[78-L] Spiked Edge Victor Test Pressing

[Michael Biel]

As David said, compression moulded records all come off the press
needing to be trimmed, and they are usually done by turning them against
a knife blade or double rotary blade while still warm.  I have seen most
oversized test with rough ragged edges but never with spikes like this
all around the entire circumference.  Sometimes one or two points, but
never all like this.  

Maybe someone in the factory was trying to be cute!

Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com


-------- Original Message --------
From: David Lennick <dlennick at sympatico.ca>
I've had a number of mid 40s Columbia test pressings that had spikes,
and were 
unlaminated in the bargain. Kind of fragile around the edges. Records
come off 
the presses needing to be trimmed, but I don't know the reason for these
spiky 
things unless as Joe suggests, it was to keep them from circulating.

dl

On 3/25/2013 6:12 PM, J. E. Knox wrote:
> Greetings from FixitLand!
>
> Clifford Bolling wrote:
>
>>> I have a 1932 Victor test pressing featuring MELODY by the Leo Reisman Orchestra. The edge has 'spikes'.
>>>
>>> It looks like it was done while the 'wax' was still soft enought to easily cut away.
>>>
>>> What was the reason for this? A couple of the spikes still have traces of the recording session info scratched
>>> into them. You can see this disc on YouTube at:
>>>
>>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMVXT7OVlng
>>>
>>> Weird.
>
>
> To which David Lennick replied:
>
>> I'd definitely not want to be in the room when one of those was flung off a
>> Capehart.
>
> That was my line of thinking too...perhaps this was intended to prevent playing on a changer. (Remember that changers of the time flung the played disc into a bin.) Or someone wanted to be extra EXTRA sure the test-cut grooves couldn't be played. I've not seen such a thing on a test pressing or any other record before, let alone done at the pressing plant.
> Weird indeed! Take care, Joe