36:54 GMT -5
I purchased one of these new Blue Amberols for historical reasons. Most of surviving B.A. molds have minor defects, but this one plays good dispite a small oxidization spot, that you do not even notice during playback. Most of the surviving B.A. molds, were damaged ones, that workers took home. Maybe I am missing the mark but it seems there are so few original cylinder molds that exsist, and only the outer galvano, and backup shell . There are some molds for blanks at Donley's but I am not shure if they are from the factory, they do not have spiral cores, but rather smooth ones, I think they were machined by Clarence Furguson, one has a handle made from a fire extiquisher. He certainly worked at the Edison Works for many years, so I am sure they are based on actual molds he worked with, they work, Chuck made a duplicate of the blank mold, and it makes beautiful castings. There are a few original Blue Amberol molds there too. Of course Gold Molded records you are not going to find the core, or base, They were put in a felt lined split brass jacket, that fit over the gavano, and had two rings on either end. The Blue Amberol molds, are a steel shell with the galvano inside, there would be no core either, as they were pressed to the side of the mold, which was steam heated and a rubber bladder inside that pressed the records, there was a hatch to take the print out.
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Post by edisonphonoworks on Apr 4, 2011 14:14:24 GMT -5
I know my early white blank would work fine on 4m recorders, as they had almost .4% aluminum, while brown wax is .25, so you heat those old ones from 2000-2001, and I bet they record nice on four minute, and are a lot kinder on your cutter, than the recycled stuff in the black 4m original blanks. I have custormers who want recordings on them, and I can get a nice recording on the 4m blanks, but I have a heck of a time shaving them, and the wear on my cutter,honestly i think the four minute black wax, is gold moulded wax, with a little more ceresine, and stearic acid added, but not much, so they are too hard.
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Post by edisonphonoworks on Sept 21, 2010 19:05:08 GMT -5
The hard black wax blanks, for 4 minute recorders, will wear out the cutters on the recorders, especially 4 minute ones, after about a dozen recordings. The 4 minute blanks are made of recycled Edison Gold Molded records, additional stearic, and ceresine wax was added to facilitate recording, these are not able to be shaved on a phonograph or with a dictaphone shaver, they will tear and make holes in the surface. (I have shaved them by throwing the belt off the feedscrew on my Ediphone shaver, and slowly feeding the shaver by hand turning the cutter (from thick end to thin end, backwards of playing.) with the feedscrew wheel, it take forever. These blanks were designed to be shaved with the hand powered box shaver, with the long blade and nothing else, dissolving the surface with gasoline, or mineral spirits will work, but has much more SN ratio than the long blade shaver, but prepared to lose your cutter after a dozen recordings.
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Post by edisonphonoworks on Sept 21, 2010 18:57:13 GMT -5
Cylinder blanks need to sit at the factory for 30 days, to cure, otherwise they shrink and the surface has not fully hardened. I have made 10,000-14,000 Edison blanks.
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Post by edisonphonoworks on Sept 21, 2010 18:47:31 GMT -5
You always check the clearance first, the floating part of the recorder should be able to be lifted off the blank, when the carrage is in the down position, to adjust to variations in the blank. The saphire should meet the surface of the blank at a slight downward angle, and make curly shavings. Make a horn about 25 inches long, and 3 or 4 inches at the bell, in a continious taper out of manilla envelopes glued together, you won't believe the quality of sound. Temperature of the blanks is extreamly important anything below 75 will yeald a weak and noisy recording, 80-100 degrees is the best, your box of blanks should have a 75 watt incadencant light bulb with reflector suspended about a foot above the box, you also should have another lamp about a foot behind the phonograph and keep the mandrel in constant motion, and seat the blank, and start recording, another phonograph if possible should be used to play the record back on, there is lots of tips on my website, on (recording reproducing and shaving cylinders) members.tripod.com/~edison_1/index.html I have 3 dozen blanks for sale at this time, however, not willing to ship overseas, Customs thinks they are pipe bombs and WILL confiscate or break them. I personally think, cylinders should be considered art treasures and the penalties for breaking them should be the same as defacing a monument!
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Post by edisonphonoworks on Sept 21, 2010 18:27:28 GMT -5
Rich Goodin and I had a run of cupped center saphires made a few years ago, Rich has them and is rather hard to get ahold of. The stylus holder can take several days to make, trying it and adjusting it, copper foil is best to make the holder out of. I make blanks, but the materials are getting very expensive to me , and the sad thing is, they are as close to the Edison formula as can be made today, They sound like a regular Edison blanks, except they are a bit quieter, it has taken over 10 years of development and research, I have made over 1000 pounds of the composition. Making cylinders, is like shooting a moving target, you can make it the same however, it comes out different every time, different color, noise levels change, after awhile you quite weighing the ingredients and use intuition, because you have to adjust it all by weather, different seasons require modifications to molding temperature, ceresine content, sal soda, lye, aluminum ect. you fight streaks, bubbles, cracking, precepitates forming inside the blanks, as a crystaline. Most of these problems have to do with stearic acid, the principal ingrediant in the records, The original stearic of the late 19th and early 20th century was made from bovine fat, pressed, with water, and dried, 3 times. Glycerine and olaic acid were seperated in each pressing, as it floats to the top from the fat, until it was flaky, hard and white. Today stearic is derived from palm trees, and is much harder, and the subtle differences create headaches. I have read over 5,000 pages on making cylinder records. My website, members.tripod.com/~edison_1/index.html. I have made about 200 blanks this year. I now cook them in a cast iron kettle, with ring gas burner, which is what the original Edison blanks were made with, and it is a small detail that makes all the difference, I used to use a thermostatically controlled laboratory electric warmer, I use this for molding purposes only, however the cast iron kettle rules!
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Post by edisonphonoworks on Jan 11, 2008 23:01:41 GMT -5
I am 34 and have had my little 30 since I was a teenager. It came in as a customer repair, and my dad purchased it without me knowing. I had it working and ready for the customer, and it was at Christmas, and my dad told me my present was on my dresser, where I had the phonograph, and I could not figure out that that was it, because it was a repair. It has been a workhorse for Blue Amberols since high school. It is my only working 4 minute phonograph. I have 3 homes, Suitcase Home with automatic reproducer, Banner A new case, and a model B, An A Triumph and a Model F that is not compleate, it is a 2/4 min machine, but not restored yet it has the oak Opera (concert) style case. It was a barn find, and is missing the horn and O reproducer, and needs new plating. I am glad I saved it the motor and topworks are fine.
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