[78-L] Two blank molds up and running.

[Thomas Edison]

I finished the second blank mold last week, I have one mold that is right handed and one that makes  a left handed spiral core in the blanks.  I took blanks to Union IL to introduce them. While the end product is a standard 4 1/4 ( mine run 4 1/2"  at times and are 5" before being put  on the edging machine. )  The blanks come out of the mold thicker than an Ediphone blank, and the molds in fact will make dictation blanks that are 6" long and will even work with the Ejectomatic on the late Ediphones. I however did not keep any  of the dictation size ones, as they use a lot of wax, and the need is for standard blanks. ` Today was my first time molding with two molds, and we started molding at five, and ended at 7pm CST, and molded 6 good blanks during this time, there was one that was rejected, otherwise there would have been seven.   The blanks are shaved to 2.190" in diameter,  and I have a stop on the knife, that when they get to that size, it stops shaving.  Fifty thousandths is shaved off  to get to the standard size.  It may sound like a waste of wax, but it  gets used for batches made entirely of scrap wax, and these actually are just as good as fresh wax, and sometimes superior.   I am wondering if this even is too thick?  I measured lots of original cylinder records and found they range from 2.130-2.175" in diameter.  I want to offer the most shaves per blank.  They are still the same price.  New boxes will be here soon, so they will soon  be sold singly instead of dozens and half dozen boxes.  At present though they are sold the half and full dozen until the single boxes are done. The new ordering process is that you put a suggestion, on a list, that you would like blanks, and when they are finished, you pay, and they are shipped, I think this is as fair a method.  The new molds certainly have reduced the defective blank ratio  to very few, and the blanks are much faster to mold.  (shaving takes forever though)   I also have a 20 year old apprentice who is learning how they are made.  The first  job was shaving blanks, and now watching how to mold records. 


Sincerely

Shawn Borri