Fixing warped records, please help
Dusty Crates
3 Posts
I recently got my hands on one of the Beatles first recordings, Nobody's Child/Ain't She Sweet, on 45. Awesome score at a thrift store for only 50cents. Problem is it has a major warp on the edge which causes a big skip. Does anyone know of a practical way to fix the warp?
Comments
Take it in your hands and expose the record (or part of the record) to direct sunlight until you feel/sense it getting warm then put it back in it's sleeve and between the floor and the box (~60 lbs). Leave over night. Rinse and repeat.
Make sure it doesn't get actually hot, no rush you can do this a few times to gain "warming" confidence and establish some test-run standards.
http://www.vinylflat.com/vinylflatproducts.html
It seems like you would have to clean the record with a VPI beforehand to really ensure no dust & grime fuses with the record (?).
Whatever you do is going to involve heat and compression. Also on the VinylFlat site they make a good point about something that you should account for which alot of people probably don't when using DIY methods.
Maybe buying some of those Groovy Rings to use would be good. Or to keep it strictly DIY you could cut up an old slipmat to size.
All that said, I'm kinda interested in the VinylFlat product. They say "use With or Without heat source" but I don't see much happening that won't be temporary without heat, and never was keen on using the oven which was the other way I heard of people de-warping at home. It's not too expensive to try without being heavily out of pocket if turns out less than ideal.
OST, good point. I reckon a good surface clean would suffice 'cause thats the only part that the Rings will contact. They won't actually compress whatever dirt is left in the grooves because it's below the surface. Theoretically, anyway. Plus they don't use alot of force when screwing the metal plate down on the wax. They don't say how heavy the plate is but I reckon the combo of force on the record and low heat wouldn't be enough to damage the recording. I'd be willing to bet it's a non-issue but if I buy one I'll be asking them about this beforehand and will post some before and after info on my results as well.
On the topic of de-warping methods, anyone know what J Rocc has here in this video at the 11:00 mark?
J-Rocc has the Furutech DFV-1 in the video. That is the older model. Here is the current version, the DFV-2
http://www.furutech.com/a2008/product2.asp?prodNo=334
From Japan. These are a little expensive.
I've heard nothing but good things regarding the Vinylflat but only with lps, never heard anything about it's use with 45s. I'm about to cop one now.
Good question. I hope someone answers it.
Honestly, I would think it would be worth your while to invest in a Furutech. Yeah, they're too expensive, but they are easy to use - put the record in and take it out a few hours later. We made our money back and more on ours with a single poorly stored 12" collection that we got for nothing because all of the records had a storage warp from leaning on a shelf for 15 years.
Trying to dewarp that collection with that Vinyl Flattener contraption would have been a nightmare.
Whoa. Not a good ratio!
Remember you are starting with ruined records.
If you buy badly warped 45s for .50c thinking you can turn them mint you are sure to be disappointed no matter what the ratio.