The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

As far as I can tell, Victor's Tungs-tone stylii were basically a brass tube with a bit of tungsten wire staked in place and sticking-out a bit.

Has anyone successfully made their own ?

I made a few imitations of the Tungstone needles 30 years ago, using steel wire instead of tungsten, which I couldn't find at the time. I am sure tungsten is a better material. I inserted short pieces of wire into hollow brass tubing from a hobby shop, then crimped the end. The appearance was crude, but they worked. I have measured several Tungstone needles with several calipers and all the readings I got were .0055 inch.

I have thought of modifying a pair of pliers to make a better crimping tool by grinding a tapered cone inside both plier faces.