The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

What is the thickness of an Edison Diamond Disc reproducer diaphragm? How many layers of rice paper is it made from?

Is there documentation that states these are in fact layers of rice paper shellaced together?
After reading that on the old OTV, I soaked one on alcohol for 2 days (I wanted to count the layers & attempt to make a new one), but nothing separated at all. Below is what I was left with.

Strictly anecdotal on my part . . . something I've heard for 40+ years.

Non-board sources inform me that typical DD reproducer diaphragms are routinely between .0085-.0095, with Edisonic diaphragms at .0125 consistently. Still don't know how many sheets of rice paper make one diaphragm, but that's okay -- my question was prompted by my wife asking me (her dad was a mechanical engineer and she's very technologically adroit).

I have one that I successfully soaked apart several years ago with the idea of reassembling it with fresh shellac. Shellac hardens with age, so I wanted to make it closer to the flexibility that it originally had. Alas, I've never put it back together although I know people who have and they swear it's a completely different listening experience.
Anyway, there are five layers to a standard diaphragm; thick center layer with two layers on each side with the outside layer being the thinnest of the two. I can't remember the measurements, but I'll try to find it and get back with measurements.
BTW: I had to soak this thing for days in denatured alcohol in order to get it apart.

Jim