Ironing Records

[Pete S]

So if you've got a record with an edge warp, this is what they sound like after the warp has been removed with an iron. This is bloody difficult though. The bargain Bobby Wells I bought off Mick Smith wouldn't play on my deck at all so there was only one thing for it - the steam iron. I covered it with a damp teatowel and then applied pressure until the plastic became flexible, then remove the towel and quickly press the vinyl into shape. Note, you'll burn your thumbs in this part of the process. Anyway, the end result is enclosed as a tiny mp3, it's not great but it does now play.

[Pete S]

After listening to that, I think I might have underpriced it at 20 quid!

[Barry]

I took a dint out of an acetate with an hammer.

[Mark Bicknell]

So if you've got a record with an edge warp, this is what they sound like after the warp has been removed with an iron. This is bloody difficult though. The bargain Bobby Wells I bought off Mick Smith wouldn't play on my deck at all so there was only one thing for it - the steam iron. I covered it with a damp teatowel and then applied pressure until the plastic became flexible, then remove the towel and quickly press the vinyl into shape. Note, you'll burn your thumbs in this part of the process. Anyway, the end result is enclosed as a tiny mp3, it's not great but it does now play.

Pete, I never done anything like this myself but i'm sure i've read somewhere that two pieces of glass and natural sunlight could correct a warp i.e. place the 45 between the two pieces of glass and secure, place glass in direct sunlight (difficult i know in this country...lol) add weight to the glass and the warp may correct???? worth a try if you feel the need i guess.

Regards - Mark Bicknell.

[Pete S]

Pete, I never done anything like this myself but i'm sure i've read somewhere that two pieces of glass and natural sunlight could correct a warp i.e. place the 45 between the two pieces of glass and secure, place glass in direct sunlight (difficult i know in this country...lol) add weight to the glass and the warp may correct???? worth a try if you feel the need i guess.

Regards - Mark Bicknell.

I actually have tried that Mark - well thats a lie - I put it in the oven - and ended up with a 14" splodge of plastic

[Mark Bicknell]

I actually have tried that Mark - well thats a lie - I put it in the oven - and ended up with a 14" splodge of plastic

Oh dear, best we forget that one then Pete..stick with your ironing...lol

Regards - Mark Bicknell.

[Barry]

There was a topic on this site about this two or three years back - some weird and wonderful suggestions too.

[Pete S]

There was a topic on this site about this two or three years back - some weird and wonderful suggestions too.

Yeah there was, I only bought this up because of the experiment I just did and the fact you could hear the result

[Barry]

Yeah there was, I only bought this up because of the experiment I just did and the fact you could hear the result

I've no problem with you re-visiting it Pete, it was intersting to hear some of the half baked and near genius 'solutions' people came up with.

[Pete S]

I've no problem with you re-visiting it Pete, it was intersting to hear some of the half baked and near genius 'solutions' people came up with.

Actually I've been called a half baked genius

[Dylan]

manship has some kind of contraption to take out warps. He charges for the service so only realy worth bothering if its a big money record.

or is that a service he offers only for records he is then going to sell.......

[Guest Bogue]

So if you've got a record with an edge warp, this is what they sound like after the warp has been removed with an iron. This is bloody difficult though. The bargain Bobby Wells I bought off Mick Smith wouldn't play on my deck at all so there was only one thing for it - the steam iron. I covered it with a damp teatowel and then applied pressure until the plastic became flexible, then remove the towel and quickly press the vinyl into shape. Note, you'll burn your thumbs in this part of the process. Anyway, the end result is enclosed as a tiny mp3, it's not great but it does now play.

Don't worry Pete there are hundreds of copies available !!

Not laughing at your misfortune mate, just the irony of it.

Anyway, you could always play it out as the non christmas version minus the bells intro.

[Dolly13]

I actually have tried that Mark - well thats a lie - I put it in the oven - and ended up with a 14" splodge of plastic

[Guest Stuart T]

manship has some kind of contraption to take out warps. He charges for the service so only realy worth bothering if its a big money record.

or is that a service he offers only for records he is then going to sell.......

A few companies make record flattening machines, essentially two sheets of glass which are heated and then cooled very slowly so that the vinyl flattens without distortion. Prices between £600 and a grand I think.

https://store.acousticsounds.com/browse_det...?Title_ID=14116 Roughly a grand for this one. Clearaudio make one too.

For an interesting discussion on flattening warped records, inter alia, using coyotes, roadrunners and bird seed:

https://audiokarma.org/forums/archive/index.php/t-21851.html

[SteveM]

Actually I've been called a half baked genius

in the same sentence ?

[Mike]

sure saw once that you can get a turntable designed to play warped records ??

bit off on a over the top solution, but did smile at the thought of djs on a budget lugging one around

[Simsy]

I'm a bit dissapointed, as I thought the above was an informative vid featuring Pete showing us how to iron records!

