My 1910 Mitchell "parts car" project

[JV Puleo]

The fixture to hold the brass washer bored out to 1-3/4".

 

 

 

I soldered it in using soft solder... I think it's 65/35, probably for electronics but I have a pile of it inherited from my cousin and find it works really well on brass/steel connections. It then went in the mill to be cut with the slots going just below the brass.

 

 

 

The last step was to put it back on the camp stove to heat it and remove the four segments...and to clean them up. I only need 2 of these for the switch so I have extras if I make an error. It was quite a lot of work for two little pieces but I couldn't think of another way to do it precisely.

 

[JV Puleo]

I hadn't planned on working on this switch but now I've finalized the drawings (in as much as I ever do) and collected the parts. If I put it aside for later I know I'll forget something. I always do. So, even though it's a serious digression, I'm going to try to finish it. Actually, since I'll have to do it some day, I'm not really losing any time by doing it now. I started by making the connecting studs...They are 5/16-24 brass set screws, drilled and tapped to 10-32. Eventually, they will be screwed into a dielectric block.

 

 

Then I started the actual switch housing. It's 4" in diameter with a 1/2" deep flange. I faced it off, then reamed to 1-1/2" so I can mount it on a mandrel.

 

 

 

I am planning to make an aluminum dashboard, 1/4" thick. My goal is to build the chassis up so that nothing is actually connected via the body. This will be important when I get to the testing stage since I don't have a body (another part I'm going to make) and I want to assemble it so that the body can be mounted and dismounted easily.  The relief here is .230 so that it will fit into a hole in the dashboard but not be exactly flush with the other side.

 

 

I finished that one...

 

 

Then flipped it around to do the other side but decided not to push my luck. The first side came out fine...but it doesn't show. The other side does show so I want to be extra careful.

Edited May 25, 2022 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[weathered1]

51 minutes ago, JV Puleo said:

This will be important when I get to the testing stage since I don't have a body (another part I'm going to make) and I want to assemble it so that the body can be mounted and dismounted easily. 

Wow! Is there anything you won't tackle?  I am impressed!!   George.

 

 

 

[JV Puleo]

Thanks George...Not much...but the challenge is what motivates me. While I like driving old cars, I'm not all that interested in car shows (at least in my area), don't own a trailer (or anything to pull it with) and I couldn't care less what the general public thinks so "oos and ahhs" from people who don't know a magneto from a basket ball don't impress me.

Edited May 25, 2022 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[Walt G]

Joe, you continue to amaze me with your skill to make new bits and pieces. I am in awe!  I share your feelings about driving old cars, and car shows. The oos and ahhs that I get I do like if they are from kids walking down the block as I drive by, neat to see kids smile - I taught 1,100 of them each week for over 35 years. The O and A also apply to unattached  female types of a certain maturity ( yes I am single) 🙃  The only car shows /gatherings really that took place before the pandemic I would regularly try to attend were two local "cruise nights" - very laid back down to earth people that all were real car enthusiasts - from stock to street rods. 

[JV Puleo]

Well...I'm excepting children. What I was thinking of is the "car show experts"...most of whom have never even seen the inside of a pre-war car. I probably shouldn't be so cynical but the last show I went to had about 400 cars of which about 8 were pre-WWII and none were pre-WWI. As it is, I'd rather be in my shop than look at a field full of muscle cars and the like. There is a local "cruise in" that I drive past on my way home most Monday's in the summer. It was started by a good friend of mine (now, unfortunately, no longer with us). If he were still alive I'd stop just to be polite but I can't stand the loud '50s "music".

[Walt G]

The cruise nights I used to attend did not have music ! the one I really liked was in a very small shopping center and parking in center with stores on 3 sides. One side was a grocery store and the other sides had a pizza place, coffee shop, and several other businesses but were closed by the time the cruise night started each week . Most spectators were people who came to pick up a few groceries. The post war car owning crowd felt more comfortable talking to us pre war cars owners then they would be at an organized car show because everyone was parked in a certain class for their make or era at the organized 'win a trophy' car shows. The post war car owners really were curious on how a pre war car even functioned - bulb headlamps, no turn signals, etc.  They didn't feel intimidated because perhaps talking to a guy who owned an earlier car would have them looked down upon because their car didn't have running boards. I was happy to open the hood,and doors etc on my cars to show and explain what an older car was like . Very polite crowd of people too.

