Reducing Blue Amberol Gouges

[ImperialGuardsman]

Hello Everyone,

I have a question: Is there a way to reduce the occasional gouge (rough divots that look like a needle drops on 78's) so that they are less noticeable/don't hit the stylus so hard?

I was thinking a small drop of glue (carefully applied via toothpick)could fill these in. Does this sound like it will work? What type of glue should be used?

I'm sure many of us have an otherwise good cylinder with one of these spots that makes us worry about our stylus and makes the record skip when the spot is passed over.

Thanks,
Nicholas J. Williams

[VintageTechnologies]

Unless you have eyes like Superman, you will probably need a microscope to see what you are doing. It will be a challenge to drop in just the right amount of glue to fill the hole level without getting glue into the adjacent tracks where it is not wanted. I think trying to wipe off excess glue is going to smear it around rather than lift it from the bottom of the grooves where it isn't wanted. I have attempted to clean grooves while peering through a microscope and found the grooves are so much finer than brush bristles and fabrics that it is impossible to reach down into the grooves - about all that can be cleaned are the raised lands between the grooves. I welcome other ideas on this subject, because I would like to do some repairs of the same kind. I bought a used stereo microscope that clamps directly to a table via a long arm, which allows me to lay a record flat on the table as a work surface and yet see the whole record under the microscope.

[Dave]

How about using a very tiny amount of beeswax or the wax used to seal sound bars. Even if you use too much...the diamond stylus would sweep the excess away and maybe leave some amount to fill the gouge. Might make the knick sound softer,at the least and less hard on the stylus.

[ImperialGuardsman]

Thanks for the feedback. The wax idea seems good.

VintageTechnologies: I was referring to the larger spots, ones that are easy to see and may actually harm stylus, not the tiny ones that only result in a "pop" or two. Do you think it would be difficult for those too?

[OrthoSean]

I think Dave's idea with the wax is what I would try first since it should be rather reversible should you need it to be. John RT Davies used to use wax pencil to fill in gouges in disc records (among other things) with rather high success.

Sean

[VintageTechnologies]

VintageTechnologies: I was referring to the larger spots, ones that are easy to see and may actually harm stylus, not the tiny ones that only result in a "pop" or two. Do you think it would be difficult for those too?

I have not tried filling any holes yet, but I think filling the large ones just right would be at least as hard.

I believe that ideally, the hole should be filled level. If the hole is wider than several grooves, tracking without skipping might also be problem. It would seem impossible to meter out the exact amount of glue, so I expect to deposit more glue than needed. A fine-pointed toothpick might deliver a glob of glue to the hole. Then, some way must be found to remove the excess glue without leaving residue in the grooves. I am not convinced wiping the surface with your finger, a napkin or cloth is going to reach down into the fine grooves to remove the excess glue. One idea that I would like to try is creating a tiny rubber-tipped squeegee tool that is pliable enough to conform to the grooves when pressed against them; maybe a cotton or foam Q-Tip dipped in clear silicone and then dried. I'd welcome other ideas.

I have always assumed that I would be using epoxy glue to fill the holes. I wonder if wax would even be hard enough to keep the stylus from sinking into a hole as it passes over? Wax would seem okay for repairing a wax cylinder, but I'm not so sure it would do for repairing celluloid cylinders being played with a heavier stylus pressure.

[epigramophone]

Perhaps I have been fortunate, but with patience and persistence a better copy of a damaged cylinder can often be found.

I would never risk trying to repair a damaged Blue Amberol for fear of damaging the diamond stylus. For all I know, the stylus in my Amberola 50 may still be the original.