Roots Archives Forum

apparently there is now a Japanese made press with glass plates that heat up then cool down slowly over a several hour process and take the warp out of records.
It seems, if the vinyl exhibits the micro-ripples of telltale heat warping, it won't be flattenable. what else causes records to warp if not heat? constant applied pressure? like living in a leaning or flat stack in a warehouse for 40 years? as I think about the "lampshades" made from records, it seems like if the warp is 'pleated', or has more than one curve to the edge, it's probly heat induced and disqualifies for a proper flattening. anyway, I'm sending a record over to where one of these units is located in Toronto. this thing's a real potato chip of a record, so warped I got to put a prop under its low side just to keep the high side beneath the tonearm.
"anyone got a record needs flat 'gain?" as they say out on the lease.

I've also seen those machines, very expensive. Also, if you surf around, you'll find plans for home-made versions!

One of the most common forms of warp isn't actually heat, it's shrink wrap induced storage warp.

This is caused by the shrink wrap doing a bit more shrinking as it ages. This incredibly strong and yet very thin wrap is actually able to gradually dish warp a record over time. I guess at anything over really cold a record is maleable.

So if you find a record still in its shrink after 20 years, don't get too excited, it almost certainly WILL be warped.

Just like the MINT shrink wrapped first press copy of Ghetto-ology Dubwise I got yesterday. SO warped I could use it as a fruit bowl! Ah, but it still plays better than the later repress I own!

You MUST either, slit the shrink along the top edge - which is what I have been doing. Or, take the record out of the sleeve, put both sleeve and record into a vinyl protective sleeve seperately.

IMHO, forget about unwarp record.

I tried, with a lot of care, the classic method with two glass plate + heat + a long night to refresh. It does not work!

Basicly it's a question of geometric. Once warp it is impossible to return to the original shape. The more flat you will obtain, the more the groove will suffer. So, you might obtain an unwarp disc but the groove will be as if it was off center. Perhaps it's easier with 7".


BTW the disc I tried to unwarp was a 12" Bunny Wailer "Rise & Shine". Believe me, I would do anything to unwarp it.


wareika

Wareika's point must be true. Imagine bending those grooves in and out - they must suffer permanently from that process.

And a badly off centred record is just as maddening if not more so than a warped one. Because a dishwarped record can be usually be played with a big weight on the stylus, but off centre played on a pivot tone arm deck will wow and sound out of tune.

Which is why I use a linear tracking deck to play off centre records, not perfect but at least they play in tune - see:

http://www.roots-archives.com/forum/rea ... #msg-11762

And if a record has been damaged by too much direct heat, then they are done for as the grooves are corrupted beyond repair, even if you can ever make it flat again.

I have a copy of Put It On by Johnnie Clarke (sold to me by some dishonest scum on ebay) that has been near fire and is scrapped on the first track each side. The stylus hits the damaged grooves and off it skates - randomly!

It took me ages to track down a replacement copy and still I only have a VG condition LP.