Getting Started with cylinder recording

[Lucius1958]

The Edison phonographs do have shaving attachments.

I personally have never tried shaving a blank on an
Edison phonograph.

However, from my experience using high speed motor-driven Dictaphone shaving machines, it becomes apparent that the Edison phonographs lack speed and power.

I suppose that if a person is really determined to shave
a blank on an Edison phonograph, that it is possible.

It would take many very shallow cuts. Not at all sure
what the shaving knife adjustment is on those machines
but if it's not easily moved in, in very small increments such as .0005 inch or maybe .001 inch each time, the whole process could turn into a very frustrating mess very quickly!

My guess is that if too deep of a cut is attempted
on these machines, it will simply stop the machine.

My impression of them is they are too slow and too
weak to do a good job. But there's always one way
to find out. Try it and let us know!

Meanwhile keep checking craigslist and find a real shaver.

I find it odd, though, that the shaving machine I have has no fine-adjustment screw for the blade, whereas the shaver on my Home does. I should think that feature would have been important in accurate shaving.

Bill

[Chuck]

Bill, you are correct about that.

An accurate and fine adjustment of the shaver cutter
is essential to being able to do a decent job shaving
a cylinder.

There are various types of that adjustment.

Dictaphone shavers have at least 2 kinds that I know
of.

The older models have a very nice large knurled wheel
which moves the cutter using a 40 thread-per-inch screw.
That moves the cutter .00625 inch for each quarter-turn.
If you go half of that (⅛ turn or 45 degrees), that
gives you .003125 inch of cutter motion.

The newer Dictaphone shavers have another type
of mechanism. The user pushes the cutter gently
down until a smooth pin gently touches the record
surface. That positions the cutter just right for the
first cut. Then, after that, each time the carriage is
lifted high at the left end of its travel, it pushes
against a stationary pin which then engages a "click stop" mechanism on the carriage arm, which then advances
the cutter down .0005 (half a thousandth of an inch)
for each click. There are 7 of those clicks, so you
get .0035 of precision cutter motion, which is enough
to run several nice passes to completely shave a blank.

Guesswork with the cutter position is the absolute
bane of proper shaving. Go too far down and you waste
valuable recording surfaces. Much better to take
many very shallow passes and "sneak up" on the
first smooth surface rather than hogging way down
too far and wasting 2 or 3 good surfaces in the process.

[Lucius1958]

Bill, you are correct about that.

An accurate and fine adjustment of the shaver cutter
is essential to being able to do a decent job shaving
a cylinder.

There are various types of that adjustment.

Dictaphone shavers have at least 2 kinds that I know
of.

The older models have a very nice large knurled wheel
which moves the cutter using a 40 thread-per-inch screw.
That moves the cutter .00625 inch for each quarter-turn.
If you go half of that (⅛ turn or 45 degrees), that
gives you .003125 inch of cutter motion.

The newer Dictaphone shavers have another type
of mechanism. The user pushes the cutter gently
down until a smooth pin gently touches the record
surface. That positions the cutter just right for the
first cut. Then, after that, each time the carriage is
lifted high at the left end of its travel, it pushes
against a stationary pin which then engages a "click stop" mechanism on the carriage arm, which then advances
the cutter down .0005 (half a thousandth of an inch)
for each click. There are 7 of those clicks, so you
get .0035 of precision cutter motion, which is enough
to run several nice passes to completely shave a blank.

Guesswork with the cutter position is the absolute
bane of proper shaving. Go too far down and you waste
valuable recording surfaces. Much better to take
many very shallow passes and "sneak up" on the
first smooth surface rather than hogging way down
too far and wasting 2 or 3 good surfaces in the process.

Now, if I could figure out how to rig an adjustment screw on my shaver, without damaging anything on it...

Bill