piaptk Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 Hello! This is just a quick note to let everybody know about some changes that have happened and are coming up at Lathecuts.com 1. Upcoming Schedule 2. Improved sound/lowered surface noise 3. New colors, shapes, sizes! 4. Packaging Options Upcoming Schedule I will not be working my day job (high school teacher) during spring break (first week of April), so I plan on spending 10 hours a day in the cutting lab during that time. Therefore, I have a lot of room for extra orders received before that. After that, however, my capacity will be pretty sparse. I will be shipping the lathes to Florida for the One Spark Festival, which will put me out of commission for over a month. After I return, I will be moving out of my house/studio and living permanently in a 2001 29’ Gulf Stream Cavalier Motorhome. I’ve taken out the front passenger seat and installed a table that will hold the lathes. However, I will have less time to cut, and it will be more of a chore to get everything set up. So, after April 6th, I will no longer be able to offer the quick turntimes I have in the past. Any orders received before the end of March, should be shipping around April 10th or sooner.Improved Sound/Lowered Surface Noise I just figured out that I can use vegetable oil to lubricate up the disc surface before I cut it, which has dramatically decreased the surface noise and improved the sound quality of cuts. It’s significantly more work, because I not only have to oil them up first, but I also have to give them a Palmolive bath, sponge off the oil, and hang them up to dry afterwards, but the improved fidelity is worth it. These are still not audiophile quality, but the improvement is significant, and they sound pretty damn good for a record made out of plexiglass. The only downside is that occasionally you have to nudge the playback needle down into the bottom of the groove at the start of the record. New Colors I continually get asked for colors other than clear. Unfortunately, they do not make 1/16” polycarbonate plastic in any other colors. HOWEVER, they do make 1/8” thick poly in grey smoke, bronze smoke, black and white. So, I am now stocking those on a trial basis. The catch is that it is twice as thick, and I have to have it shipped from San Jose, CA and therefore it is more expensive. While I try it out and gauge interest, the base price for any of the colors is only $3 (may increase to $4 when I have to reorder) plus cutting time charge. New Shapes/Sizes I can also now do 10”s and round 7”s. Base price for a 10” is $4.50 + cutting time charge (minimum of 7 min of music), and a round 7” is $3.25. Round records are not available in any color but clear. I also have a stock of 12” blanks, but have had some problems with tracking on the outer edges on some turntables. They play fine on my set up, but when I’ve taken them to a couple other people’s houses, they have only played well on about half. So, if you are interested, and understand that risk, we can talk. PLEASE NOTE: I cannot currently do 5” records. Packaging Options Clear plastic sleeves: Free with all records. 7" White cardboard outer sleeve: $.50 ea 7" Black or Chipboard Cardboard outer sleeve: $.75 ea 7" Arigato Pak (Matchbook style): $.75 ea 10" White Jacket - $1 ea 10" Chipboard Jacket - $1 ea 10" Black Linen cardstock foldover $1ea 10" White Cardstock foldover $.50 ea 12" White Jacket - $1 ea Contact us about other weird packaging ideas. Please let me know if you have any questions or need a quote! Thanks! Mike Lathecuts.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piaptk Posted March 14, 2013 Author Share Posted March 14, 2013 I also do picture discs and semi-flexi plastic which you can cut into any shape you want with scissors. Here are what the new colors (Black, White, Bronze Smoke, Grey Smoke) look like: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstrange Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 I hope you can do better than:http://www.poly-cut.com He ripped off a lot of people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piaptk Posted March 14, 2013 Author Share Posted March 14, 2013 Oh yeah... I've cut records for quite a few people on this forum, including for Kriss' weekly series, and they can all vouch for me... I am excellent at communication, and have quick turnaround. I don't take on more orders than I can handle, and I don't spend the money until I've actually earned it and shipped the records. While I haven't heard any real complaints about my cuts up to this point, as of a couple weeks ago, I improved the fidelity significantly. I've also run PIAPTK.com for 8 years, and aside from a few disgruntled Record Flipper trolls (who were pissed off about me slightly devaluing their instantaneous flip in order to make people who wanted to actually OWN the record happy, a decision I still stand by as being the correct one), everyone I've ever worked with seems to be very happy. I have a much more established track record than any other Lathe Cut provider that has come and gone, other than Peter King in New Zealand, who is still the best. He just doesn't communicate via the internet and has to ship from overseas, so it makes it more expensive for US orders. kriss 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstrange Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 I should follow up and say I am actually excited about this for low runs! Expect an email from me in the next few days. My original post was not meant to be negative towards you in any way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piaptk Posted March 14, 2013 Author Share Posted March 14, 2013 I didnt take it as negativity. Its certainly something that is on a lot of peoples minds... And something i have to deal with often. Polycut and Single Piece Slate really left a LOT of people hanging without their money or their records. But both of those popped up over night into a market they didnt fully understand, took on way too many orders and overextended themselves a couple months after they started cutting. And when they got behind and had equipment problems, they also dropped all contact with everyone and refused to answer emails rather than just keeping everyone abreast of the situation. Ive been cutting records for my own label for 4 years before i started doing it for hire. I waited until i reAlly felt like i had a good handle on the whole thing before i started dealing with strangers. And i am beyond honest and transperent with my product and refuse to oversell the product i am offering. I would rather miss out on an order than set someone up for unrealistic expectations and then have them be disgruntled. Most of my customers have been set up for modest expectations and have been very happy and surprised. I can also guarantee that i will keep in good contact regarding turntimes and any delays that may happen. Cutting records is not easy. And consistency is an impossibility. But, i bend over backwards to make sure people want to tell their friends about me and have a good experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nothingnatural Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 I guess I'll bump this for you. Give this guy your business. He's awesome. piaptk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
necroscope Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 I've had a few records done by lathecuts.com, really awesome stuff. Best sound I've heard for lathe cuts, and the turnaround time is generally very fast. They go out of their way to do a nice job on your stuff, highly recommended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geezfools Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 I've met this guy a couple of times, I wish I could have helped him with lower prices where I worked, out of my hands though. Nice guy, hook him up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EccentricPop Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Awesome. I have been waiting for a US-based, reliable lathe cutting service. Expect some work from me soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefchino Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 So stoked for onespark!! Can't wait to check this out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piaptk Posted April 16, 2013 Author Share Posted April 16, 2013 I will see you there! Say hello when you stop by! I'll be at The Landing during the day and at Underbelly at night! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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