This is all a memory as I have had little car use activity due to some surgery a few years back, the pandemic, the on going wet weather here on long island. Still need to see my cars get back on the road.

The"car show experts" you mention - yes, we are in agreement once again , not exactly the type of personality you and I would favor to hang out with over a cup of coffee.........................

[JV Puleo]

I had a productive day today...and what's better, nothing went wrong. I started by finishing the OD of the switch at 3" with a 1/2" flange in between.

 

 

Then the piece went into a chuck to bore the ID. A good reason for using the mandrel was that it gave me a perfect surface to indicate ... important because the smaller ID had to be bored from the front.

 

 

I then flipped it around, indicated it again, and bored the larger ID from the rear...in this case. .010 over 2.75"

 

 

 

The switch is roughly based on this Splitdorf version. I bought this, partly to take it apart and see how it was made and I also  wanted the lever you see here. This would be a very time consuming part to make so, in the end, I probably saved a week's work for $60.

 

 

There is a little more to do on this but, as it is, it will allow me to go on with the internal parts.

 

 

 

Inside the switch there are 2 discs made of dielectric phenolic board and one brass piece, all 2-3/4" in diameter. I cut 3 pieces of phenolic and 2 brass plates since turning square like this is so tedious I wanted to have spared in case I made an error.

 

 

The sandwich of pieces went into the drill press to drill and ream a 3/8" hole in the center.

 

 

At which point I realized I needed another holding fixture. I'd hoped to finish this today but at least the fixture came out well although I forgot to take a picture of it when done.

 

 

My last step was to screw everything together and put it back in the lathe. Turning these square parts round is a chore but at least it's all set up so I'll finish this part tomorrow.

 

Edited May 26, 2022 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[edinmass]

On 5/25/2022 at 6:54 PM, JV Puleo said:

“ from people who don't know a magneto from a basket ball don't impress me.l

What’s a basket ball? 
 

Asks the guy who was born in Springfield? 😏

[JV Puleo]

I think it's the round one but I'm not sure.

I should add that I've never sat through a basket ball game...or a football game. I've seen one baseball game, when I was about 10. All I can remember about it was that it was the most boring experience I've ever had. My old boss, the late Ted Leonard shared my total lack of interest in sports. He hired a new sales manager once who was shocked that Ted had no interest...one of the other salesmen said "sure he does"..."buy a car, you're a sport, and he loves you."

Edited May 27, 2022 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[JV Puleo]

 

The fixture I made yesterday worked well. I turned the sandwich of brass, phenolic & aluminum until it was round...

 

 

Then cleaned up the lathe and started over, turning them to the finished size.

 

 

I tried two of the discs in the switch housing and, as I suspected, they didn't leave me enough room...

 

 

One of them is thicker than it has to be so I cut that one down from .375 thick to .200 using a step collet...something I bought especially for this job because I knew these discs would have to be faced off.

 

 

That was a big improvement but there is a lot more to be done to them. I then improvised a fixture to match drill the brass plate using the original plate from the switch as a guide. Getting these three holes in the right place is a challenge...

 

 

I also drilled and reamed the lever to 3/8". The original switch had one of those buttons in the middle that worked with a dual magneto system to start the car. All that is electrically beyond me so, while I want to use the lever, I'm not using it in exactly the same way.

 

 

I then assembled the lever on the plate. The holes weren't absolutely perfect but a little judicious use of a tapered reamer fixed that.

 

 

[edinmass]

Just one question? Are you going to make the air for the tires also? Impressive craftsmanship………well done.

[JV Puleo]

Nahh... I wouldn't want to get carried away.

