cutting and pressing records

Audio Geography Studios mini-documentary on lathe cutting records: [YouTube]

Audio Geography is a US-based business that offers small runs of lathe cut vinyl records to musicians. The owner acquired vintage cutting equipment used by radio stations in the '40s and '50s and employs it to cut grooved vinyl, without any further steps in the pressing process.

OFM Vinyl mini-documentary on transforming a lathe cut acetate into a nickel master and pressing the vinyl: [YouTube]

OFM Vinyl, a small record-pressing company based in France, appears to be out of business. The 2012 video shows James S. Taylor (ex-Swayzak, recording here under the name Lugano Fell), working on an ambient composition using a turntable, mixer, and (presumably) looper. The live output of his sound process is recorded directly to an acetate disc (called a "lacquer" in the video) using a lathe cutter. The rest of the video shows the labor- and equipment-intensive process of turning the lacquer into a nickel-plated master and pressing a vinyl record from the master.