The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Is there a good method to shave Cylinders without a shaving machine? I was just wondering as I don't own one.

Way back in the 1960s I found an article in a circa 1900 magazine that said cylinders should be prepared for re-recording by wiping them down with a rag soaked in turpentine. I tried it and it worked amazingly well -- with a bit of polishing the existing grooves simply melted away and the surface became shiny and glass-smooth.

I've been severely chastised by some people in the years since then, saying that that this is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad idea that will absolutely and unequivocally ruin a brown wax blank.

All I can say is that it has worked fine for me for 60 years, but your mileage may vary so I offer this suggestion without warranty, expressed or implied.

Do you know if it works for Gold-Moulded cylinders as well?

I've never even attempted to record on black wax, so I can't speak for that.

Okay, what do you recommend polishing with after wiping with the turpentine rag? (Brown Wax Cylinders)

Just a soft, dry cotton cloth. It takes little effort.

Thanks. Will try.

I noticed your other post about a heavily moldy cylinder stuck inside its box. That raises a point I hadn't thought about. Although I've never tried using the turpentine trick on a moldy record, I would have to believe it couldn't work. It re-amalgamates a clean recorded surface, but mold typically goes deep into the wax and would not dissolve with a solvent.

There would be no other option for moldy records than shaving to remove the damaged surface.

Yeah, I'll try that once I can get it out of the box.

I too have recycled cylinders without shaving them, by rubbing them with what we in Britain call 'white spirit' or 'turpentine substitute'; I believe the American term is 'petroleum spirit'. Once all trace of the original recorded groove has vanished, I burnish the surface with a scrap of silk (a microfibre cloth would probably work just as well) and the blank is ready for use. The result may have a slightly noisier surface than a virgin blank, but that is the only drawback of this method. I understand that cleaning cylinders chemically for re-use was a recognised practice in circumstances where shaving was impractical, such as when folk-song researchers were making records in the field with a portable machine (usually an Edison Standard B) which had no shaving facility.

Oliver Mundy.