The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I'm not certain which forum to post this in, so forgive the double posts... this one seems to get more traffic.

Just received an Edison (Suppe - Light Calvary) DD today and found it was noticeably warped.

Is there a method of fixing warped discs so they will play properly?

Yes there is a way to fix this problem.First you take the record in one hand and a hammer in the other.Hit it with the hammer where the wrap is but,only hit the "warped" area...............Problem solved!!!!! .OK,I was only kidding.What I have done to try and safe a warped record is this:take two pieces of thick glass.A little bigger than a record and square.Pre heat your oven to 375.place the record between the two pieces of glass.Keep your eye on the warp and when it seems to have flattened.Take it out and place on a heat proof surface.Quickly place a heavy pot full of water on top.Now,the most important part.LEAVE IT UNTIL THE NEXT DAY!!!!!.This will allow it to cool slowly and with luck hold in a FLAT position.I would try this with other less important records first.At least until you get the hang of seeing the record in the oven.
Good luck and remember if all else fails.....get the hammer!!!!

Thank you... everyone is such a wealth of information here.

I was hoping there might be a solution, outside of the hammer that is I'll give it a try; it's certainly better than the idea of another old record being lost forever.

Only use this heat setting for DDs. Shellac and vinyl records soften at much lower temperatures and will turn to mush at 375. Not sure but I think about 150 for those.
Also be sure to use glass that will take the heat so you don't have an explosion in the oven. Also, be sure to wear goggles or a full face mask in case the glass does shatter.

You are correct to be concerned about warped DDs because too much warpage can cause the limit pin to bottom out leaving the diamond with nowhere to go but further into the record grooves. Beware of "dish warped" DDs. This happens when the center is significantly above/below the edge and is not obvious to the casual observer. These are major candidates for bottomiong out and it only takes one play to irreparably damage the record. Some DDs just might do better if you only play them electrically.

Jim

Glass can be expensive to obtain and a pain to store. I have used this method to flatten warped replacement floor tiles, however, I used drywall (wall board) instead of glass. It if very flat and will not warp.

Something to consider. I'll second the advice - whatever you do, try if first on something that you can afford to loose.

Thank you, everyone, for the advice.

As this is my first DD, I will not be experimenting on it. Perhaps I will try the lower temperature method to experiment on another, old poor-condition shellac 78.

Also, as I have no sheets of tempered glass lying about, I was thinking of using my pizza/baking stones to experiment with... they're flat, heavy, and designed for the oven.

Pizza with extra cheese and shellac, anyone??

I'd be quite surprised if you could successfully flatten a warped edison without damaging the groves? If one is really poor I have just eliminated it.

Something to watch for is that if you attempt to play a warped record you may destroy it anyway because the needle will be forced by the limit of its upward movement to cutting the surface destroying the sound. If I have a record I really want to hear and its high in the middle or edge I don't let the arm all the way down, I leave the lever that lowers it at a bit of an angle to give the reproducer more ability to clear the high points.

Larry