I'm trying to determine alternative materials to cut records on using a home record cutting turntable.
I'm trying to figure out a plastic that has similar softness and machine-ablility to the acetate lacquer on the commercial recording blanks.
McCaster-Carr has an excellent selection of plastics in the appropriate dimensions (1/16 or 1/8 thichness, 12x12 square that I can cut into disks). The question is which will give the cleanest cut with the least noise and be strong enough to hold up to repeated playing.
I've ruled out polycarbonate (acrylic) because it doesn't really tool cleanly, it more chips away and leaves a rough surface. I was thinking about HDPE, nylon or polypropylene.
Any people with machining experiance that can offer insight?

A long time ago, before I ever did any disc recording, there was a tip in Popular Science (?) about getting old X Ray films from your doctor, and recording on them.

It sounded like a good idea, but I never did it, because recording discs were in plentiful supply then.

You might try it now, though.

Actually, that's funny, because there's some backing to the story now....

On the DVD "Paul McCartney Live in Red Square" there is a short documentary on how the Beatles affected communist Russia in the 60's. Their music was not available at the time (or even legal, I think) so there were smuggled copies and bootlegs everywhere. One person remembers this method as how they used to obtain rock and roll records, but he says that it was strange listening to Beatles' albums while seeing pictures of peoples' broken bones going around on the turntable.

LOL!!!

eric

Yes. the "Bones" records as they where called worked well because the film base was cellulose acetate (with the layer of photographic gelatin on each side). Basically they where the same as the acetate lacquer blanks without the aluminum disc to support the lacquer.
The problem is xrays for a few decades now have been on polyester or mylar base, which is much harder and stronger. To give an idea of how much stronger, movie film made the same changeover, and now instead of projectors tearing film and having to be spliced, if there is a jam in the projectors it is more likely to break the plastic teeth off the feed gears.
So if I could find a good source of vintage x rays or acetate sheets (which I've been trying to locate) that might work, but it's been difficult trying to find sheets big enough.