The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Hmmm. Yeah.... My grandfather did that to "erase"
sound off of his brown wax blanks. He used kerosene
on a rag.

After having done years of testing myself, I will say
that I very seriously doubt that a surface of a
cylinder record can be made shiny and smooth again
using this method.

Yes, I agree that this method will no doubt wipe out
a previous recording. But, knowing what I know from
experience and much testing of recording surfaces, I will
say with confidence that I very seriously doubt that
a surface prepared by using any solvent will come out
even close to as quiet as one shaved using a sharp
shaver knife.

Recordable, yes I will admit this is possible.
But optimally quiet? No way Jose! It just aint gonna
happen.

I have never compared this method against a shaver, and I certainly defer to your much richer experience. I've only dabbled in this. But I can say that it's not hard to get the surface glass-smooth and super shiny, without a wave or a dimple. The blanks literally shine because there isn't so much as a faint hairline scratch to block reflected light. As for sound, I don't profess to have a trained ear but surface noise has never been an issue.

All that said, I prefer to record on tinfoil anyway.

Chuck, do you think a treadle sewing machine setup would spin the Dictaphone mandrel fast enough to shave? I was looking at using a sewing machine cabinet to mount the top board on and thought about the treadle pulley as a means of powering it.

Yeah, you could power a shaver with a treadle.
But hey a motor spins it fast and even.

I've seen hand cranked geared-up shavers for $$$$$$
like at the Union show and stuff like that.....

Craigslist is still your best bet for a shaver.

Chuck, I found a shaver without a motor. I also found a Edison shaver motor on Ebay and bought it but, it appears to have a pulley for a round belt. What size pulley should I run on the motor for the optimal RPM of the shaver?

Would this make a good recording horn or, is it too short?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/351961140600?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT

Rather short for a good recording horn, I would think; but if you're using it only for spoken word recordings, it would be adequate.

Bill

Use two manilla folders, turned into a horn 3" at the bell and 24-30" long. Go to Chuck Richards website and see and hear the results of the folder recording horn. For group instrument a good cone shaped horn 30-50" long work very well, I use a 56" horn for most instrument group recordings. If I have a singer, I put a y in the horn and used a 3"wide by 24" long cone horn, and sometimes a 6" by 26-27" long horn for male singers. Having a singer in front of the instruments muddies the instruments in the back. Sometimes for speaking records a good Ediphone sanitube works great, even recording those Ch, S, T, and Z's that you never hear on a Victor lateral, acoustical disc.