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Old 13th Jan 2017, 4:06 pm   #7
Audio1950
Dekatron
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Whittlesey, near Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, UK.
Posts: 3,758
Default Re: Rescuing and repairing turntable mats.

Quote:
Originally Posted by G4XWDJim View Post
Barry, Audio1950 once advised me of the method he uses to cut felt mats for wind up grams and it worked extremely well leaving a perfect edge.

Maybe Barry could be persuaded to write up his technique.
Certainly! You need a square piece of flat board, about an about three quarters of an inch thick, and an inch or so bigger than the diameter of the mat you are making, a length of 1" x 1" batten, about 2" longer than the radius of the circle you are cutting, A wood screw about an inch and a half long, a scalpel blade, a couple of tiny screws that will go through the slots in the blade, and a staple gun.

Drill a hole through one end of the 1" x 1" batten, about an inch from the end, and of a size that will allow the wood screw to fit the hole loosely. Make sure it goes through straight and square. Screw it to the centre of the board. Now measure from the centre of the screw head out to the required radius, and mark the batten. Remove it from the board, and cut it off square. Then screw the scalpel blade to the square end, at an angle, so that the blade will follow as you move the batten clockwise. Allow the tip of the blade to protrude over the bottom edge of the batten for about 1mm more than the thickness of the material you are cutting. Find the centre of the material, and make a small hole.Line that hole up with the one on the board made by the screw. Put the screw through the batten and the material, then screw it down loosely. Without pressing on the batten, move it round about half an inch and put a staple about half an inch out from the end of the batten. Do this all the way round, so that when you cut the circle, the staples will be outside the circle, attached to the board. I didn't do this originally, but have found that doing this prevents the material from rucking up, which results in an uneven edge. Now do the centre screw up until the batten is held tightly to the board, but just free enough to be able to move. Now press lightly on the batten, and scribe your circle. Do the same two or three times, increasing the pressure each time, until you can feel the blade cutting the wood. Unscrew the batten, remove the material and enlarge the centre hole, best done by cutting a cross, placing it over the turntable spindle, and cutting off the excess. Better still if you can punch the centre hole before starting. I use a bit of 5mm brass tube, sharpened on the inside edge. Put a hefty bolt in the other end, and give it a couple of whacks with a hammer. I've used this method for felt, rubber and velvet, for circles from 5-12" and for me, at least, it works every time.
Barry
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