SL-24

An open source record lathe

The SL-24 record lathe is a fully integrated open source record cutting and embossing lathe I started working on in late 2021. While the goal for the lathe itself is to produce small runs of individual and experimental records on sustainable materials the overarching idea is to create a high quality and accessible open platform that can serve as basis for further developments and experiments by others.

The manufacture of records, as compared to tapes and CDs, has been in a weird spot; with an almost ubiquitous availability of recording media (a piece of polycarbonate from the hardware store works just fine) but a complete lack of affordable and accessible devices to do the recording with. A situation, it seems, a lot of people who own record lathes are more than happy with.

Fuck that. Records for the people!

All CAD data for the SL-24 and the sources for it’s control software can be found here: https://sr.ht/~slyka/SL-24/

Updates are posted on my Mastodon account under the tag #RecordLathe.

Documentation and build instruction are a work in progress…

  1. First test cuts
    First test cuts
  2. Construction of the carriage
    Construction of the carriage
  3. Construction of the gantry
    Construction of the gantry
  4. Test cuts with the completed gantry
    Test cuts with the completed gantry
  5. New more powerful head
    New more powerful head
  6. Casting the platter from concrete
    Casting the platter from concrete
  7. New concrete platter
    New concrete platter
  8. The end result?!
    The end result?!
  9. Nope! Still a lot of work to do.
    Nope! Still a lot of work to do.
  10. New gantry and head suspension
    New gantry and head suspension
  11. New precision stainless steel platter
    New precision stainless steel platter
  12. Custom carbide grinding setup
    Custom carbide grinding setup
  13. Stereo grooves!
    Stereo grooves!
  14. The latest iteration of the cutting head
    The latest iteration of the cutting head
  15. Cutting force gauge
    Cutting force gauge

Attachments

Related blog posts

Record Lathe, Pt.1

Wednesday September 21 2022, 1077 words — Introduction to my series on my DIY record lathe.
Filed under: Record Lathe

Hi, welcome to the first short introductory post in a series where I’m going to document my attempt at building my own record lathe!

Work on this started around a year ago, but I haven’t really gotten around to documenting any of it outside of some posts on twitter, so I felt it was time to put this project’s documentation into a less ephemeral form.

Wait, what’s a record lathe?!

Good question! You know records, right? Round, black, shiny discs that contain music in a spiral groove?

Read more…

See all related posts »