Worn stylus tips - under the scope.

[ear4audio]

Experimenting with the microscope, I’ve found you can’t determine the condition of the stylus if it’s viewed from the front, side or back, but if it’s viewed from the tip (looking down), you can see the tracing edges. The reflection from the microscope light shows if the stylus is worn or damaged.

Here are some examples.
GOOD CONDITION TIPS:

This is an elliptical tip. The tracing edge is really a 0.2 mil radius. Both sides are solid and the same size,


The edge of a hyperelliptical tip is a line instead of a dot. Both sides are the same.


Again, the tracing edge of a microridge tip is a line.


The Shibata edge is broader than the microridge.

DAMAGED AND WORN TIPS:

You can see the left side has damage.


This image shows right side has damage.


Uneven wear: the two sides should be the same size.


This image shows damage to both sides.

Of course your ears are the first source in determining damage but a good visual check is viewing from the tip of the stylus since viewing from the front does not reveal any damage to the tracing edge.

 

[bimasta]

Only one of the worn tips is symmetrical. Anti-skate anyone? Thanks for the clear and educational photos, Ear. Any idea of the hours?

 

[gadget73]

What are you using for a scope, and how much magnification?

Thanks for the photos, really puts some examples to it.

 

[revox-b77]

Nice

 

[totem]

My first thoughts regarding uneven wear was azimuth.

 

[ear4audio]

What are you using for a scope, and how much magnification?

It's a biology scope with a 400X magnification.

 

[WaynerN]

 

[ear4audio]

Ear. Any idea of the hours?

All the worn styli were described a pre-owned on the popular auction site; I took a chance. I don't know how old these are, but they are not discontinued models. I'm just wondering if these worn styli will damage the vinyl.

 

[bimasta]

I'm just wondering if these worn styli will damage the vinyl

The pitted one looks risky: abrasive. The others, I don't know, might be okay for awhile. Tracking force will be a factor — heavier will exacerbate any harmful effect. Also, maybe "corrective" anti-skate should be applied — too late to prevent the uneven wear on the diamond, but might protect the groove wall — if it doesn't distort the sound.

 

[audiotemp]

What are you using for a scope, and how much magnification?

It's a biology scope with a 400X magnification.

What is the illumination?

 

[ear4audio]

What is the illumination?

5w LED light adjustable to 200 lumens. Illuminated from the top, pointing directly at the tip.

 

[guiller]

Many thanks for sharing your work with us!

 

[danomar]

Ooer, this is the good stuff! Thanks!

 

[ripblade]

I have a bit of experience evaluating images like these. The line contacts look barely used; the one listed as Shibata looks as though it has several hundred hours on it but it may still play well. The unevenly worn and damaged ones are self explanatory, however the last picture could also be a barely used, unpolished stylus; the Red Ed looks very much like it with only a few hours on it.

Excellent images, BTW! Did you use a ring light around the objective lens, or a point source/diffused light just above it?

 

[c_dk]

These pictures were very much what you would see with the old Shure or Nikon scopes back in the day. You would then have to compare the scope view with a Shure or AT picture of wear and guess how much wear there was.

In a previous thread I did post the AT stylus wear pics.

The much more expensive Wild scope had a rotating stage that allowed you to rotate the image to a point of no wear, typically +-30 degrees, and then observe where the reflections would change. This would make it possible to determine the percent of wear or how much the wear was different from side to side.

What brand of scope are you using? Are you using a USB eyepiece?

 

[Jeff449]

I'm curious: Does anyone know what causes "pitting" on a stylus? Poor quality diamond? dirt? playing an LP at 78 rpm?

 

[John James]

I'm curious: Does anyone know what causes "pitting" on a stylus? Poor quality diamond? dirt? playing an LP at 78 rpm?

I'd like to know too.

 

[Pio1980]

I'm curious: Does anyone know what causes "pitting" on a stylus? Poor quality diamond? dirt? playing an LP at 78 rpm?

Probably playing grubby records with a totally chisel worn stylus tip. Diamond needles were supposed to last forever, or something like that.

 

[Pio1980]

How much wear is really permissible, given that any wear accentuates tracing distortion?

 

[marcmorin]

I'm curious: Does anyone know what causes "pitting" on a stylus? Poor quality diamond? dirt? playing an LP at 78 rpm?

poor quality stone, that was poorly finished to begin with. have another forum members styli here for inspection, one of them looks like there was no final finish, it is an un played stylus.