Following up on the progress of the restoration work on a vintage Presto disk recording lathe and the Agnew Analog Reference Instruments Type 6021 Toolpost with integrated oil dashpot, as described in our previous episode, we are now presenting the complete suspension assembly.

The need for a new suspension for our recently presented Presto MRC-16 modification project brought about yet another innovation from our R&D laboratory: The Agnew Analog Reference Instrument Type 6021 Lathe Suspension Toolpost!

Inspired by the toolposts used in metalworking lathes and improving upon the cutter head mounting system used by Neumann, the Type 6021 will accurately and rigidly hold any cutter head fitted with a suitable bar, including Neumann, Vinylium and FloKaSon heads, as well as any other head imaginable, through the use of our Series 1400 head mount adapter range.

A rather optimistic gentleman arrived with a Presto MRC-16 disk recording lathe, inquiring about the possibility of repairing the broken suspension and making a cutter head bracket from scratch. He then asked about the possibility of figuring out some way in which lead-in, lead-out, and track mark spirals could be cut on this machine, which was originally intended as a very basic machine, with no provision for spirals, not even a hand crank. Then came the really ambitious part: He would ideally like to be able to adjust the pitch and if possible, control the lathe through his computer!

One glance at the steampunk aesthetic of the manufacturer's name plate and the overall state of this primitive machine would have been enough to deter the average engineer, in fear that there might be something potentially radioactive hiding within...

A simple yet effective movement which has seen many decades of regular use, appears under the lid of this dial indicator.

It was once able to indicate accurately in 0.01 mm graduations, through a gear train driven by a rack on one side of the spindle.

Presto disk recording lathes are often still in active use nowadays, nearly 80 years after they originally left the factory in New York. Let us have a closer look at what keeps them spinning!