[Bjorn Nilsson]

I had a record a couple of years ago that had a bad warp so i stuck it in a bok and put it in the book shelf. It was a rare jazz EP so it could take all the time it needed as I'm not a big fan of jazz. The trouble now is that I can't remember in what book I put it.

Will try Pete's way next time!

[Martint]

sure saw once that you can get a turntable designed to play warped records ??

bit off on a over the top solution, but did smile at the thought of djs on a budget lugging one around

wasn't this those laser players that can apparently play through warps, scratches, jelly babies etc. ?

[Godzilla]

I had a record a couple of years ago that had a bad warp so i stuck it in a bok and put it in the book shelf.

This often gets used with classical records. It's called the Bok to Bach method.

Coat just being buttoned...

Godz

[Pete S]

I'm a bit dissapointed, as I thought the above was an informative vid featuring Pete showing us how to iron records!

That could be arranged and would be hilarious I bet!

The bleep machine would go into meltdown

[Pete S]

Don't worry Pete there are hundreds of copies available !!

This is true.

[Jaco]

I'm a bit dissapointed, as I thought the above was an informative vid featuring Pete showing us how to iron records!

Being a 21st century kinda guy, I thought this was going to be a thread about records to iron to!

[Rbman]

I stuck a slightly warped Sue EP in my trouser press on the overnight setting....totally unplayable after

[Guest NorthernDancer]

HI. Took a warp out of a record with a hairdryer an then between 2 solid books works great...

All the best brummie carl....

[Sean Hampsey]

I'm a bit dissapointed, as I thought the above was an informative vid featuring Pete showing us how to iron records!

And I thought it was Pete asking us what records we listened to... while we're doing the ironing!

But if it's about ironing out the warps in records, I'm afraid I've not had as much success as Pete.

I recently turned a slightly warped (otherwise mint) copy of Gladys Knight "No One Can Love You More" that I picked up for a quid at a records fair into a Black Plastic Bin Liner, in one foul swoop!

:angry:

Sean

[SteveM]

And I thought it was Pete asking us what records we listened to... while we're doing the ironing!

But if it's about ironing out the warps in records, I'm afraid I've not had as much success as Pete.

I recently turned a slightly warped (otherwise mint) copy of Gladys Knight "No One Can Love You More" that I picked up for a quid at a records fair into a Black Plastic Bin Liner, in one foul swoop!

:angry:

Sean

I remember the ironing board in your record room Sean.

(And the sewing machine and the sink with the washing up in it )

ps, saw Great Uncle Malcs post about starting a new job. Why did you let him go ? Thought he'd been with your family for years ? Didn't he work on your great grandads potato farm when he retired after Crimea ?

[Mace]

HI. Took a warp out of a record with a hairdryer an then between 2 solid books works great...

All the best brummie carl....

Used this method myself, have to lay the disc in middle of opened cookbook or like (big heavy job) and circulate hairdryer on low heat setting at a consistant speed so the heat is not concentrated in one area.

As the vinyl softens, close book and add more weight to top and leave to cool

Edited March 27, 2007 by Mace

[Simsy]

That could be arranged and would be hilarious I bet!

The bleep machine would go into meltdown

Well when you've got a moment like.

Maybe the next time you get a warped one? So to speak.

[Sean Hampsey]

I remember the ironing board in your record room Sean.

(And the sewing machine and the sink with the washing up in it )

ps, saw Great Uncle Malcs post about starting a new job. Why did you let him go ? Thought he'd been with your family for years ? Didn't he work on your great grandads potato farm when he retired after Crimea ?

That's right Steve. Family ties and all that.

But after the Famine we had to let few of the old 'uns go.

Things were tough, around Galway & Roscommon. Even the Tinkers that used to scrounge off the land ended up emigrating... to Sheffield, I seem to recall.

[SteveM]

That's right Steve. Family ties and all that.

But after the Famine we had to let few of the old 'uns go.

Things were tough, around Galway & Roscommon. Even the Tinkers that used to scrounge off the land ended up emigrating... to Sheffield, I seem to recall.

Thats right, but you can still see where we used to live in the John Wayne filimm ( ) "The Quiet Man". You remember the beautiful cottage that Sean Thornton bought , White Amorn ? Well behind that was the tip where our caravan was

[Sean Hampsey]

Thats right, but you can still see where we used to live in the John Wayne filimm ( ) "The Quiet Man". You remember the beautiful cottage that Sean Thornton bought , White Amorn ? Well behind that was the tip where our caravan was

Ah, shame about the Van Stevie.

T'was a helluva fire!

Would have warped a few records would that!

Cuts Back to thread topic before the abuse starts!

