How long does it take for a Cylinder to Wear Out?

[oldphonographsteve]

I have this cylinder that I like a lot and I play almost every other day. I am worried about wearing it out and I was wondering approximately how many times you can play an Edison Gold Moulded Cylinder before it begins to wear out.

-Steve

[winsleydale]

If you're really worried about it, I think you should look into making a mold from it. That way you could make resin copies and never have to worry about it. That's what I plan on doing with any cylinders I make with the 4m recorder I got for my birthday.

[Lucius1958]

If you're especially concerned, why not record the cylinder (either a sound file, or, if you want to watch it on the machine, a video) onto a disc, and enjoy it on your computer?

Bill

[FellowCollector]

If you're especially concerned, why not record the cylinder (either a sound file, or, if you want to watch it on the machine, a video) onto a disc, and enjoy it on your computer?

Bill

I agree. Get yourself a decent video camera and record your favorite cylinder(s) playing on your favorite machine(s).

Regarding your actual question, loud passages on a wax cylinder will always begin wearing first since the loudly recorded grooves demand the most intense movement of the stylus and diaphragm thereby wearing those grooves quicker.

So, wax cylinder play wear depends greatly on the condition of recorded grooves and of course the condition of the stylus.

A hundred plays should be possible for an excellent condition wax cylinder without loud passages played with an excellent condition stylus adjusted for optimal cylinder surface alignment on a good functioning phonograph without noticing much visual wear - IMHO. Again, wax cylinders with loud passages such as marches and robust vocals will show wear much more quickly.

But I personally would never play a cylinder that many times. Record it and enjoy it electronically. You'll experience 99% of the same enjoyment as actually playing it.

Doug

[phonogfp]

I have a test cylinder in the shop that I kept for checking reproducer rebuilds and coin-op return adjustments. It's an Edison 2m cylinder titled, Captain Baby Bunting by Byron G. Harlan. I kept it as a test cylinder because (1) it had a couple of rough spots (clusters of TINY pits that didn't affect tracking), and (2)I found the verses pretty annoying. The chorus is fine (march time), but those verses are as sticky saccharine as you'd ever want to hear.

It was a mistake to choose this cylinder as a test. Someday when I'm strapped into my wheelchair, drooling into my Malt-O-Meal, I'll be singing Captain Baby Bunting at the top of my voice, simultaneously cursing the inane lyrics, and attempting to choke myself so I won't hear it anymore.

But to the point at hand, this cylinder from hell has been played at least a couple hundred times in my shop. The peppy march time choruses are loud, and the grooves are now visually worn. When played, there's a lot of blasting. 15 years ago this cylinder was a good-playing copy (except for those rough spots).

Of course, the awful verses still play fine.

The advice to digitally record is a good one. But not this title...

George P.

[winsleydale]

I have a test cylinder in the shop that I kept for checking reproducer rebuilds and coin-op return adjustments. It's an Edison 2m cylinder titled, Captain Baby Bunting by Byron G. Harlan. I kept it as a test cylinder because (1) it had a couple of rough spots (clusters of TINY pits that didn't affect tracking), and (2)I found the verses pretty annoying. The chorus is fine (march time), but those verses are as sticky saccharine as you'd ever want to hear.

It was a mistake to choose this cylinder as a test. Someday when I'm strapped into my wheelchair, drooling into my Malt-O-Meal, I'll be singing Captain Baby Bunting at the top of my voice, simultaneously cursing the inane lyrics, and attempting to choke myself so I won't hear it anymore.

But to the point at hand, this cylinder from hell has been played at least a couple hundred times in my shop. The peppy march time choruses are loud, and the grooves are now visually worn. When played, there's a lot of blasting. 15 years ago this cylinder was a good-playing copy (except for those rough spots).

Of course, the awful verses still play fine.

The advice to digitally record is a good one. But not this title...

George P.

...add a pinch of salt...

[fran604g]

I have a test cylinder in the shop that I kept for checking reproducer rebuilds and coin-op return adjustments. It's an Edison 2m cylinder titled, Captain Baby Bunting by Byron G. Harlan. I kept it as a test cylinder because (1) it had a couple of rough spots (clusters of TINY pits that didn't affect tracking), and (2)I found the verses pretty annoying. The chorus is fine (march time), but those verses are as sticky saccharine as you'd ever want to hear.

It was a mistake to choose this cylinder as a test. Someday when I'm strapped into my wheelchair, drooling into my Malt-O-Meal, I'll be singing Captain Baby Bunting at the top of my voice, simultaneously cursing the inane lyrics, and attempting to choke myself so I won't hear it anymore.

But to the point at hand, this cylinder from hell has been played at least a couple hundred times in my shop. The peppy march time choruses are loud, and the grooves are now visually worn. When played, there's a lot of blasting. 15 years ago this cylinder was a good-playing copy (except for those rough spots).

Of course, the awful verses still play fine.

The advice to digitally record is a good one. But not this title...

George P.

...add a pinch of salt...

...and a couple dashes of:

[oldphonographsteve]

I just listened to Captain Baby Bunting on the Cylinder Preservation website and I can't imagine the pain of having to hear that hundreds of times! So what do you guys think about the Canaphonic Archivette that youtube's VictrolaGuy has for sale on eBay? Is it worth getting for preserving my cylinders?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/THE-CANAPHONIC- ... XQ2q9RayES

-Steve

[phonogfp]

I just listened to Captain Baby Bunting on the Cylinder Preservation website and I can't imagine the pain of having to hear that hundreds of times!
-Steve

I carry the emotional scars...

George P.

[edisonphonoworks]

Wear on cylinders all has to do with your stylus, the room temperature, and the age of the cylinder. If you keep your house about 68 or 70 probably not too much wear on the cylinders. Gold Moulded cylinders, I know I have some I have played admittedly 3 or four hundred times, and I have noticed some more noise, but I still hear the consonants clearly. What is odd is the base wax for brown wax technically is harder, the double pressed stearic having .47% aluminum (aluminum hardens the compound) and 12-13% ceresin. Black wax Edison cylinders have 12.5% ceresin and carnauba wax 12.5%, and also has copper stearate pine tar added, which brown wax does not have copper or pine tar. I have an alternate Gold Moulded formula written in the production notes by Aylsworth from 1904 for
"Ebonit" to replace Carnauba which I admittedly don't know really what that is, I have read ground up hard rubber, but that don't sit right with me, it might be another name for montan wax which has similar hardness properties. How deep the record is, also produces wear, honesty a medium depth groove is the best,even a shallow one, a loudly recorded, deep groove wears the worst, as the stylus has to go farther down for the bass and then up for the highs, you will find loud vocals or loud band records, to start getting brown in the grooves eventually, about 200 plays. We don't know how many times these cylinders have been played, though I am amazed at how durable they are!