[JV Puleo]

I usually draw something like this before I start. Thus far, I've never actually followed my drawing exactly. I always think of something part way through or realize I've missed something and have to change something. This is why people make prototypes...I expect it happens all the time with unique items. In any case, these are the drawings for the switch. They are almost accurate. If I didn't do this I'd be at it for months. Even if they need to be changed, they get me close enough to the finished product to start.

 

 

 

By the way...there is a joke in here. I'm not about to make a spurious item and put the name of a well known original maker on it to confuse future collectors. Gurdon Pendleton was my great grandfather. He really did own a manufacturing company in New London and he did invent a really curious piston/connecting rod combination that he patented in 1905 but I doubt he made electrical parts.

[chistech]

1 hour ago, JV Puleo said:

Nahh... I wouldn't want to get carried away.

You need helium or hot air for that. There is nothing Junior varsity about JV Puleo my friend. So many of us enjoy and are awestruck by your work!

[chistech]

Most all the parts I made for my olds were from wonderful drawings my buddy Joe Pirronne drew up. He’s a retired engineer from Hughes aircraft so he’s got a little experience. I was very fortunate he drew all them up but we did end up making a great team recreating about 20 32 Olds parts that are unobtainable anywhere. I’m mad at myself that I didn’t take more pictures of those drawings. Here’s a few I found. 

[JV Puleo]

Those are great. I actually have some experience doing drawings with pencils, technical pens and a drawing board but that was years ago (I did all the drawings for my house) Mine are only for my own use so the fact that they aren't always perfect has little effect. It was supposed to rain today so I came in...of course, it didn't start to rain until about 4PM. I'm down to the fiddly things I'll need to complete this switch, most of which are only occurring to me as I do it. The first was, for lack of a better name, an alignment "button", 3/8" on one end and 3/4" on the other. This is to center the phenolic pieces under the spindle of the mill.

 

 

Then I made another threaded bushing...in this case with a 3/8" ID threaded 3/4-16.

 

 

 

I need to scratch accurate guide lines on the piece...and my plan for how to do that didn't work out, forcing me to think of something else. In the end, it worked fine with the phenolic in the 3-jaw chuck but, to center it I had to make a 3/4" to 1/2" bushing that will fit inside a collet and allow the pointed center to slip up and down.

 

 

My technique is to position the rotary table under the spindle. I move it around by hand until I've centered it and then clamp the rotary table to the mill. I then lower the mill table. If the pointed center doesn't move...and remains standing I'm pretty certain it's centered as well as I can do it.

 

 

I changed to a 1/2" collet, brought the table up and scratched lines in the face of the phenolic. This is to aid in aligning the brass pieces that will be inserted in it.

 

 

[JV Puleo]

I did more on the switch today, starting by putting in slots for the two brass segments I'd made.

 

 

Then I flipped it over and put a slot in the other side for a spring.

 

 

This is called a "wave spring". It is there to press the two phenolic discs of the switch together.

 

 

I then made a little brass washer, 1/8" thick with an ID of 3/8 and an OD of .650. This will be a reinforcement for the brass plate on the front (which is only .040 thick). I'll have to make another fixture to solder it with as it has to align perfectly.

 

 

 

Last up today, I bored the first disc out to 11/16 and threaded it 3/4-16

 

 

This will hold the threaded insert I made yesterday.

 

 

The inserts have to be glued in and for that I have to get some Locktite super glue...but, since it's Memorial Day I'm quitting early so I'll get it in the morning.

[JV Puleo]

Taking up where I left off yesterday. I began by gluing the segments into the phenolic block and then stuffing the rounded ends (because I had to do this with an end mill) with JB Weld steel stick...the second use I've found for it.

 

 

While that was setting up, I went on to the other phenolic block. The first one pivots with the lever. The second one has the connections for the mag/bat/coil and ground and is fixed. I calculated exactly where the holes should be so we'll home I got it right.

 

 

I drilled center holes...

 

 

Then drilled and tapped them on the drill press.

 

 

I then went back to the first piece and faced it off...

 

 

I threaded the little adapters I'd made from set screws into the 2nd block. You'll notice that I'm using the spare block I made. As is so often the case with my plans, I changed them when I thought of something better. In this case, I glued the adapters in first, then faced it down so that they were perfectly flush.