Sean

[Guest mel brat]

So if you've got a record with an edge warp...

I've always found this very difficult to rectify. Have tried everything in the past from a hot hairdryer to most of the other suggestions offered here, with very mixed results. Some ended up worse than before after cooling! (I think perhaps the natural stresses in the plastic caused during the initial pressing play a large part, particularly in the case of concave/convex warps)

One problem is that the label area is slightly raised from the rest of the record, so getting it absolutely flat is nigh impossible. Cutting holes in two pieces of cardboard and placing them over the label area before hot pressing it can help.

Any reliable and failsafe solution for this perennial headache should be patented without delay however.

Edited March 27, 2007 by mel brat

[Guest mel brat]

wasn't this those laser players that can apparently play through warps, scratches, jelly babies etc.....

Fink dey's callin' it a 'CD playa' or sumfink, innit?

Edited March 27, 2007 by mel brat

[Guest Bogue]

This is true.

Tis not so it isn't !

I did have a go at straightening an edge warp myself once, nothing too expensive, but a nice copy of 'Marv Johnson - I Miss You Baby' none the less.

Anyway, i put it on the edge of a flat table with some heavy books & other weights covering the half of the record where the warp was, with the other half overhanging the edge of the table, so as to try & counter act the effect of the raised middle that Mel talked about.

As the room i was doing this in is a dorma type in the roof it get's quite hot, so i thought i would leave it a few days & see what happened.

I stood back, admired my handywork then turned round & bent down to pick up some other records that were on the floor. Snap !! as i bent down i caught my arse on the overhanging piece of Marv & snapped it clean in half ! :angry:

Changing subject slightly,don't know about curing edge warps, but using a hairdryer is the best way for getting stickers off records, though i guess most of you know that.

[SteveM]

Tis not so it isn't !

As the room i was doing this in is a dorma type in the roof

Bogue mate, thats where they keep you

[Guest Bogue]

Bogue mate, thats where they keep you

Sorry Steve, i missed that one, oive been freebasing.

I get let out some weekends & on a full moon !!

[Stateside]

Had a right nightmare in the 70's when I lent a load of motown records to a mate who had underfloor heating that used to get really hot, he left them lying around I and ended up with a load of warped records back. Annoying thing was they were all some of my best

I tried ironing them but just ended up with elliptical records that played through without jumping but were way out of tune. Still think about them every time I iron the kids Hama beads.

[Bjorn Nilsson]

Just looked at the Google ads at the bottom of the page!

Steam-irons made in China.

Thats irony.

Edited March 28, 2007 by Bjorn78

[Mike]

wasn't this those laser players that can apparently play through warps, scratches, jelly babies etc. ?

nah, fairly sure it was a sort of traditional sort of turntable thing Martin

what happened to those laser players ?

[45cellar]

nah, fairly sure it was a sort of traditional sort of turntable thing Martin

what happened to those laser players ?

Hi Mike-

Good question, what did happen to those Laser Players and were they ever cheap enough to be a realistic option.

I always rather hoped that they would be, one day.

I did a quick search and found this >>> LINK <<<

Surely they could be made cheaper than that.

Edited March 28, 2007 by 45cellar

[Guest upsetterfc]

I did a quick search and found this >>> LINK <<<

Surely they could be made cheaper than that.

Oh joy! Now I only have to sell 18 of my 20 most valuable records....

[Guest mel brat]

...using a hairdryer is the best way for getting stickers off records, though i guess most of you know that.

No, No, No! Don't! Soak it well in lighter fuel and then gently peel it off, gently wipe the remainder away with a soft cloth also soaked in lighter fuel (don't rub too hard, or you may remove colour from the record label) Lighter fuel is used by professional graphic designers and artists for all kinds of similar cleaning operations. Also removes the grease stain left behind from stickers if you do it right.

[Guest mel brat]

I stuck a slightly warped Sue EP in my trouser press on the overnight setting....totally unplayable after

I misread this at first, as "I stuck said EP in my TROUSERS!"

[Guest Jim.]

So if you've got a record with an edge warp, this is what they sound like after the warp has been removed with an iron. This is bloody difficult though. The bargain Bobby Wells I bought off Mick Smith wouldn't play on my deck at all so there was only one thing for it - the steam iron. I covered it with a damp teatowel and then applied pressure until the plastic became flexible, then remove the towel and quickly press the vinyl into shape. Note, you'll burn your thumbs in this part of the process. Anyway, the end result is enclosed as a tiny mp3, it's not great but it does now play.

Rumour has it that its the only thing you've ever ironed in your life! I'll get me coat...

[Guest rachel]

And I thought it was Pete asking us what records we listened to... while we're doing the ironing!

Me too, surely I can't be the only person who has 'housework records'..?

Can't see any reason for doing more ironing than is strictly necessary though