The vinyl loving public at large could use an LP flattener that is affordable, say $500 or less. The DIY method apparently works fine but for those of us with gas ovens and/or those who don't trust ourselves trying to get it right without getting it wrong, an alternative would be great to have. It seems that a great number of new LP releases have at least a slight warp on the outside of the album if not worse and a device to eliminate that would be a great thing to have. From what I can tell by looking at the $1000 plus units that are out there, it's not a device that requires a huge amount of R&D or rocket science grade components.
Hopefully some of you agree with me out there, I would think that it's a great opportunity for someone...
Record flatteners are an immense waste of money, and you don't need a gas oven. Get two 12-inch granite tiles. Turn your oven - gas or electric - on to 200 degrees. Put your record between the tiles. Stick the sandwich in the oven and turn it off immediately. Let it cool until the oven is room temp and presto! You're good to go. If you're worried about the stone on your record you can put cork against your vinyl but i don't and I've never seen any ill effects.
not a device that requires a huge amount of R&D or rocket science grade components.
but how many can you sell? If the market is small the price must be high because there is no economy of scale. Still, it is an interesting idea. Seems like you could get a Chinese manufacturer involved and handily beat the price of those available.
Check the archives on the Vinyl Asylum. You can make your own record flattener with two pieces of plate glass and your home oven. Heat the oven up to about 175 degrees (or thereabouts, check the thread) and place the warped LP between the two pieces of heavy plate glass. Bake until done. (The VA will tell you the recommended time and temp.) I've never tried it, so don't blame me if it falls flat, as it were.
How many 16.5 cleaners do you think that VPI sells? Probably more than a few a year I would have to think. Of course, there are other methods other than a vacuum cleaner to clean your records but it seems to be the most common and popular method by far in terms of getting the job done properly. Before the advent of such a machine, people likely made due with other methods. I'm sure that the oven method can be made to work fine but it would suck to make a mistake due to an innacurate thermometer, leaving it in too long etc.
Having a neat and clean solution to fixing a warped record is something that would appeal to a certain group of people, no? Given how many audio accessories are out there, many of them seemingly frivolus or questionable it doesn't seem that far out that some would like to have such an item in their audio toolbox.
Grimace, Where and when did I infer that one needed a gas oven? It might be difficult to find tiles that are sufficient to cover the surface area of an LP, whereas one can get glass cut to size fairly easily in any good hardware store. I suppose both tile and glass would work fine, however. Thanks for supplying the specifics as to time and temperature.
Lewm, You didn't say anything about gas. The original post did. I got my tiles at Lowe's or Home Depot. Don't remember which. Its a stock item and they're heavier than glass.
And speaking of the VPI 16.5 - Now that I'm on "vacation" again I think I can build one for about $50 in parts - including a sacrificial TT for platter and bearing - using a shop vac for the vacuum suply. That'll be a hell of a lot cheaper than the $550 VPI charges.
The commercial flateners are a rip.I have yet to try the put it between glass (with paper sleeve) and think that more weight with bricks or granite is good idea).But know this is you have a nasty heat warp it's not going to work,I had a Lou Donaldson "Blues Walk" that I too cover to concert for Lou to sign.Got home and open shade had produced a nasty 1" heat warp.The tighter (smaller area) of warp and it's depth can be to degree that nothing will work (as that $2K company tells you).Gradual warps that don't 'kick tone arm might work.But set at lowest heat of 200 degrees for wide mild warps and cross fingers. Chazz
jecked out the asylum for own education and found varying heat levels and times.But one thing everyone who had any luck and had been through it was to say 125 to 175 for afst heating stove.Then you wanto SHUT OFF HEAT.Open door for five minutes and let out heat.Residual heat inside should do it.Then let sit for half and hour to forty five minutes.Take glass out and let cool for 12-24 hrs.As one newbie noticed and LPP he cleaned under hot tap[ awter got all flexible so threshold is low.Better to under do it and try again than getting vinyl soup."Excuse me Waiter but what's this Axis Bold As Love doing in my soup?"....... Chazz
jecked out the asylum for own education and found varying heat levels and times.But one thing everyone who had any luck and had been through it was to say 125 to 175 for fast heating stove.Then you want to SHUT OFF HEAT.Open door for five minutes and let out heat.Residual heat inside should do it.Then let sit for half and hour to forty five minutes.Take glass out and let cool for 12-24 hrs.As one newbie noticed and LP he cleaned under hot tap[ water got all flexible so threshold is low.Better to under do it and try again than getting vinyl soup."Excuse me Waiter but what's this Axis Bold As Love doing in my soup?"....... Chazz
If you find a good record for 99 cents that would be perfect except for a little warp why would you not want to flatten it out if it was easy and the cost was low. The 2 pieces of glass I use in my oven works great. However, as stated above, if it is a big one it won't help. It may flatten out but the grooves will be distorted.
Viridian, my apologies, I was simply joking around, as I believe you were in your post. My bad. My sense of humor borders on the caustic at times (much to my detriment) so please bear with me! The local solution I have found is a record shop that has one of the thousand dollar flatteners, and for a fee, they will flatten your records.... Which brings me to my next rant: I swear to god, out of the last 40 'audiophile' records I have purchased, a dozen have been warped or 'dished', and at 40 bucks a pop, that is simply unacceptable! I bought a copy of ansermet royal ballet ($80)!!! got it home, dished like a cereal bowl!! The store took it back, ordered me another, and guess what? It is dished as well!!!! The oficial story is : 'it must have been a bad batch' at eighty bucks a pop, I expect at least a modicum of quality control. I think vinyl in general is frustrating enough to deal with without having to take crap from manufacturers!!! ARRRRGH! okay, time for a xanax.
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