edison 2 minute recorder stylus and holder

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Stephen_Madara
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Re: edison 2 minute recorder stylus and holder

Post by Stephen_Madara »

McTodd wrote:Right, some photos and video/audio...

First, my latest homemade cutting stylus, made from glass:
Image

This is my homemade shaving machine, using parts of an Edison Standard and a totally DIY shaver attachment (a powerful electric motor drives it):
Image

And a couple of recordings, made on one cylinder, using the above recording stylus:
http://youtu.be/2Nz-V208ux4

Looks good but i think the cutter may be a bit too long

McTodd
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Re: edison 2 minute recorder stylus and holder

Post by McTodd »

Stephen_Madara wrote:
McTodd wrote:Looks good but i think the cutter may be a bit too long
I agree but, against all odds, it's the best stylus I've made so far. What's that all about? Next month I think I'll bite the bullet and get a sapphire stylus made and fitted (the guy who does it is away at the moment).

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edisonphonoworks
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Re: edison 2 minute recorder stylus and holder

Post by edisonphonoworks »

Your second recording sounded very good and clear. Good job.

McTodd
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Re: edison 2 minute recorder stylus and holder

Post by McTodd »

edisonphonoworks wrote:Your second recording sounded very good and clear. Good job.
Cheers! It's nice to get comments like that from an expert. I'm going to take a break from recording for now as I've got a load of other stuff I need to get done, including making a decent recording horn, but I'll be back when I've made some progress as I hope my comments have been useful for other beginners.

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Re: edison 2 minute recorder stylus and holder

Post by McTodd »

Today I finally* received an Edison 2-minute recorder I won on ebay complete with original cupped sapphire stylus and, by God, you can't half tell the difference! I did a very brief test a minute ago and the recording is so much louder! Soon I'll do some tests with recording both my voice and music from CDs and video them to post here, but for now I'm blown away!


*I say finally because although it only took two days to get from the United States to the United Kingdom, it then spent another four days sitting in a Parcel Farce depot outside London!

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Chuck
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Re: edison 2 minute recorder stylus and holder

Post by Chuck »

Great to hear that you've now got a genuine
Edison recorder that has a genuine cupped-point
cutter that's sharp and in good shape!

The cupped-point cutters work so much better
for lots of very subtle reasons.

A few of those reasons I can name:

The cupped-point has a very sharp and narrow
edge. This allows it to cut finer undulations
in the wax than a flat chisel-pointed cutter can.

I have one recorder that I rebuilt that has
one of the flat-ended 2 minute cutters made by
Expert Stylus. It works but not nearly as well
as the genuine cupped-point cutters do.

Another reason that the cupped-point cutters
work as well as they do (I think) has to do
with what happens to the wax as it gets cut
off. The cupped-point cutters I believe act
like a tiny chip-breaker, helping get the
swarf out of the way.

The cupped-point cutters are also nice because
they can be rotated to expose a new cutting
surface.

Again, very glad to hear that you found
one in good working order!

Chuck
"Sustained success depends on searching
for, and gaining, fundamental understanding"

-Bell System Credo

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kirtley2012
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Re: edison 2 minute recorder stylus and holder

Post by kirtley2012 »

Allow me to raise this from deep in the grave.

It took me 6 years but I eventually got around to messing around with recording again, admittedly, not the best results, but not the worst.

I made a brass holder, and a basic stylus out of a 1mm drill bit, the ends filed down on a sharpening stone to create a thinner face.

I am still yet to get an Edison recorder, I very much want one to mess around with, but don't have the money just yet, though if anyones selling one let me know.

Anyway, here's a little bit of what I got
DSC01765.JPG
https://youtu.be/SEVRmk0k_yo

(Also by now this should probably be in machines or tips and tricks but ah well)

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