how do you unwarp a record

[zener]

I bought a mint copy 180gm on Impulse of John Coltrane , A love supreme , very cheap cos its warped and dished , if I clean it and put it on a piece of clean glass and place a wieght onthe label to flatten it then place it in a temperature controlled oven , what temperature will it take to ease the warping.

 

[artist]

There is a devics that heat treats the record,a bit like a trouser press

 

[suzywong]

Many years ago (i.e. more than thirty), I packed a copy of Deep Purple's Made in Japan in my suitcase to return to Uni. Needness to say, they developed a dish shape during the train journey. The two LPs then spent the next two terms on the desk, being weighed down by my speakers......after two terms they became playable on my SP25.......they still are....on my LP12.

 

[JTC]

I've got the Pink Floyd '97 vinyl collection box, and one day I forgot to put DSOTM back in its sleeve, and left it on the LP12. It was a sunny day, and the sun warped the record. Bugger, thought I. I have subsequently tried a few things, but nothing has yet worked - the last was to place the record in front of the fireplace for a while until the record became somewhat softer, and then quickly placing between two very large, heavy books, on top of which I stacked other heavy items. Didn't work. Didn't make it any worse, though. I have a theory my technique could work, but I gave up and bought the Anniversary edition, which is a better pressing and mastering anyway.

John

 

[SteveC]

I take mine into my sauna between two sheets of hardened glass for a certain time and temperature, just enough and no more. It works when I have it down right. It's a lot kinder than the oven method some people have tried.

OTOH, there is a thick lip round the LP, so ripples lower than this are not pressed out. For that I would need to find those TT mats that are shaped. But it's enough to make an unplayable LP easily playable.

 

[ACM]

The Disc Flatter is supposed to work very well - it was reviewed in Hi-Fi Plush recently. The only downside is the cost - almost 2,000 USD...

Mmm... I wonder whether it would be worth buying one and then offering a record flattening service via mail order ?

 

[zener]

Ok I now have a very flat John Coltrane album , got rid of the warp and the dish.
Heres how
Get two pieces of glass 14 inches square , clean them thoroughly with Iso propyl alcohol , place them together , if you can spot interferance patterns you have clean glass.
Now clean the Album with a lint free cloth , moistened with iso propyl alcohol.
place the album between the sheets of glass.
Place the whole thing in an enviromental chamber and slowly raise the temperature to 60 centigrade , leave in for 30 mins , then remove from chamber , allow to cool for 30 mins , voila! a flat record.

 

[Fanny Cradock]

Where would I find an enviro mental chamber ?

And what is it ?

 

[zener]

I have them were I work. Any electric drying oven with thermostatic control will do , it just needs to be controllable at 60 centigrade.

 

[John K R]

JTC

"I forgot to put DSOTM back in its sleeve, and left it on the LP12. It was a sunny day, and the sun warped the record."

What shape is your LP12 platter?

John.

 

[JTC]

Very funny. The platter is/was round, but where the deck was located was next to a window and in partial sunlight, partial shade. Which meant that half the record got heated, half didn't, and it warped...

 

[John K R]

They tend to warp easily enough in the sun. I wonder if they would "unwarp" the same way, left in a sunny spot between glass?
The concern is the effect on the playing surface of course.

I have had a few new vinyl purchases arriving home warped recently. I informed the shop by phone about the last one and they said they had one more in stock, and they checked it and it was fine. On checking it myself, once at the shop, the vinyl was flat but with so many surface marks it looked like it had been handled by a rhino. Got a refund.
This of course is another subject, can record store staff be trusted to handle vinyl properly?

Do records leave the pressers warped?

John.

 

[blakeaudio]

i would tend to suggest that most that work in record shops take a rather cavalier attitude towards vinyl care....

 

[SteveC]

Hmm we used to have one of those controlled ovens at work for biological specimens. Handy for heating up lunchtime pies if you whack the temp up. Seriously, a sauna works fine, and look at the side-benefits. Don't tell me you guys haven't built saunas in your houses