G'day folks
in getting this tiny build going it called for a copper boiler
rolling the copper is fine but i worry about the strength, steam is strong, so i replaced it with some 1038
carbon steel tube i know will take 1400PSI ( i only want 80-100 PSI)
but liking the look of copper i started to get out the electroplating stuff
now this was in the middle of all the parkerizing posts so i decided to do it "ala great great great grand daddy"
i have read how they copper plated in the old days before electricity but on Iron
i am going to try it with steel with a tip from "the electroplaters handbook of 1936" ( Iodine)
Ingredients
1 litre clear Vinegar ( i did not use my good stuff i got home brand)
90 grams ( 3 and a bit ounces) of iodized salt ( important to get iodized as iodine is hard to get thanks to the junkies)
Iodine helps the copper bond to carbon steel as its not the same as iron
copper, i made some chips with the drill and used these and added a small bar ( see pics)
Steel to be coated
plastic or glass container ( not metal )
Method ( to the madness)
pour the vinegar into the bowl (whatever you use) and get it as hot as practicable in the microwave
if using a micriowave do NOT put salt in before hand it will arc like crazy!!! and probably destroy your food nuker
once its hot add the salt and stir in until its all disolved
add you copper filings pennies what ever copper you use
in the pics you'll see i have lined my plastic tray with a plastic bag ( simple things for simple folk) to get the copper out later but leave the salt solution behind , that i'll use later for another project
leave this until its room temp then, ( but not before )
put in your steel and leave this away from any flame or spark source for a few hours ( it produces low ammounts of hydrogen gas) the bigger the steel the longer you leave it ( i taped my tube closed to allow the copper to go to the outside only and deposit where i wanted it and not be wasted where it wont be seen)
i took out the plastic bag the bird wanted to play with it ( gotta hide plastic bags here )
put the steel in plain soapy water in a saucepan and heat a bit to remove all the salt and dry well
copper coated steel
first pic is after 2 hours
and after 4 hours
see where the tape was removed and its still shiny steel??( near my finger) cool eh!
and tomorrow i'll show you after the recommended 20 hours
cheers on a lazy sunday
jack
in getting this tiny build going it called for a copper boiler
rolling the copper is fine but i worry about the strength, steam is strong, so i replaced it with some 1038
carbon steel tube i know will take 1400PSI ( i only want 80-100 PSI)
but liking the look of copper i started to get out the electroplating stuff
now this was in the middle of all the parkerizing posts so i decided to do it "ala great great great grand daddy"
i have read how they copper plated in the old days before electricity but on Iron
i am going to try it with steel with a tip from "the electroplaters handbook of 1936" ( Iodine)
Ingredients
1 litre clear Vinegar ( i did not use my good stuff i got home brand)
90 grams ( 3 and a bit ounces) of iodized salt ( important to get iodized as iodine is hard to get thanks to the junkies)
Iodine helps the copper bond to carbon steel as its not the same as iron
copper, i made some chips with the drill and used these and added a small bar ( see pics)
Steel to be coated
plastic or glass container ( not metal )
Method ( to the madness)
pour the vinegar into the bowl (whatever you use) and get it as hot as practicable in the microwave
if using a micriowave do NOT put salt in before hand it will arc like crazy!!! and probably destroy your food nuker
once its hot add the salt and stir in until its all disolved
add you copper filings pennies what ever copper you use
in the pics you'll see i have lined my plastic tray with a plastic bag ( simple things for simple folk) to get the copper out later but leave the salt solution behind , that i'll use later for another project
leave this until its room temp then, ( but not before )
put in your steel and leave this away from any flame or spark source for a few hours ( it produces low ammounts of hydrogen gas) the bigger the steel the longer you leave it ( i taped my tube closed to allow the copper to go to the outside only and deposit where i wanted it and not be wasted where it wont be seen)
i took out the plastic bag the bird wanted to play with it ( gotta hide plastic bags here )
put the steel in plain soapy water in a saucepan and heat a bit to remove all the salt and dry well
copper coated steel
first pic is after 2 hours
and after 4 hours
see where the tape was removed and its still shiny steel??( near my finger) cool eh!
and tomorrow i'll show you after the recommended 20 hours
cheers on a lazy sunday
jack