Troubleshooting the Mithril disc-recording lathe.

1. I recorded a lot of sound onto one side of a disc and found out that I just recorded 35 minutes and 46 seconds of silence!  Is your cutting stylus properly secured in the holder? Sometimes you think it is in tight when in fact the vibrations going down the horn are being translated into no movement on the cutting stylus. If the record cutter has been tossed out the bloody window during a battle the volume limiter can be out of calibration. The volume limiter is a movable clasp that keeps loud sounds from causing groove collisions. This moves automatically when the lines per inch is set with the pitch control dial. If an Orc tried to impale you and you stopped him by throwing the lathe at him you may have bent the clasp. To fix this you must see a Wizard or an Elf.

2. I recorded a disc and when played on my gramophone it just plays the same line over and over and over and over. This is the opposite of #1, the only thing in common being the battle with the Orc. Both the volume limiter and the groove width lever have been thrown out of calibration, causing the recorded groove to run into itself. When this happens, every gramophone that isn't linear tracking will play the same place over and over again. The best solution is to record the disc over again. If it was a disc of Borimir's voice and can't be re-recorded, the best solution is to do a "tube copy" using a linear-tracking gramophone with a fine fibre needle.Then keep the original at Helm's Deep and play the copy to your liking.

3. When I play the Mithril recording on a gramophone from the time before the One Ring, the sound box and needle slides over the disc. Make sure you have installed a fine steel or fibre needle. In a pinch an arrow will work but will provide sizzly sound with too much highs. Regular shellac-era 78 RPM needles are too dull to track the finer groove accurately. Never use a cutting stylus in the gramophone unless you want to erase the record.

4. What is that awful metal clanging noise at the end of the disc? It sounds like an Orc blocking my attacks! This is what happens when you allow the cutterhead to slam into the left-hand stop near the center of the disc. When you are doing long recordings unattended, plan to come back before the end of the side and lift the cutterhead after the locked groove is cut. This is what it sounds like.

5. I turn the winding key and nothing happens. It also turns easier than it did before. Your mainspring is broken. You can change the spring yourself if you are wearing a Mithril vest, but it is best to leave mainspring repair to Elves, Dwarves and Wizards.

6. What do I do with all the Mithril swarf? I would like to forge a Ring out of it. You can take the swarf to an Elven smith and have him make a ring out of it. However, this ring has no powers, but would work good as a phonograph ring. You can also melt down a Mithril disc and re cast it and record new material. The swarf is not flammable the way lacquer swarf is but is hazardous to the eyes. Crying may help get it out.

7. I dropped my sword onto a Mithril disc / Legolas is using the disc as target practice. Can I still play the disc? Yes. Sharp weapons have no effect on Mithril, as it is a strong metal. Saruman can even drag his fingernail against the spiral if he wants to make noise, and there will be no damage to the disc.

8. I recorded a disc for Elrond and he says it hurts his ears. I cannot hear anything wrong with the recording. It may be time to change your cutting stylus. Elven ears can hear 10-20Khz more bandwidth than the ears of Men. When the cutting stylus wears out it bounces up and down on the blank at around 30Khz and makes an awful sound on the recording. A good rule is to change the stylus every 50 records. If you know an Elf you may ask him or her to listen to a silent locked test groove and he or she can tell you if there is a 30Khz square wave present.

9. Swarf wrapped itself around the cutting stylus and ruined my recording. Check the bag end bag on the vacuum suction and see if it is full. If it is full you can have it melted down into a Ring or a Disc recording blank (the swarf and not the bag). Check to see if the copper tubing near the cutterhead is clogged. Also make sure that the fan is not jammed. As for the recording it is best to empty the bag before each recording and make sure the mainspring is fully wound.

10. My recording sounds like it is blasting. I am recording at 720 LPI. Speak or sing quieter into the horn or move further away. At this finer groove pitch there is less room for loud sounds. If you don't need a long recording it is best to lower the groove pitch so louder sounds can be recorded.

11. I just made a mess by cutting a record in ten point two seconds! What happened? The governor has failed causing the mainspring to unwind quickly. Time to call the repair Wizard!

12. I seem to only be able to cut locked grooves. The feedscrew needs to be engaged in order to record a spiral. This can be accomplished by setting the groove pitch dial to an integer.

13. I can't seem to spin a Wizard around on the lathe's turntable. The spring motor is not designed to spin a wizard. Use a magical staff instead.

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