MODERN

E LECTRO PL A T N G .

T h e Principles Invo l ved in Depositing G o l d, S il ver, N icke l , Copper, Bra ss

an d Oth er M eta l s, by mea ns of Batteries or Dynamos ; Th e Prepa ra

ti
o n a nd M ana gem ent of P l ating Ba ths, Ch em ic a l s Used, Etc .

V
BY J H VA N
. . H O RNE .

CHIcAGo

H A Z LI I T
’
G EO RGE $
'

. co .

1 89 7 .
 IN TRO DU CTIO N .

This little wor k has been pre p are d chiefly to help o u t .

o f his di ffi culties the plater in country towns who h a s

p u rc h ased a small outfit and begun operations w ithout

previous training in a plating establishment where mod
ern m ethods have been emplo y ed with a due regard f o r

speed and economy in turning o u t the work H ence it .

has b een thought best to confine o u r remarks chiefly to

the principl e s invol v ed in the work and to tell in a com
,

mon sen se way how the work is done ; what forces are
,

emplo y ed ; how they are handled and h o wthe v ariou s

,

formulae may be made and varied to suit the condition s

o f the work o r to o vercome the di ffi culties that may
arise in continuous working o f solutions .

It has seemed b etter to do this than to give a large

number o f formulae w hich although they may b e per
,

f e c t ly adapted to a special p u rpose contain in them

,

sel v es no real information but have to be taken blindly

'

, ,

like a physician s prescription for a fever It must not

’
.

b e forgotten that the chemistry of plating has undergone

3
 IN TRODU C TION .

strict investigation in the last five years by thoroughly

educated and competent men who h ve found bundant, a a

opportunity for their labors in the many large plating

wo ks n o w used in connection with manufacturing estab
r

l ish m e n t where the finish ng o f the products is o f the

s, i

highest import a nce and owing to the quantity of goods

,

turn ed b t any defect in t he composition o m nagement

u r a

of the baths is of the highest import ance The labors of .

these chemists have been chiefly e ffective in eliminating

from the formulae in common use those chemi cals which ,

from their nature we e antagonistic to the chief ing e d i

,
r r

ents o r which by their decomposition left detrimental o

, r

inert matter in the soluti o ns A s an instance o f this we

.

may mention the substitutio n o f ch omic acid for bich o r r

mate o f potash in batte y fluids ; the p rchase and use o f

r u

the carbonate o f coppe and zinc in b ass solutions

r r

instead o f compounding the m in the o l d way from the

,

sulphates etc In all cases the e ffects of the alte ations

,
. r

have been to simplify and g eatly improve the keeping

r

and working qualities o f the sol utions and in many cases ,

the i mprovement has been v ery great These new .

methods o f making solutions have been industriously cir

c l a t e d by the dealers in plating apparatus and supplies
u ,

until now the chief source of trouble in plating has

shifted from the plating to the polishing department and ,
 I N T R O D U C TIO N .
5

while the chief d ifli c u l t y formerl y lay in the solutions ,

nine o u t Of ten cases Of trouble now may be traced t o the

improper preparation O f the wor k before it reaches the
bath o t o careless and hasty finishing after it has left it
,
r .

The efore it has seemed better to deal with the o p era

r ,

tions Of plating in a general way detaili ng the principles

,

involved and allowing the Operator to make hi s o w n

,

baths from general directions rather than t o follow the

,

empirical metho ds formerly employed w hich gave n o ,

hint o f the source O f any d ifli c u l ty and left the plater

,

unable to help himself when trouble was encountered .

It will be readily seen from the abo v e remarks that

plating has been stripped Of about all the mystery that
formerly surrounded it to the great chagrin and ve x ation
,

Of a certai nclass O f workmen who formerly found an

easy way O f getting an income by the sale o f certain
ve y important and mysterious formulae without which
r , ,

they solemnly assured their intended v ictim g d plating ,

oo

could not be done In fact it i s no w generally rec

.
,

o
g ni e d
z that good durable plating depends chiefl y
,

upon the degree O f care and skill employed in the a ppl i

cation O f well known m ethods Of doing work whi l e the ,

question Of profit depends altogether upon the personal

’
d exterity Of those who d o the work and a rapid and ,

skillful plater hold s the same relation to his fellow

 I N T R OD U C T I O N .

employes that a rapid and skillful machinist does in his

trade .

