Head Re-Lapping

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This is a head from a Teac A2000 showing wear Another example of a head with grooving Technics RS-1500 Head Block with worn heads Head Wear Un-lapped play head showing some wear This is my method for hand lapping small heads. Since any head that I have seen is machined with the head surface at a right angle to the case if you take two blocks as shown and put them together you can use the lower block as a guide to keep the new lap square. The only trick is you must have an upper block that has two sides that are square. I would check the head for squareness just to be sure before starting lapping. Start with 400 grit wet dry paper and work the head in a swinging arc against the upper block while keeping it flat against the bottom surface. Use 400 grit until you remove the wear grooves then work your way up through the grits all the way to 2000 and beyond if you want the ultimate polish. You can also polish with a bit of fine rubbing compound and a leather strop. I cannot remember what this material is called but it is a hard plastic material that is impervious to water and often used as electrical insulator. I had two pieces of it with perfectly square sides.\n\nI was able to do this on the center divider of my kitchen sink so I could let the water run in a stream. Erase head partaly lapped but still showing wear Here in this picture I am putting a final polish with a leather strop and fine rubbing compound. Final Buffing 2 track from A2000 Head after lapping Finished head Finished 4 track head from the A2000R Finished Record Head Complete Head Stack after lapping Like new Re-lapped heads