Thanks, Robert for this additional insight. And please do keep me posted. Andy PS: The Dual 1019 is a nicely engineered and well made machine. I've had several in the shop for minor servicing over the years. On Mar 5, 2007, at 7:39 PM, Robert Wright wrote: > Good point, Andy! I will certainly provide an update in a couple > of weeks. It was my thought to store them flat in a horizontal > stack of 78's for a while as an additional measure, but I think > I'll take one disc out and let it respond naturally to see what > happens. > > A couple other quick points -- my playability tests involved a Dual > 1019 with the tracking pressure set to about 5 grams or a little > more. Some of the discs came out of the sandwich almost perfectly > flat and seemed to stay that way. And a couple of stubborn ones > didn't flatten completely, but went from unmanagably warped to > playable with a center clamp; while I feel like I could do more > with these discs, I just chose not to, hoping to see how various > degrees of leftover curve might respond to being stored long-term > flat in a stack of 78's. > > Thanks for the kind responses, > Robert > > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Andrew Baron" <andy at popyrus.com> > To: "Antique Phonograph List" <phono-l at oldcrank.org> > Sent: Monday, March 05, 2007 8:10 PM > Subject: Re: [Phono-L] Flattening Hit Of The Week discs > > >> Here in dry New Mexico, things can dry out pretty fast, and as I >> read your description, I began to wonder whether the passing of a >> few days or even a few weeks would have some effect of somewhat >> undoing the improvements you were able to achieve. >> >> Can you tell me where you are (or at least what State your in) >> and report back in a few weeks to let us know how flat the HOTW's >> are staying? >> >> Thanks for this report and detailed description. It makes me want >> to get out my box of HOTW's and try it! >> >> Best, >> Andy Baron >> >> On Mar 5, 2007, at 4:37 PM, Robert Wright wrote: >> >>> Well, I said I'd try some things and report my findings, so here >>> they are. >>> >>> The best results I got didn't take long at all. What you'll >>> need to do what I did is a steam iron & ironing board; a nice, >>> thick 100% cotten bath towel; some paper towels; something heavy >>> and flat that's larger than 10" in diameter (like a stack of 12" >>> 78's, but make sure they're not even SLIGHTLY warped); and a >>> large, flat stationery surface that's fairly rigid and smooth >>> (like a small stack of 12" 78's that are, again, perfectly flat). >>> >>> Wash your hands thoroughly before handling any of the items. >>> First, prepare the second phase of flattening by making your >>> flattening sandwich ready and easy to put together quickly; if >>> you're using 12" 78's, for instance, place a stack of 3 next to >>> a stack of 10 on a table near the ironing board, with a paper >>> towel (large enough to cover the entire disc surface) on top of >>> each stack. >>> >>> Fill the iron with distilled water and set it to decently high >>> temperature, enough for it to steam easily. Put the HOTW disc >>> playing surface down on the ironing board (feel around for a >>> spot that's flat and free of too many projectile things going >>> on underneath the board pad). Fold the bath towel in half and >>> cover the HOTW completely (this is actually tricky with the more >>> stubborn and severely curved discs, but be patient and don't be >>> afraid to manhandle things a bit if necessary). Hold the iron >>> over the towel/ disc/ironing board horizontally so that it >>> steams, and push the steam button repeatedly if your iron has >>> one. Lower the iron to an inch above the towel and distrubute a >>> good amount of steam evenly over the disc area, dampening the >>> top layer of the towel substantially. After a minute or so of >>> this, press the iron down and iron the towel flat, moving in >>> circles around the disc area. Do this for 45 seconds to 1 >>> minute, occasionally hovering the iron above the surface to >>> facilitate more steam. >>> >>> In a fairly quick motion, place the iron safely aside and slide >>> the disc out from under the bath towel. It will not be playably >>> flat just yet. Place the disc on top of the paper towel that's >>> on the stack of 3 12" 78's, then cover the disc with the 2nd >>> paper towel and gently place the stack of 10 on top. Leave it >>> there for a couple of minutes. Then remove the stack of 10 and >>> the top paper towel, and place the disc on your turntable as if >>> you're ready to play it. Over the next 5 to 10 minutes, it will >>> continue to settle down into a flat shape until it should be >>> quite playable. >>> >>> The last phase really caught me by surprise... I had used too >>> much steam on one disc and it bowed the other way after having >>> been in the flattening sandwich, and it wouldn't play. I was >>> going to give it another shot and leave it in the sandwich for >>> an hour this time, but I got a phone call that lasted about 7 >>> minutes. By the time I went to take the disc from the turntable >>> for round 2, I noticed it was visibly flatter than before, and >>> it played just fine when I tried again to play it. >>> >>> Absolutely no treble was reduced, not even on the longer-playing >>> HOTW's, and no sonic degradations resulted. The grooves of some >>> discs did take on a very subtle elliptical shape, but this >>> caused no pitch fluctuations whatsoever, and I'm not positive >>> they weren't already that way from whatever curled the discs in >>> the first place. >>> >>> Best, >>> Robert >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Phono-L mailing list >>> http://phono-l.oldcrank.org >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Phono-L mailing list >> http://phono-l.oldcrank.org > > _______________________________________________ > Phono-L mailing list > http://phono-l.oldcrank.org