45 RPM Record

[Tom_A]

This is my interpretation of the RIAA’s specifications for a 45 RPM record.
(In case you’re unaware, this is what we used prior to streaming music.)

Here’s an example of how I used it:

Pretty sure I have the record

One of my oldest and closest friends turned 45 yesterday. He made it very clear he did not want any gifts from anybody. Which is fine… He’s got everything he wants. But all of a sudden on Thursday I decided I should make him something anyway. Well, he’s 45, so… why not a 45? I went about finding the dimensions for a 45. And I realized there was more to it than I was originally thinking. I found the best website in the world for getting the dimensions correct. Turns out that the RIAA spe…

Tips & Tricks

• The shaded area is meant to be engraved.
• The black circles are meant to be scored.
• I think doing the engrave first is the right move. Not sure how it’ll work out if you score first. If you try it score-first, I’d love to see the result!

I made the 2 inner-most circles different colors so you can do the following:

• If you’re cutting the whole thing, set the inner-most to cut and the next circle to score. If you’re only doing the B side, turn the inner-most off and also the outer-most.
• If you’re going to use the 'forge to cut your label, use the 2 inner-most circles only to cut and turn off everything else.
• You can use the inner-most circle by itself to cut a thick guide for placing your label, so it lines up perfectly with your hole. I simply used Thick Draftboard for that purpose, but any thick scrap will do the job.

[ptodd]

Sweet! Thank you! Any chance we could get your settings on your final version?

[Tom_A]

@ptodd

settings on your final version

I did the engrave first which I ultimately used 1000/30. But I think if I make another I’ll try 25 or 20… just enough to give it some texture rather than depth. The scoring was Black default Draft, which I think I like. And the cuts were default. Total time was ~50 minutes per side. (Don’t forget to disable the cuts for the B side.)

[marthajackson1970]

Thank you! (Dang - I wish I’d put a sheet of black acrylic in the proofgrade order I placed two days ago!!)

[Tom_A]

@marthajackson1970

I wish I’d put a sheet of black acrylic in the proofgrade order

Hehe! I make it a point to always have black on-hand. Medium and thick. It’s so elegant-looking. Ya never know when you’ll need it!
Which reminds me… After my couple of failed attempts at this record, I’m running low on black myself!

[marthajackson1970]

I was only able to download it as a jpg, was there meant to be a svg as well?

[Tom_A]

@marthajackson1970

was there meant to be a svg as well

Whoops! Fixed.

[marthajackson1970]

Awesome!! Thank you for sharing, Tom!

[Xabbess]

@Tom_A

I make it a point to always have black on-hand

Me too. I love it. Nice project. That’s the year I was born.

[nancielaing]

What a treat! Thank you for sharing!

[cynd11]

Thank you for your generous share! It should be perfect for all those folks wanting to cut silhouettes out of vinyl records like you see all over Pinterest. Now they can safely do it with acrylic!

[Xabbess]

Tom…this is SO cool! Makes me want to think of a way I could use one. Always good to have in my arsenal of designs for ‘just in case’, though. Thank you!

[ptodd]

Thank you!

[takitus]

Slightly relevant - Microscopic image of record grooves and needle:

[randy.cohen]

Just remember, don’t try this with a real phonograph album, which is Poly Vinyl Chloride, which will ruin your machine if you laze it.

[Tom_A]

That’s really cool.

[deirdrebeth]

@takitus

Looks squarer, but similar enough to First Cut (Pre-Release) - #26 by rpegg that it makes me wonder what sounds that little 45 would make!

[melissae]

Thanks! This is awesome! Here is what I did with the design. I used black acrylic for the record then used teal acrylic…added my name and some symbols…and glued it on top.

[Deleted]

And here’s mine!

Still working on the label

Jonathan

[Deleted]

NOW that was FUN!!!