I really love this. Would it be possible for you to explain exactly how you achieved this. I am totally green…trying to get my head around easel before my CNC arrives. Would love to have a go at doing this. Thanks
It’s been a while since I carved any vinyl records, but I do remember that I used the painter’s tape/super glue method of securing the album to the work surface… This allowed me to use an up-cut bit to do the carving. Clamping wasn’t really working as the bit would cause upward flex in the record…and down-cut bits were causing alot of melting. My Router/spindle speed was kept low (to avoid melting) but the feed rate was a bit above the Easel recommended setting. I recommend using smaller bits… 1/16 or even 1/32…Larger bits take larger bites of the vinyl, which tends to be brittle and can cause alot of unwanted cracking/chipping Again I do not remember exact feed/speed data, but Good Will sells albums for cheap. (I think last time I got some they were like $2 a peice) and yard-sale/flea markets are great places to find old vinyl. Just google prices of individual records so that you’re NOT carving up VALUABLE Vintage items. (I wasn’t really worried about carving this old Abby Road (Apple Records) album because of the overall condition and play-ability.)
You have to kinda mess up several albums… Experiment with different settings on some of the less valuable vinyl, see what works with your machine and with the vinyl… Some older records are more brittle than others.
like everything else, its a learning process, but if you take your time and think it completely through before you start cutting, you should be fine. consider the overall shape of the record, the label and center hole when designing… (placement of what you want carved matters).
Thanks Robert. Much appreciated.
After lots of trial and error, I was able to successfully cut a vinyl record without it melting. Feed Rate was set to 100mm, plunge rate was 50mm, depth per pass was .05mm and spindle rate was 600. I also used a V bit and that did the trick! Good luck with your cut…
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