The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Hello All,

I was thinking about the resurgence of vinyl the other day, and realized that I've never seen a shellac record press. Out of curiosity, has anyone ever seen one? Do they still exist? I would gather that they are probably as rare as hen's teeth!

Garret

Hi Garret,

with this link you see one of the large molding halls of the Carl Lindström AG (Beka, Odeon, Parlophon...) in Berlin around 1928:

http://grammophon-platten.de/page.php?479.27

As far as I knew, there is no functional Shellac Record Press in existent world wide.

Regards

Weren't the original presses for LPs re-purpose from 78 manufacture ? I have some early 10-inch Varsity LP's that look and feel as though they were pressed on late-1940's shellac... they are also more fragile than vinyl LP's...

Eventually the 10-inch presses would have been retired...

If you watch the newsreel footage of how records are made, filmed at Victor in 1941 or so, once you get to the actual pressing of the discs, I believe the processes / machinery are quite similar.

I would think an LP plant would be technically capable of pressing shellac 78's, the bigger issue would be one of economics, and having a dedicated line for that purpose... I don't think I'd want to buy LPs pressed on a line that is also used to make "gritty 78's"...

Then too, are we talking "hard 78's" that will hold-up to playbacks on acoustic machines, or softer 78's with quieter surfaces, for late-1930's - '40's electrical machines ?

Weren't the last commercial markets for 78's in juke-boxs and some of the 3rd-world / former British crown-colonies ? Where were these records pressed ?

I believe some of the present machinery used to press new vinyl have been resurrected from former East German / Soviet factorys ?

Talking about shellac record pressings----have you ever looked at the back of any Emerson 6" single-sided records? I have seen them with indentations of pins and other debris----it is interesting, to wonder if they just kept on making the record run and didn't worry about the backs or if the worker was having a bad day and didn't care? Enjoy what you might see on the back of one.

The picture of another record press, Deutsche Grammophon (DGAG) 1939:

Click here

There is essentially no difference in a record press for vinyl or shellac. Temperature and dwell would possibly change, but those things are adjustable. The metal stampers would be the same, just the groove size would be different between 78rpm and microgroove. Of course, over the years various types of automation have been added to make the pressing of records semi-automatic, but the core press would be happy with shellac or vinyl with appropriate adjustments.

Also, the technology of pressing a thermo-setting compound between 2 dies is technology that predates records, and is used to make many other things. If you recall Berliner contracted with the Scranton Button Works to make records. They were already using the technology to make buttons.

A Vinyl press wouldn´t work with the shellac compound. A vinyl record is pressed with c. 9,8 Bar - a shellac record needed 150 Bar! No modern press for vinyl records provide the pressure you need for a shellac record. Unfortunately... The next thing, take a look at the big mills for the shellac compound... It is possible to press a vinyl record with 78 rpm, but , if not somewhere a press and mills for shellac survived, it is almost impossible to see a "modern", real shellac record.

Well, if they built them in 1910/20/30, we should be able to build them today...

Once again, "economics" is the ogre under the stair...


For comparison, here is a link to the 1942 film.... from wax master to finished consumer products.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZ5PQSaDYgU

Record press Germany 1913. Not shown the hydraulic system to provide the pressure.
Above the linked page a video how records had been made by Columbia in 1928: Click here also showing the press.

Impressive !