 

 

I also did a test to see if the two pieces lined up correctly and conducted electricity. The alignment was perfect but the two flat surfaces do not make a good connection. I've a plan for that as well so I'm going on with these parts. I think I can make it work but, if not, I've the materials (and a certain amount of expertise I didn't have last week) to try something else.

 

[JV Puleo]

Pressing on with my ignition switch project, I started by making an aluminum alignment button (because solder won't stick to it) and soldering the reinforcement to the thin plate at the front of the switch.

 

 

 

Then I lined up the plate with the phenolic disc that it is connected to and broached them with this 3/8 hex broach. I've used this several times but I actually bought it for a job I've yet to do.

 

 

 

Then I started on the "axle" that runs through the center of the switch. It's a piece of 3/8 hex bar drilled and tapped 1/4-20 on one end. Both ends are turned down to 3/8" round...

 

 

And here you can see the "sandwich" of parts that will be inside the switch. The phenolic disc has to turn with the lever attached to the plate while the spring keeps tension on the internal parts.

 

 

Although it doesn't show well here, I also did an experiment to improve the connections. I put a very slightly rounded profile on the stud that passes through the fixed phenolic disc so that it protrudes about .004. My ad hoc experiment indicates this will work well but we'll see when it's done.

 

 

Last up today was the phenolic disc that will go on the inside firewall and hold all of this together and anchor the fixed disc. These will need a 5/8" hole in the center to accommodate a bushing.

 

 

But, in order to use the turning fixture I made previously, I had to make a 3/8" to 5/8" bushing.

 

 

I finished by setting it up to be turned...

 

 

 

[Luv2Wrench]

As always, great work!   I've found a bunch of different uses for the JB Weld Steel stick.  Really handy stuff.

[JV Puleo]

It took 2 hours but I managed to reduce those big square to 4-1/4" circles. If I had a big band saw I could have knocked the corners off and saved a lot of time but this isn't something I do often enough to worry about how much time it takes.

 

 

 

Then they went in the mill. This piece will go on the engine side of the firewall. The electrical connections pass through it and the wires will be connected there. Eventually, I'll make a cover for it. The mill was still set up for this, which is a good reason why I wanted to do it now...

 

 

As you can see, by using the identical setup, they aligned perfectly.

 

 

I also took another .040 off one of the internal discs. in this case to give the spring more room to work.

 

 

Now I want to do a rough assembly but before I can do that, I had to make some small modifications to the lever. This part is awkward in that it has to be assembled in the switch. My housing isn't identical to the one the lever came from so I'm modifying it to fit.

 

 

I also had to thin down the thickness at the front of the switch so that the lever would fit properly.

 

 

In all, it went reasonably well. I've a few more of these tweaks to do tomorrow but I may be able to get everything more or less together.

 

[Luv2Wrench]

Wow!  That's awesome!

[JV Puleo]

This job seems to include a lot of fussy adjustments...partly because I'm not accustomed to making small items with a lot of parts. I started the day by counterboring the lever to receive a cheese-head screw. This will anchor the "axle" in the lever.

 

 

Then I assembled the parts to make sure everything was tight and straight.

 

 

 

Next, I machined a groove on the inside of the switch housing to hold a retaining clip.

 

 

I had intended to put the switch together to see how all the parts fit with each other but discovered I'd ordered the wrong size spring clip and didn't have a pair of spring-clip pliers large enough to compress it. I made a quick trip to NAPA, where I bought a larger set but that didn't work. Tonight I'll have to see what I can do to find a better clip. With that off the table for now, I decided to start on the rung that will be soldered to the face of the switch with the name, and the "Bat", "Mag" and "Off" positions marked. This will be .040 thick, with a 3" ID and 4" OD. To make this, I got two pieces of 5" square sheet brass (making the extra one is no more work and it will be there if I need it).

 

 

The brass is sandwiched between two sacrificial pieces of 1/4" aluminum. I drilled the corners (which will eventually be machined away) and put 1/4" hex head cap screws in. When drilling them, I used 1/4" dowel pins in each hole as I drilled it so that all four will align.

