Agnew Analog Type 612 Disk Mastering Lathe

The Type 612, formally unveiled at the International Disk Recording and Mastering Convention 2023 in July, is a fully engineered, innovative approach to lathe design, inspired by the long established traditions of the New England school of precision machine tool manufacturing.

The carriage slideway is machined directly onto the lathe bed (not bolted on) for maximum flatness and rigidity. It is hand-scraped to establish a bearing and represents a true reference flat plane, on which the carriage can slide. A lubrication system built into the carriage ensures adequate lubrication of the sliding surfaces for maximum smoothness of operation and long-term reliability.

The entire system is self-adjusting and self-compensating for wear, eliminating the need for adjusting gibs and bearings.

Instead of a leadscrew, it uses hydraulics to advance the carriage, for quiet, trouble-free operation and long-term reliability.

The platter bearing is also machined directly into the lathe bed (not bolted on). It is a hydrodynamic oil-bath bearing system that is also self-adjusting and self-compensating for wear, machined on a Moore Special Tools Company, Inc. Jig Borer, ensuring unprecedented geometric accuracy. The platter axis is at exactly 90° to the slideway on the lathe bed and will remain so for several decades of heavy use. No more variations in depth of cut between start and end diameter with wear.

Agnew Analog Type 612 Disk Mastering Lathe Manual

Video of the Type 612 Lathe Cutting Records