Columbia Edison molded composition.

[edisonphonoworks]

In researching Columbia wax cylinders, I find one thing very interesting. I am sure most of you have heard that Columbia advertised that there black wax molded cylinders could be shaved and recorded, just as much as the brown wax cylinders. All Columbia wax cylinders, be it black wax, or brown wax, are indeed brown wax cylinders, just some of the components that make the wax harder were increased, but the ingredients are exactly the same as a brown wax recording blank, no other waxes, resins or gums added to make them ingredient wise different (except lampblack to make them black). I personally like Columbia's non dyed brown wax molded records the best out of there wax records. The fact Columbia records are brown wax may be why you find a lot of Columbia record grooves so worn that there is just some of the pits left, of the music but no grooves.

So how are Edison molded records produced??

Edison's Gold Moulded formula.


I will leave out temps and weights to retain trade secrets. All formulations are copyright 2012 by Shawn Borri.. Production without permission prohibited. These formulations are in use By Borri Audio Laboratories.

"Edison" Molded wax 1904
Formula for making wax for moulded records using ebonite as a substitute for Carnauba. Heat ebonite in a suitable iron kettle over fire and add copper in fine powder in the wet state, and stir constantly while it is foaming off. Then add stearic acid, when this is melted commence adding aluminate of soda solution that has been previously prepared adding a dipper full at a time until the solution is all fed in. The temperature is gradually raised while the solution is poured in, and when the last of the solution is added the temperature should read.... After again foaming off add ceresin wax, when this is melted and mixed in, wood pitch previously prepared as below. When the wax is all foamed off the conjealing point should be brought down to "" by adding stearic acid, Then filtered though a muslin filter it is ready for use.

The copper powder is prepared in the following manner take sulphate of copper dissolved in warm water and "ccs of sulphuric acid. add to this in small quantity at a time "grams of metallic zinc in sheet or powder. The zinc when added to the copper solution precipitates the copper in a fine powder in the bottom of the vessel. Use care that no more zinc is used than just enough to replace the copper in the solution . The precipitated copper should be washed in several changes of boiling hot water until all traces of acid and zinc are gone before using.

The aluminate of soda is made by dissolving re crystalized sodium carbonate (Na2 Co3 10 HOH) in a kettle heated by steam or over a fire with water and add caustic soda (naOH) best commercial article that can be obtained and fine sheet aluminum cut in small pieces, when the metal is all dissolved, filter though canvas and the solution is ready for making the wax.

For making the pitch take pine tar and boil it down to about one half its bulk and it appears to have acquired a proper consistency , this can be seen by taking a small amount in a cup and sitting it aside to cool and if hard on cooling it ready for use.

D.A Dodd
JW Aylsworth

Suggestions and instructions for making records from mother moulds.

1. The regular dipping kettles are not used a nine gal capacity kettle on which is mounted two regular dipping machines is employed.
2. Another kettle of about ten gallon capacity is placed along side the larger kettle for the purpose of replenishing the wax in the large kettle keeping just enough wax in the small kettle for immediate use.
3. Regular moulded record wax is used with following exception, lamp black should be omitted and 2% more carnauba wax added, we are using the carnauba formula, not the ebonite formula.
4. The temperature of the wax in the dipping kettle should be kept about " or as near that temperature as possible before starting to mold, morning and noon the temp should be raised to about 300 and and well stirred so as to break up and melt the conjealed wax bring the temp down before starting to mold records. The wax in the other kettle should be at about 310.
5. This is supplied with 14 special molds and 40 regular jackets assembled and to be heated to a temperature of 100 degrees F this temperature of course should be absolutely fixed and is governed by working conditions as will be supplanted.

6. The molds after being place in the dipping machines should be dipped the same as the regular commercial records the time of immersion being about two minutes this includes the lowering of the mold and immersion in the wax.