 

 

Then into the lathe to bore it out to size. It is nearly finished here but I've about .085 left to take out and decided I'd wait until I'm rested to do the fussy part. I'll also have to make a turning fixture and haven't quite decided what that will look like.

 

 

 

Edited June 5, 2022 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[nickelroadster]

I want to give you a ditto to what LuvtoWrench said.  Everything you post is a lot of fun to watch you do.

[JV Puleo]

First thing today I finished boring the decorative rings that will go on the switch...

 

 

I was a little off. They are probably .003 too big but that just allows it to slip on easily so it's not a bad thing.

 

 

Then I cobbled up a turning fixture for the OD. In this case, made from one of the fixtures I made earlier to position the hubs in the milling machine. I doubt I'll ever need them again and this saves me ordering a special piece of stock for a one-off job.

 

 

After it was locked up in the chuck and indicated I removed the 1/4" cap screws in the corners.

 

 

Then turned it down to just slightly larger...maybe .003... than the OD of the switch. This is to allow for a finished polishing so the edges are perfectly smooth.

 

 

All of this worked as well as I could hope for...

 

 

The next step is etching the plate. I'm going to do that at home tonight so we'll see if I can get some pictures of the process. I've done this before, never getting what I felt was a satisfactory result. This time I'm skipping the youtube DIY shortcuts and using the proper materials...

[JV Puleo]

 

I didn't get the etching done last night. As you might expect, I found I didn't have everything I needed. I'll work on it again tonight but I'm not sure how far I'll get. That left me at loose ends for today so I concentrated on getting what I needed to strip the nickel from the switch lever...a glass cookie jar, non-idonized salt and white vinegar. I confess I got this idea from a youtube video by a guy that restores brass musical instruments. I presumed you could do it with electrolysis but hadn't heard of using vinegar as the electrolyte. It set up easily...

 

 

In the video the job took 15 minutes...needless to say, it is taking a lot longer for me although this may be because the nickle plating is a very good job and quite thick. I think, at this point, it's been working for about 2 hours and when I checked it it's just beginning to show the bronze underneath the nickel. You can see the bubbles as it works...

 

 

I don't like to leave things running so I'll unplug this and plug it in tomorrow, checking every half hour or so.

 

I also rounded the ends of the little studs that go in one of the phenolic discs inside the switch. This was done on the drill press using some very stiff 1" belt grinder belt. The idea is to get a very slight, rounded crown to them.

 

 

Then the were inserted so they protrude only about .003 or .004...

 

 

And are locked in place with nuts and washers on the other side.

 

 

I'm not sure what I'll do tomorrow...if all else fails, I may start on the cover that will go over the switch on the engine side of the firewall. I'll make this from this big block of phenolic I bought years ago (actually, I got 4 of them). The first one was used to make a distributor cap that looks like a timer...a project I've started twice and, both times, run into problems I didn't have an answer for.

 

[Luv2Wrench]

If that nickel plating was thick enough then you'll be able to save that solution to use for nickel plating, just reverse the wires.  I made my solution the same way, vinegar and using nickel welding rods.  If you have enough the whole solution will be the blue/green color you see just below the cathode. 

[JV Puleo]

Thanks Jeff, I was wondering if that was the case. Is it UV light sensditive? I have some brown mason jars coming and I could use them to store it.

 

There are a few bits, notably the stanchions that hold the rocker arms that should probably be nickel plated. I don't like painted, machined parts so I was wondering how to treat them. I'd thought of bluing them...but nickel plating was common in 1910 so it's not an inappropriate finish.

Edited June 7, 2022 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[Luv2Wrench]

Just need to keep it from evaporating so brown mason jars would be perfect.  It'll be a nice green/blue when it is ready.  I find nickel plating one of the easier plates to do though over steel/iron it works better with a copper plate first.  For protection I think it'll work fine without the copper first.  For appearances it works better over copper/brass/bronze.

