[78-L] Glass Records

[David Lennick]

I've never had one spontaneously self-destruct but laws a' mercy they can't take much, and they were known to be fragile even when brand new. I broke one when I was 3.

 

This thread seems to have migrated..it started over on ARSClist.

 

dl
 
> To: 78-L at 78online.com
> From: audiofixer at verizon.net
> Date: Tue, 18 May 2010 10:26:57 -0400
> Subject: Re: [78-L] Glass Records
> 
> The glass base is quite thin, and a sudden change in temperature
> will cause the glass to expand or contract enough to shatter it.
> I learned this the hard way. Even the warmth of one's hands
> may cause this when holding a cold disc! And any fluids used
> to clean and rinse the disc should be at room temperature!
> 
> Doug
> 
> > Date: Mon, 17 May 2010 16:49:39 -0700
> > From: "Kevin P. Mostyn" <lists at MOSTYN.COM>
> > Subject: Re: Glass Records
> >
> > I have handled a few thousand glass-base 16" discs in my life. 
> > Currently,
> > there are about a thousand of these in my garage.
> >
> > They are extremely fragile. I have seen them break merely by being 
> > picked up
> > carefully. Once when doing research in the bowels of the LOC, a disc
> > shattered in the hands of the person assisting me. He was very 
> > experienced
> > with such discs (the eponymous Jim Smart), he did everything 
> > correctly, but
> > it shattered nonetheless.
> >
> > My advice is to treat them as if they were explosive. Carry only 
> > one at a
> > time. Try to carry it on a flat sacrificial aluminum base 16" disc. 
> > Never
> > leave it unsupported. Avoid any situation where it might flex, 
> > because it
> > doesn't want to flex; it wants to break. If moving a box of them, 
> > make sure
> > that the box is reasonably rigid and that the contents are 
> > protected from
> > external forces and that the contents cannot flex.
> >
> > Although glass has a smoother surface than metal, World War II was the
> > reason for its widespread use. Aluminum was declared a war priority 
> > item and
> > was unobtainable for civilian use. In addition, there were large 
> > "drives" to
> > solicit donations of aluminum from the public. Vast numbers of 
> > aluminum 16"
> > disks were donated to these drives (as well as pots and pans), thus
> > destroying a large part of our audio legacy. Then there were 
> > services that
> > would recoat used aluminum discs with fresh lacquer for reuse, again
> > destroying more of our audio history. It's a miracle that any 
> > survived; it
> > also explains why so little of pre-war transcriptions exist. The 
> > majority of
> > 16" lacquers that I have seen are from 1940 though the mid-1950s. 
> > The ones
> > from 1934 through 1939 are relatively scarce. Unfortunately, none 
> > of "us"
> > were around and in a position to do anything about it back then! 
> > Libraries
> > didn't archive such things.
> >
> > Lacquer transcriptions were made for various purposes, such as 
> > syndication,
> > delayed broadcast, verification of commercials that were broadcast, 
> > etc. In
> > addition, there was a law in America that any shortwave broadcast from
> > America had to be recorded. Millions were made over the years, but 
> > sadly,
> > history has not treated them well. Those that survive are slowly 
> > being eaten
> > by palmitic acid. It's a lugubrious tale.
> >
> > --Kevin Mostyn
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