Celtic gold

[BradG]

Hi guys.
A couple of people had asked for a few more pictures showing the different steps to one of these pens, so here's a few extra piccies as a walkthrough the making of one today.


First of all i make a closed end kitless pen from brass, and applied some vinyl stickers. They then had boiling water poured over them to adhere the vinyl to the metal thoroughly.

Both ends are then wrapped in electrical tape to protect them from the ferric chloride etchant. this way when i chuck them back up again on the lathe to part off the excess it hasnt erroded creating a wobble not spinning true. a piece of wire is attached to the top secured with tape, so that i can hang the piece in the tank.

Into the Ferric chloride etchant they go, for between an hour to an hour and a half. when your solution turns black, its time to change it. mines a little overdue so this took an hour 30 mins.
This tank is heated to 30'C and has a bubble air line along the bottom for agitation. its important to hang your pens lengthwise, not sideways.. otherwise the smut from the corrosion will settle on the surface in effect protecting it, which will effect the eveness of your etch. adding some citric acid to the ferric chloride will create an edinburgh etch, where the citrus acts as a cleaning agent lifting the smut and dirt away from the surface as it corrodes.

After this, they are washed and dryed, before being airbrushed for several coats of acrylic enamel.

After this the tape is removed and its mounted back on the lathe, lightly sanded to remove any adhesive from the vinyl, and are parted off.

 

[plantman]

Brad; Seems like you are a little short on photos. Did those lines in the first photo get there by magic? I assume they are some kind of a mask to keep the solution off the brass you want to stand proud, and to set down your pattern. Also, does your wife still let you hang your projects on the shower curtain rod? Thanks for the pics and info on how this was done. Another example of a better life through chemistry. Jim S

 

[BradG]

Brad; Seems like you are a little short on photos. Did those lines in the first photo get there by magic? I assume they are some kind of a mask to keep the solution off the brass you want to stand proud, and to set down your pattern. Also, does your wife still let you hang your projects on the shower curtain rod? Thanks for the pics and info on how this was done. Another example of a better life through chemistry. Jim S

lol apologies Jim kind of an important step not to mention!
Its just vinyl stickers which are peeled off their protective sheet and stuck straight onto the cleaned brass. i then pouyr boiling water over them to melt the adhesive and shrink the plastic which really bonds the stickers to the metal.

Yes ive taken over the second bathroom now... theres a chrome tank, anodising tank, electro forming tank, electro polishing tank 6 different dyes and chemical cabinet in there housing all my nasties under lock and key. having a shower in there makes for great wash down.
(Though disclaimer: This does not mean you can just pour your waste chems down the plug hole!, you will need to speak to your relevant enviromental waste disposal service to see how its handled. Ferric chloride for instance is not hazardous and can be poured down the drain. it cannot however be poured down the drain if its been used, as its now laden with dilute metals such as copper aluminium or anything else you put in it which didnt survive. this would be a contaminant and should not be poured down the drains by law.)

 

[plano_harry]

Wow! You make it sound easy, but that is some fine work. Thanks for the technique, in case I ever get up my nerve to try it.

Harry

 

[mikespenturningz]

Wow Brad that is really cool. Nice job on this.

 

[BradG]

No worries harry, and thanks jim

 

[jyreene]

Brad, that is a nice pen. Thanks for walking us through the process. Is the back of the vinyl tacky or just like the kind people put on windows?

You were obviously going for black (and of course you know a lot about chemistry, I remember some things they taught me in college but not even half!) Are there other colors you could turn the brass? Would there be a way to do a tri or quad color on one? Or would that me more in an electro plating realm?

Anyways it's nice to see a pen maker using a hard science to make pens.

 

[BradG]

Thr vinyl used is the same type you would sign write a vehicle with so is very tacky.

With regards to its colour, the black is only enamel paint airbrushed on so that can be any colour you want and the airbrush gives great enough control to colour each section seperately. I have chrome, gold and bronze plating tanks, though I quite like the natural brass colour on this one

 

[Ligget]

Brad those are AMAZING my friend, using your methods opens up unlimited design options that blow your mind!

 

[Sawdust46]

I continue to admire your work!

 

[BradG]

lol yes it opens a few different design doors :wink:

Thanks for the accolades Sawdust!

 

[bluwolf]

Another beauty Brad. It seems you dip the brass for a good bit longer than the aluminum?

Mike

 

[BradG]

Hi Mike
Yes a lot longer. minute and a half on the aluminium, hour and a half on the brass with spent solution. an hour with fresh. Whats more appealing however is its much more gentle, which gives you plenty of time to inspect the process, and allows for greater detail and image resolution when compared to the aluminium etching, which as you know is quite frantic when it gets under way.