Edited June 8, 2022 by Luv2Wrench (see edit history)

[Terry Harper]

1 hour ago, JV Puleo said:

Thanks Jeff, I was wondering if that was the case. Is it UV light sensditive? I have some brown mason jars coming and I could use them to store it.

 

There are a few bits, notably the stanchions that hold the rocker arms that should probably be nickel plated. I don't like painted, machined parts so I was wondering how to treat them. I'd thought of bluing them...but nickel plating was common in 1910 so it's not an inappropriate finish.

Hello Joe,

Fantastic work! I nickel plated some parts a couple of years ago. I bought some strips of nickle and made my own solution. It worked great and was very, very easy.

This was for a faux-American Bosh Magneto switch which nothing more than adapting a modern push/pull switch from a tractor.

 

 

 

I also used the same method to plate a mounting washer for a choke control. We made the "bakelite" knob using a stick of Garolite.

 

 

Edited June 8, 2022 by Terry Harper (see edit history)

[JV Puleo]

One of the techniques I'd like to experiment with is "close plating." It's the method that was commonly used before electroplating took over in the mid-19th century. It remained in use for several special purposes, especially where you wanted extreme strength but still with a plated surface. It was used in the carriage trade and by 1910 or so automobiles were about the only place it was still commonplace. The plating is "ironed on" (to use the period term). The piece is tinned and metal foil is attached by rubbing it down with heated soldering irons. RR shifter levers were done this way and I believe from the traces I've found, that the Mitchell shifter and brake levers were close plated with brass foil. You end up with a surface .003 or .004 thick...enough so it can be polished repeatedly without going through. But, my levers are rusted and pitted. My idea was to file them, add a really thick layer of copper to smooth them out and tin the copper. Who knows if I'll ever get to it but brass electroplating is usually done with a cyanide solution and even I'm wary of using that!

Edited June 8, 2022 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[JV Puleo]

I experimented with etching the decorative plate for the switch at home last night. The first step is to print the image you want (with a laser printer), reversed, on this blue transfer film. Then it's applied to the brass with a hot flat iron. It's quicker to say than than to do it. In fact, it's a bit tricky but it did work. Unfortunately, I didn't line it up perfectly, something I'm finding difficult because it's black ink on a dark blue surface. I made some adjustments and printed another piece of film and will try again tonight.

 

 

First thing this morning I mixed up the brass blacking solution. It's ammonia with copper carbonate dissolved in it. You have to totally saturate the ammonia and you can tell if you'd done that because the copper carbonate the ammonia will not dissolve falls to the bottom of the jar. This is a 1 quart mason jar and a heaping teaspoon full of carbonate was more than enough. To test it, I dropped in the circular nut I'd made for the front axle that I damaged.

 

 

It was immediately apparent that the brass has to be absolutely clean and oil free. Where I cleaned it, this worked well.

While this was working, I put the big block of phenolic in the lathe.

 

 

And turned it round...

 

 

After taking it down to the finished dimension, 4.25" I rigged my device for limiting the depth of a hole and drilled it 13/16 to a depth of .700.

 

 

Of course, a drill doesn't give you a flat bottomed hole so I followed this with a 1" center cutting end mill.

 

 

Then put the boring bar on to bring it out to the finished size. (2.625")

 

 

 

Before closing up, I checked the blacking...as you can see, it does work but making the sure the piece is absolutely clean is critical. This is the technique used by Zeiss to black internal parts of cameras that cannot be reflective. I got the idea from a post on the Practical Machinist website. I should add that I find the answers to about 90% of my questions on the PM site.

 

 

The electrolysis stripping of the lever has been going on all day. I don't know how the youtube guy did it in an hour...it was working from just after 12 today to closing time at about 5:30 and there are still traces of nickle on it. But, it is working and likely it will be done tomorrow.

 

[Terry Harper]

Joe,

I had never heard of “close plating” until you mentioned it. Thanks to Google Books I found a really nice article in a period trade publication that made for fascinating reading! Very neat process. Thank you for sharing.

