DIY Stylus - is it even remotely possible ?

[Ldg]

WHAT IF.......you had to fabricate your own conical/spherical stylus tip ?

What equipment, materials and methods would you need ? Let's say you can start with a diamond rod of correct shank diameter.

[Blue Angel]

Perish the thought, ld The thought has crossed my mind. Styli I use are expensive but that I can live with. The problem I have is with our customs gorillas who can't keep their claws out of my incoming parcels of needles...

I have hundreds of rubis from my days as a watch distributor and I have sometimes glanced at them and thought to myself if I could use those things as prototype material to practise grinding profiles.

The trouble is they are very, very small and I'm on the wrong side of 65yo.

ba

[awkwardbydesign]

Why is there this compulsion to 'improve' upon the DL103.......?! It's just bizarre, IMO. Just let it live, let it be what it is, and enjoy it.

Ahem!

[satanfriendly]

I guess anything is possible

However by the time you've learnt the skills to cut and polish (A friend of mine in the past said about three years at the very least at basic level), bought the neccessary and somewhat expensive machinery/tooling, took God knows how long to design your stylus profile, you may as have well bought a life times supply of Koetsu Platinums or Tigerstones and have had done with.

[awkwardbydesign]

I guess anything is possible

Tutto e possibile, ma niente e reale. I have this printed on the back of my motorbike; I love to watch drivers in Italy moving their lips as they try to understand it. I was told it is a line from a Living Colour song, but I saw it on a t-shirt at Hawkwind all-nighter many years ago. I don't even like Hawkwind!

[satanfriendly]

I still have the old 'cars are pants' T-Shirt. Thought about it in Spanish 'Los Coches son Pantalones', but guess it would be lost in trsnalation.

Back on topic, I'm still scouring the web for the cost of the machining alone here and not getting very far.

[Steerpike_jhb]

You can grow polycrystalline films of diamond with an oxy-acelylene flame. That might be an option: you'd just have to find a suitable, and suitably shaped substrate.

[Blue Angel]

You can grow polycrystalline films of diamond with an oxy-acelylene flame. That might be an option: you'd just have to find a suitable, and suitably shaped substrate.

Are you flaming the OP?

ba

[Ldg]

My motivation is to understand what it takes to grind/polish a stylus, with an outside chance that such is actually achievable. But in thinking it through, perhaps to learn what is of merit.

Here's how I thought it might be done :

A jig would hold the diamond rod on its axis. It would be driven to spin on the axis, and present at a set angle to a flat grinding table. And so make a sharp cone.

The jig would also be able to vary the grinding angle cyclically automatically. And so, starting with a cone, would grind a spherical tip profile, whilst the rod rotates on axis, and is pressed against a flat grinding table.

Bottom profile ground by hand.

Cut the rod above the cone section.

Inspect for grain alignment, to determine shank mounting position.

It doesn't seem too infeasible........??

[Ldg]

You can grow polycrystalline films of diamond with an oxy-acelylene flame. That might be an option: you'd just have to find a suitable, and suitably shaped substrate.

Nice idea. Lets say we could make a substrate of the right shape. Even if we could then deposit a layer of diamond, I don't think it could be a viable stylus. I think it has to be solid diamond to conduct heat away (small as it is) from the contact region. Otherwise it would wear. Only solid diamond can do it, it has exceptional thermal conductivity. Or perhaps a substrate with high thermal conductivity might be OK, if the diamond layer was thick enough.

Hey, that's my 4000th post here !

[Steerpike_jhb]

I think it has to be solid diamond to conduct heat away

They did make LP styli out of non-diamond material - they didn't last as long, but can that be attributed to their thermal conductivity, or their hardness, or a bit of both?

Maybe we need to revisit optical playback by laser diode... a DIY variant this time!

[jake]

Cactus needles are the DIY needle of choice for 78's.

[Lazarus Short]

Why not just convert all your LP's to some kind of lossless data file? Easier. Cheaper. Heresy.

[Jim Leach]

The company I work for can do DLC coating for you.

Grind a piece of tungsten to shape and we'll coat it with DLC (Diamond-Like carbon).

It should work fine.