With this explanation we think the reader wi ll s fli u

c ie n t l
y
r g asp the scope and purpose Of this work It .

doe s not pretend to teach everything but only to pro v e ,

useful in aiding the wo kman to a general understand

r

ing O f the subj ect which will enable him to consult other
books intelligently o to help himself where other
,
r

guidance is not available .

The little pamphlet P ractic a l P oints o n the D eposi

,
“

tion of M etals which was the fi st attempt t o give

,
$
r

practical information in a gene al way has been so

r

wa mly rece ived that it encour ages me to hope that

r

more on the same subj ect will be appreciated by those

who are desirous Of acquiring skill in the art Of plating .

J
. H . VA N H O RN E .
 CH A P TER I .

TH E M A N A GEM EN T OF BA TTERIES .

The first requisite in attempting t o do electroplating

in a small way is to understand the battery a n d to select
o ne that w ill give an electric current o f the proper
intensity and quantity f o r the required time without t o o
,

much care and attention o n the part Of the workman .

Were he pro v i d ed with measuring instruments S O that ,

he could readi ly determine when his current was chang

ing in quanti t y and power the choice Of a battery would
,

not be Of so much importance ; b ut v olt meters and

ampere meters are t o o ex pensi v e to be possessed by the
average man who does plating in a small wa y and he is
,

necessarily obliged to depen d on theory in a rranging his

forces and judge Of the results by the appearance O f his
work in the bath H ence it is important that he should
.

have an understanding Of the nature Of the action in the

battery and be able to maintain the requisite conditions
from the appearance Of the battery itself .
 M O DE R N E L E C TR O P L A T I N G .

El e ct ri c it y .
—Wit hout give too close a
a tt e mp in g to

definition electricity may b e defined as a fo ce o

,
r r

energy which is the result o f a displacement O f t h e

normal balance Of forces between two elements c o n
n e c t e d with o n e anothe by a conducting medium
r .

This difference in the balance o f force is called t h e

potential O f its elements and if two elements havin g
different potentials are connected together and pla c ed
,

in a fluid which will produce chemical action upon o n e

or both the result will be a flowing of energy through
,

t h e connection to the element havin the lowest poten

g
tial This will be kept up as long as the chemical
.

action continues and the connection between the t w o

elements remains unbroken It will be readily seen
.
,

that owing to the varying potentials O f the different

elements the v arying facility Of the conducto s used t o
,
r

connect them and the varying intensity Of chemical

,

action in the solution employed the elect ical cu ren t ,

r r

will vary in strength ( o voltage ) in di fferent batteries

r ,

and in quantity according to the size Of the elements

,

and t h e freedom with which they are attacked by the

solution .

Vol t a g e is the measure Of strength or intensity O f th e

cur ent and depends upon the di fference O f potentials f
r o
 M O DERN ELE C TR O P LA T I N G .
9

the elements and the kin d O f chemical action between

them It is the same for the same combination regard
. ,

less O f the size Of the ele ments Thus a battery the

.
,

size Of a thimble has the same v oltage as one the si e Of z

a door if the elements and solution are the same W e

,
.

have not t he space to explain this at length but will ,

simply state that the volt is the recogni ed unit Of t h e z

m easurement Of strength Of electric currents .

Th e A mp ere is the unit Of measurement Of th e

quantity Of currents A mperage depends o n the siz e
.

Of the elements ; and the a v ailable amperage depends o n

the size Of the conductors and the freedom o f action
between the element s A mperage is consumed by
.

doing work or by the heating O f in su fli c ie nt conductors

, ,

or by undue resistance in the battery j ust as power is ,

consumed in turning steel o r in running shafting o r

, ,

overcoming the resistance caused by friction Of bo x es o n

a shaft that i s run without Oil S trictly speaking if t h e
.
,

voltage o inten sity Of the current be sufficient t o d o

r

the work re quired then the amperage is the force use d

,

to do the work and it i s destroyed by that work and

,

the chemical o electrical resistance j u st as mechanical

r ,

power is consumed in running a lathe o doing any other r

work From this it follows that in order to operat e

.
, ,
.
 M O DERN ELE C T R O P L A T I N G .

e conomically extreme care should be taken that the

,

c onnections be large enough t o carry the cu ent easily ; rr

t hat the solutions be kept in perfect order both in the ,

b atte y and the plating vat ; and that all j oints be kept
r

b right and firm so as to insure perfect contact and O ffer

no resistance to the passage Of the current .