7. While the first mold is dipped and taken from the dipping machine it is laid on a V block and another mold placed in the dipping machine and lowered in the wax, then if two minutes has elapsed the second dipping machine the mold taken from it and placed on the table as another mold placed in the machine is lowered in the wax there should be a mold waiting on the table to the trimmed at all times.
8. The mold resting on the V block is now taken out of the jacket and trimmed one to one quarter minutes should elapse from the time it is taken from the dipping machine until it is taken out of the jacket and trimmed, the jacket should be placed on the table until eight or ten accumulate and then taken out of the jacket and placed in a tank of water which has a temperature of 88-90 degrees F so as to reduce the temperature of the jacket to the temperature required for extracting as mentioned hereafter. Eight to ten jackets may be taken from the cooling tank at a time and wiped dry placing them handy for the man extracting. After the mold is trimmed it is reamed immediately with a single knife only to reaming machine reaming the record with a solid bore instead of a ribbed bore. We are using a small hand reaming machine and with one knife, thus the reaming is made with one operation.
10. After being reamed they are placed in cooling jackets which should have temperatures of 88-90 degrees F.
11. After being placed in the cooling jackets it they are put on the extracting machine and left until its own gravity forces it out, in other words this statement is not absolutely true, but it must not be forced in other words, they are left on the extracting machine a little longer than is with the commercial records, so as to avoid scratching the record. Time consumed in trimming, reaming and extracting label records, about thirteen minutes (the word is cut off it could be 3 or 13.), one minute longer for molds without the label. The water that circulates thorough the cores should be about 104 degrees.
12. after extracting, the records should be placed on the metal cores being sure they both are on the board holding cores. The cores should be warm, having a temperature of about 95-100 F they should be on the cores about two hours before knocking off.

13. The molds and jackets as left by the extracting machine including the interval before again being placed in the dipping machine of the proper temperature for again dipping. There are from 4-6 molds on the slide, ahead of a dipper most of the time. Times consumed for times mold is dipped until it is dipped again is about fifteen minutes for label molds, without the label it takes about one minute longer 16 minutes to extract the record from the plain mold.

14. When the records appear streaked or dirty after extracting the molds should be washed in benzole and dried and polished with a soft chamois and then place the mold in a heated jacket. for a few minutes to heat the mold before placing it in the jacket that was used to extract the record from it on the extracting machine The above instructions cover the grounds on the general way . After having been left on the core two hours, they are then knocked off and go through an eye inspection also for out of round and off gauge. The records that stood this inspection are left to stand until the following day, when the records are given a similar inspection so well as a thread tests, this is secure. The thread should gauge at between the following limits at the different temperatures as follows
at
70 degrees ¾ thread short ½ thread long
80 degrees 1/.2 thread short and ¾ long
90 degrees ¼ thread short and 1" long

The records should be kept over night in a place at an even temperature.

We are using entirely new wax for making these records although it is not necessary as we have taken the same wax in the kettle at the end of the week and filtered it though a muslin filter and used it the following week, not noticing any changes in the making of the records other than the color which is much darker. The scrap wax such as trimmings and defective records are put back in the small melting kettle and melted for supplying the larger kettle the same as in our regular mold process. By mixing lamp black with this wax it may be used for molding our regular records.

Oct 4th 1904 D.A. Dodd.

Please note, this formula is from 12 pages of hand written notes by D.A Dodd and Jonas Aylsworth, these men were the developers of Edison record waxes. Aylsworth started his first batch of phonograph wax on January 1, 1887 and is responsible for the Edison Brown wax, as well as the molded/moulded composition. I have included the ebonite formula for making regular Gold Molded records. I had to go back and make some corrections, they were very poor copies. I have 3 pages also of making the carnauba molded formulation , however during the years one page is missing. I have had these notes since I was about 8 years old and they are poor photocopies. I was very lucky to have these notes, as I have never seen them cataloged in the Edison Papers Project. I obtained these as a little boy by writing to The Edison Laboratory, West Orange NJ, Leah S Burt is who sent me the packet of info. Is she still alive?

Sincerely

Shawn Borri