 

Edited June 9, 2022 by Terry Harper (see edit history)

[JV Puleo]

You're welcome. I may have found the same article. It gave me some ideas on how to go about it. Close plating is really a "lost art"...I've found no references to it being done anywhere today but you can see how useful it would be, especially with electroplating so heavily regulated.

[JV Puleo]

As you can see, last night's attempt to transfer an image to the brass ring for the switch was a failure. I'm convinced the problem is the heat (using a flat iron) and the inability to regulate the pressure. What I really need is something like a T-shirt press with heated plattens. I'm looking into that now and continuing y experiments. If it seems as if I'm spending an inordinate amount of time on this, it's because I've been thinking about this for a long time. I've tried it before, with marginal success, though not good enough. That's the  sort of problem that keeps me awake at night...

 

 

In the shop, I went back to the cap for the engine side of the switch, starting by cutting the corners off and flipping it around in the lathe.

 

 

Then I turned it to the OD of the base flange.

 

 

I left a .300 flange and turned the rest to the finished size.

 

 

Because the piece of stock was wildly too thick, I had a lot to trim off... the result of using what I had rather than buying something else in.

 

 

The wall thickness is now about 1/8". It will need two mounting holes and some notches for the wires to pass through but I can't do that until I've got the switch together. I'm not happy with the streaked look...obviously a product of the manufacturing process so I may try and dye it all dark brown.

 

 

 

And, as you can see here, the blacking solution is working as intended although I tried degreasing the piece with brake Clean...that seemed to help quite a bit.

 

 

[Laughing Coyote]

Joe,

Could you have the brass ring laser envgraved by a trophy shop?  I own a  laser engraver and mark on stainless steel, aluminum and steel all the time.  Just another option.

[Terry Harper]

2 hours ago, JV Puleo said:

As you can see, last night's attempt to transfer an image to the brass ring for the switch was a failure.

Hello Joe,

 

I used the same PNP transfer film back when I was etching motometer face plates etc. The brass has to be absolutely clean. I degreased steel wool and scrubbed the surface as well to remove any oxidization. I also found pre-heating the brass in the toaster oven helped a lot though if you got it too hot that caused issues as well. When I applied heat to iron it on I used a regular cloths iron but I overlaid the transfer film with a sheet of plain paper. Also, if there are any spots missing in the mask you can fill them in using a Sharpy. I also used a Sharpy to protect the exposed edges of the stock from the etchant. Once the mask is ironed on I immediately dunked the part in ice water to remove the backing material.

 

In regards to registering the image on the part. That can be tricky. For motometers I actually made a mask for both the front and back that had registration marks. I printed the front and back on the same piece of material than simply folded and carefully aligned the registration marks. By using a 2 sided mask I could not only etch the logo etc. but also cut the part out.

 

Using this stuff takes quite a bit of fiddling to unlock "the code" if you will. KEEP AT IT!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 10, 2022 by Terry Harper (see edit history)

[JV Puleo]

14 hours ago, Laughing Coyote said:

Joe,

Could you have the brass ring laser envgraved by a trophy shop?  I own a  laser engraver and mark on stainless steel, aluminum and steel all the time.  Just another option.

Possibly. In fact, I looked into buying a pantograph engraver but unless one fell into my lap they are too expensive for the very limited use I'd give it. Etching gives me the option of doing colored backgrounds — which I like because they are very much in keeping with the period. I'll just hammer away at this until I've solved the problems. The etched plates Terry made were excellent so I know it can be done. I just haven't gotten to the point where I can do it.

 

The other thing about etching is that I'm a graphic artist & book designer by profession so I have sophisticated typesettng software for that and a huge range of type choices. The fact is (and this was a joke in the trade years ago) I'd make a really excellent forger. I used to joke with one of my colleagues about it and he even made up a logo for our company "Crime Graphics."

Edited June 10, 2022 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[JV Puleo]

Terry, how did you degrease the steel wool. I was thinking of soaking it in acetone or maybe carb cleaner? I am pretty sure that I haven't prepared the surface well enough.

 

Registration is a real challenge with this one because there are no corners. I'm working on that now...

Edited June 10, 2022 by JV Puleo (see edit history)