The cu rent always flows from the element h a vmg

r

t h e highest potential called the positive pole

( o
) r

along the wire and through the solution in the plating

vat to the othe wire and thence to the negative pole
,
r , ,

c arrying with it in passing through t h e solution pa ticles ,

r

O f metal from the anode and depositing it o n the article

to be electroplated ( called the cathode ); hence care

. .

s hould be taken to l w ys get the cathode a fli x e d to the

a a

ne
g t i
ave pole Of the battery in order that it m y ,
a

receive the deposit .

E l e ct ri c a l R e s i s t a n c e
is that property Of conducto s r

( wires solutions Obj

, ects etc ) by which
, they tend to ,
.

r educe the intensity O f a cur ent passing through them r .

The practical unit Of resistance is the Ohm The num '

ber O f amperes O f current flo wing through a ci cuit is r

e qual to the number Of volts Of electro motive force ,

d ivided by the number Of Ohms Of resistance in the

e nti e ci cuit that is f om positive pole clear through
r r ,
r
 M O DE R N E LE C TRO P L A T I N G . I I

wires so l ution and battery back to the startin g point

, ,
.

Thus it will be seen that if the resistance be greater

than the v oltage O f o n e cell will overcome nO current ,

will flow and the voltage must be increased t o such an

,

a mount as will allow the desired quantity Of current to

pass This is done by coupling cells in various ways

.
,

W hic h will be explained at length further o n .

The resistance Of a conductin g wire is directly pro

proportional t o its length n d inversely proportional to
,
a

the square Of its diameter ; hence it follows that the .

short and large wires cause less loss Of cu rrent than

s maller and longer ones .

In all batteries the resistance increases with the dis

tance between th e e l ements and decreases when the ,

immersed surfaces are increased The resistance i s also .

,

increased by the bubbles Of hydrogen liberated at the

positive pole sticking to it in great numbers H ydrogen .

is a non conductor and prevents the action Of the sol u

-

tion o n the metal W hen this takes place to such an

.

extent as to stop chemical action altogether no current ,

will pass and the battery is said to be polarized .

These re marks are intended to aid in the intelligent

s election of bat t eries etc those who having to d eal
,
.
, ,

with such a p p a a t s ye t have never had the opportunity

r u ,
'

to s tudy an electrical treatise W e are Often asked . .

 M OD E RN ELE C T R O P L A T I N G .

What is t he best b a tte y $ We can only answer The e r : r

is n o best batte y ; t h a t is no battery is suited to all kinds

r
'

o f work That which is b est in One case may be worst

.

in anothe The suitability Of a battery for ny speci l

r . a a

pu pose depends o n what is called its constants i e

r ,
. .
,

elect o motive force and internal resis t ance In o de

r - . r r

to be eally perfect a batte y should fulfill the followin g

r r

conditions
1 .Its electro motive fo ce should be high and c o n
-
r

stant .

2 .Its internal resistance should be s mall .

3 .It should give a constant cur ent and m s t t h e e r u o

r

fore be free from pola ization and not liable to a pid r ,

r

exhaustion equi ing frequent renew l Of material

,
r r a .

4 .It should consume no mate ial when the ci cuit is r r

open .

5 .It should be c h eap and Of durable mate ials r .

6 .It sh ould be manageable and if possible should , ,

not e mit co rosive fumes r .

N O single battery fulfills all these conditions how ,

ever and as we have al eady intimated some batterie s

, ,
r ,

are better for o n e purpose and some for anothe Thus r .

,

f o teleg aphin g through a long line O f wi e a conside

r r r ,
r

able inte nal esistance is Of no great consequence as it

r r ,

i s but a small fraction O f the total esista nce in circuit r .

 M O DERN E L E C T RO PL ATI N G .
3

Fo r electric gas li g hting o other l ow resistance circuits

r ,

o n the other hand much internal resistance would be

, ,

if not abso l utely fatal cert a inly a positi v e disad v antage

, .

The most reliable batteries f o r electroplating work are

the D aniel ], G ravity B unsen S mee and C arbon which
, , , ,

we will accordingl y describe in their order .

Th e Dani ell Fig ,

consists Of a glass o stoneware
. I ,
r

containing a cylinder o f copper surrounding a p o r o u s

'

j a
r,

clay cup in which stands a

,

c ylinder O f zinc. A t the upper

part Of the copper sheet is a
pocket Of perforated copper ,

w hich is filled with crystals O f

s ulphate of copper The O b
.

c t of the pocket is simply t

j e o

hold the sulphate up to the t o p

O f the solution so that it will
,

d issolve more readil y and any ,

o ther method would do as well .

F
I n charging this b attery the
ig . 1 .

g lass vessel and the porous cup are filled with water ,

a n d crystals O f sulphate O f copper are put in the pock e t .

If wanted for immediate use a small quantity Of sulphate ,

Of zinc may be dissol v ed in water and added to the

I
4 M O DERN E L E C T R O PLATI NG .

porous cup ; if not wanted immediately the battery may ,

be sho t ci cuited by connecting the zinc and copper

r r

elements by a piece O f copper wire and it will attain it s ,

full st ength in ten o t w elve hours A little sulphuric

r r .

acid d opped in the porous cup will answe just as well

r r ,

if sulphate o f zinc is n o t on hand The c h e mic a l a c t io n

'

Of this battery is as follows The zinc decomposes the :

water forming oxide of zinc and liberating the hydro

,

gen The oxide O f zinc attacks the sulphate Of copper

. ,
,

depriving it f the acid which f rms sulphate O f zinc

o ,
o

and leaving it as oxide O f copper ; the oxide Of coppe r

is thereupon attacked by the hydrogen which combines ,

with the oxygen and forms water while the m etallic ,

copper falls to the bottom as a fine powder It will .

thus be seen that action is simple and continuous n O ,

fumes are given O ff and all tha t is required t o maintain

,

the action is a egular supply Of copper sulphate t o

r .

keep the fluid in the outer j ar near the point of s tu , a

r ation The most prominent fault Of this battery is the

.

tendency of the copper to fill the pores o f the cup and ,

thus decrease the action Of the battery It can be par .

t ia l l y prevented by coating the bottom and about a

quarter Of an inch Of the sides Of the po ous cup with r

wax and b ushing O ff the deposit Of Copper o n the cup

,
r

as fast as it is formed The battery should n o t b e .

 MO DERN E L E C T RO P L A T I N G 1 5

allowed to stand on open circuit without the zinc ele

ment being removed and the sulphate Of zinc solutio n
,

in the cup should n o t be heavier than 2 5 B n Or lighte °

. r

than 1 5 B If these precautions are Obser v ed t h e

°
.
,

batter y should give a constant and free current as lon g

as any zinc remains Its electro motive force is about
.
-

volt a n d a gallon cell will give about o n e hal f

,
-

ampere when in good order o n a short circuit I t s

, , .

internal resistance v aries but sho uld n o t be allo w ed t o

,

exceed three t O fiV C Ohm s '

Th e G ra vit y B a tt ery In consequence O f the trou

.

ble caused by the precipitation O f the copper on t h e

porous cell in the D aniell battery C romw ell F Varley , .
,

in 1 8 5 4 while e x perimenting found that the di fferenc e

, ,

in specific gra v ity between solutions O f sulphate Of C o p

per and sulphate Of zinc was su fli c ie nt in itself to entirel y
separate them the Copper solution l ying at the botto m
,

Of the cell and the inc solution remaining superpose d

,
z
“

upon it H e accordingly disp ensed with the porous

.
‘

cup placed his copper element at the bottom and the

, ,

zinc near the t o p o f a glass j ar and thus originated the .

g ravity batter y Of today It is the simplest

, most relia ,

ble and constant form known and has displaced all ,

others f o closed circuit work requi ing a l o w voltage

r , r ,
 1 6 M O DERN ELE C T R O PLA TI NG .

uc h as telegraphing etc Its voltage when first set up

s ,
.
,
.

is r nning down under constant wo k to 9 0 and a

u r .
,

g allon cell will give o n e half ampere on short circuit .

The form O f cell shown in Fig 2 is known as the .

“
c owfoot o n account Of the manner in which the zinc
r ,

( positive ) element is spread o u t to expose large sur ,

a

face O f zinc to the solution It is the form used f o .

“

telegraphing and therefore can be , , ,

readily obtained any where O f .

course other forms shapes and , ,

sizes can be made at the option O f

the wo kman TO set up this bat r .

te y the copper strip being m r , , u

folded so as to form a cross is ,

pl ced at the bottom Of a j ar the

a ,

zinc is suspended from the t o p as

shown and clean water containing O n e tenth Of a satu
, ,
-

rated solution O f sulphate Of zinc is added until it nearly ,

touches the zinc S ulphate O f coppe crystals a e then

-
. r r

a dde d n t il if the battery is meant to be continually

‘

u ,

used they nearly cover the t o p O f the Copper strip If

, .

the battery is not intended for continual use it w ill be ,

found more advantageous to use but a few ounces O f

sulphate Of copper as the mo e concentrated the solu, r

tion the greater is the tendency to local action The

, .
1 8 M O DERN ELE C TRO P L AT I N G

c eepi ng The j ars should not be distu bed as thi s

r .
r ,

would cause the two solutions to mi x and they shoul d ,

be kept in a dry even temperature (60 to 8 0 F )

,
° 0
$

F eezing would stop the action of the battery

r .

Th e B uns en Ca rbon B a tt ery Fig 3 consist

, or ,
.
,
s

Of a glass j a containing a hollow zinc cylinde sli t

r r,

o n o n e side to allow a free ci culatio n r

of the solution ; within this stand s a

porous cup containing a bar Of ca bon r .

TO charge this battery the amalga ,

mated zinc is placed in the glass jar

the porous jar in the center Of t h e
zinc c yl ind e a n d the carbon in t h e
r '

porous j a In the outer jar is sul

r .

h ic acid diluted with twelve time s

p ur ,

its weight Of water and in the p o ,

r

j ar electropoion fluid ( S ee E le t r p n Fl id )
'

o us . c o o zo u .

The voltage Of this batte y is its amperag e

r

cannot be given as it depends la gely upon the care

,
r

which is given the battery the size Of the cell and t h e

,

condition O f the porous cups which v ary greatly in ,

porosity and conducting power It emits fumes O f .

hydrogen and sulphurous acid if not in g ood condition ,

and should not be used in the sam e room with fine tool s
 M O DER N E L E C TR O PLA TI NG . 1
9

or m etal wo k that is li a ble to injury It soon runs

r .

down requiring recharging every day when in constant

,

use but it is simpl e to handle when understood and is

, ,

generally furnished in small outfits f o nickel plating r ,

etc o n account O f its high voltage and the quantity Of

.
,

current given O ff when in good order The zincs must .

b e kept well amalgamated or they will polarize v ery

rapidly and destroy the current ; care should also be
taken that no sediment be allo w ed to accumulate in the
porous cup and fill its pores thus stopping the action It
, .

i s more expensive to run than the gravity as the zincs ,

are eaten by the acid much faster especially if not kept ,

well amalgamated ; but it will deli v er a greater quantity

o f cu rent in a given time than a gravity cell Of equal
r

size The internal resistance O f a new cell is about o n e

.

half an ohm The plates should be removed and

.

cleaned when the batte y i s not in use r .

Th e Smee B a tt ery Fig 4 consists Of,

two plates .
,

of amalgamated zinc bet ween which is placed a silver

,

plate coated with platinum the Obj ect Of the platinum

'

being to fill the surface Of the plate with innumerable

fine points which aid in discharging the bubbles Of
hydrogen w hich would cling closely to it if the plat e
,

were smooth and thus polarize the battery T h i s .

20 M O DERN ELE C T R O PLA T NG I .

is ch rged with a solution Of one pa t sulphu ic

b a tte r v a r r

acid to seven Of water The plates are connected to ,

the cl m p and placed in the j a

a In this b tte y above r . a r ,

a l l the prec ution Of a malgamating the zinc should

,
a

neve be neglected With an unamalgamated zinc the

r .

results a e very uns tisfacto y

r a r

The voltage Of the S mee when not in ction is , a ,

volts ; when in action it runs down to 4 8 2 .

volts ; th i s S caused by the h y drogen

I

clinging to the plate as desc ibed : This r

was t h e fo m f cell generally used b e

r o

fore the introduction O f dynamos for

electrotyping and othe heavy work and r ,

it is still used to a large extent It .

emits fumes of hyd ogen when in action r ,

F ig 4
but it is a single fluid batte y and w hen
. .

wo king in l rge sizes plates 1 2 x 2 inches n s ze are

r a ,
1 t i

suspended in a large tank Of a c idulated water fi st r a

plate O f inc then a plate Of platinized silve then

z ,
r,

a nother Of zinc and so o n alte nately zinc and platinum r , ,

to the end This gives g eat facility in handling as

. r ,

any number f plates to suit the wo k may be placed

O r

in the tank A there is but o n e tank and the plates

. s

may be placed close togethe o far ap rt as requi ed r r a r ,

the resist nce may be easily made to bal nce that in the
a a
 M O D ERN ELE C TR O PLA TI N G . 2 1

depositing tank and thus the work will be performed

,

under the most fa v orable conditions .

In working the S mee or any battery for th at matte r

, ,

l rge tanks are better than small ones provided that the
a ,

plates are kept close together so as to reduce internal

resistance O f the battery In the large S mee if plate s
.
,

1 2 x 1 2 are worked in a tank say 1 x x it wi l l t be

5 1 5 3 0 n o ,

long before the sulphate Of z inc which forms and falls

,

t o the bottom will soon commence to ris e in the tank

, ,

thus shutting O ff the acid from a portion of the plates

and reducing the quantity O f current If th e same plates .

were worked in a tank 2 4 x 2 4 x 30 the tank might be ,

permitted to becom e ha l f f ull Of zinc sulphate before

the action would be impaired at all and thus a much ,

more even and constant current would be maintained ;

this is generally done in practice In a gravit y b attery .
,

h owever the tank ought not to b e deep because the

, ,

t wo elements should n o t b e more than eight inches

apart on account Of the increased resistance caused
'
‘

by the separation Th e tank however may b e large

.
, ,

enough in length and width t o contain element s O f

the desired size o r a nu mber Of standard incs and
, z

coppers if such an arrangem ent seems desirable either

, ,

to increase the facility Of handli n g o reduce the cost r

Of a large number O f j ars wires connections etc W e

, , ,
.
22 M O DERN ELE C T R O PLA TI NG .

have seen a number Of t nks made O f wood lined with a ,

le d 1 0 x 1 0 x 6 0 inches in which a single large coppe

a , ,
r

element was placed at the bottom and a number Of

zincs hung as required from an insul ted copper bar a

ac oss the top It seemed to wo k well and was con

r . r

v e n ie n t .

Va rying S t rengt h Of th e Current by Coupl i ng

. .

A few words as to coupling batte ies may be Of r

se vice It should be bo ne in mind that the quantity f

r . r , o

c ent flowing in any circuit is the quotient esulting

urr r

Fig 5 . .

f om dividi n g the voltage by the total esist nce in that

r r a

ci cuit and that the esistance m y be inc eased o dimin

r
‘

r a r r

i h e d by increasing o diminishing the distance between

s r

the elements Of the battery and between t h e anode and

cathode in the plating v a t ; also that the esistance va ies r r

inve sely as the surface f the eleme n ts immersed

r , O .

Thus a pl ting su face Of one square foot in the plating

a r

vat will Offe four times as much resistance a s fou

r r

s qua e feet It thus becomes possible by in creasing o

r . r
 M O DE RN E L E C T RO PL ATI N G . 2 3

d iminishing the voltage Of a current t o keep the current

flowing in the desired quantity and by keeping the ,

resistance in the battery about equal to that in the v ats

t h e highest economy is Obtained .

Fo e x ample let us take eight cells having a voltage

r , ,

Of 1 ,
and gi v ing say ampere per cell o n short circuit
If we n o w couple them w e shall
have the v oltage Of 8 and the amperage Of o n e cell O f

Fig . 6 .

the same size in other words the same a mount Of cur

, ,

r ent and eight times the strength Of the si ngle cell as ,

in Fig 5 . .

This is termed coupling in series and would be used ,

in solutions having a high resistance and small amount

O f surface immersed If o n the other hand the solu
.
, ,

t ion had a low resistance and large surface exposed so ,

t hat the v oltage Of one cell was ample t o force the cur
rent through the circuit they should be connected
,

and giving
24 M O DERN ELE CT R O PLA TI NG .

the quantity o t eight cells and the voltage Of o n e which ,

amounts t o ne rly the s ame th ing as if a single battery

a

having eight times the surface O f the single cell we e r

used This is termed coupling in multiple Fig 6

.
, . .

S imila ly if t h ey were coupled

r ,

and and those two were

joined as in Fig 7 we should have the equivalent O f a
.
,

battery possessing a voltage Of fou r,

c
“

and element s twice the size Of the

'

single cell This would be spoken

.

Of as a batte y Of eight cells in series

r

O f fou A lso four multiples in serie s

r. ,

o f tw might be a anged to give

o ,
rr

voltage of two and q a nt ity d e t o

a u u

cells Of four times the size O f a single

cell as shown in Fig 8 A s the
, . .

ampe es Of cu ent passing per sec

r rr

ond depends upon the voltage divided ,

by the number O f Ohms resistance in the circuit it will , .

seen that the current can be controlled by coupling

and by manipulating the resistance .

TO Ama l g a ma t e Zi nc s
This may be very well
.

done by fi rst immersing the zincs in a solution Of dilute

sulphuric acid and then in a bath O f mercury A brush .
26 M ODERN ELE C T R O P L A T I N G

i s desired rather than maximum energy omit part ,

o all Of the sulphuric acid

r .

B ichro mate Of potash is no longer used for batteries

by intelligent wo kers It o w es its virtues to a small
r .

amount of ch omic acid which can be Obtained f om it by

r r

r e ction P ure ch omic acid is cheaper for the same

a . r

wo k a nd is free f om m a ny O f the diffi culties attendant

r ,
r

o n the use o f the bichromate .

Conne ctions H avi ng a knowle dge of the t h e o e t i

. r

cal action O f the batte y the next question is the con r ,

nections C lean liness cannot be too strongly insisted

.

upon in making j oints etc The plater should make it ,

.

an inv riable rule to see that all surfaces O f wires

a ,

screws etc th ough which the current must pass be

,
.
,
r ,

kept b ight o n t h e su faces th ough which elect ical

r r r r

contact is made When j oining wi es they should be

. r

brightened with a file or with emery cloth and then , ,

t wisted fi mly togethe with a pair O f pliers ; all perma

r r

nent c onnections should be carefully soldered and the

holes and the ends Of screws in binding posts should be
kept bright ; and if for pe manent use all conducting wires r

should be O f pure copper well insulated The following ,

.

t ble shows in the last column the loss O f current in wires

a ,

ca ying an economical amount O f current ; if the

rr
 M OD ERN E L E C T RO PLA TI NG . 2 7

wire be t O O small this loss is rapidly quadrupled until

the wire burns The economy Of using large and short .

connections will be apparent after a slight study Of this

table

Ta b l e h w i ng t h
s o e W e ig ht , C a rrying Ca p city
a a nd L oss in

V olt s o f d i ff nt i e re s z es Co pp er W i re .

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

O O O O O O
O O O O O

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
 CH A P TER II .

D Y N AM O S , CO N NECTIO N S A N D TA N $ S

In the p st plate s have been obliged to depend upo n

a ,
r

the b ttery in a g eat measu e This has Often been

a r r .

found an unreliable sou ce Of ene gy It is at the sam e

r r .

time an expensive source o f cu rent consum i ng valuabl e r ,

chemicals and costly metals and giving a comparatively ,

small return in current A gain the batte y f o platin g

.
,
r r

is obj ectionable o n account of the mercury that is used

to a m a l g a t e the zinc M ercury is the worst enemy t o
.

the electro plater it always being ready even in t h e

-
, ,

smallest particles to amalgamate with his finished work

,

a n d make black spots that cannot be removed e x cept

by é plating Fumes O f acids used in the b attery f e

r -
. r

quently cause annoyance and d ama g e It has been d e . u

t o the above d ifli c l t ie that the chemical batte y ha s

u s r

never come into general use only being used when no ,

other source O f electrical energy could be obtained .

When batte ies are used and the work does n o t come
r ,

8
 M O DE RN E L E CTRO PL ATI NG .

o ut right there are several places to which the plate rhas

to look for trouble First to the condition o f the solu
.
,

tion ; then the plates and then the acid destroyed con
,
-

n e c t io n s and contacts With the use Of a dynamo the

.

operator at once has a reliable current costing nothing ,

when in id leness except interest upon in v estm ent nd

, , a

w hen in operation but a lit tle f o power r .

The question Of power is Often o n e Of the principal

O bstacles to the use Of a dynamo If you have no po we . r

i n your shop and no way O f getting it a dynamo can

, ,

n o t be used and in thi s case batteries will have t o be

,

c oupled together and enough of them used to take the

place O f a dynamo .

I f power is availa b le it would be a false economy to

,

use anything but a dynamo The original cost is more .

,

b t the facility f o
u doing work i s greatly increased ;
r

there i s then n O variation in current and a dynamo ,

requires practically no attention .

A dynamo depends fo its cu ent upon the fact that a

r rr

c opper wire passed b etw een the poles O f a magnet will

, .

g enerate a current Of electricity in the wire ; this cur

r ent bears a definite relation t o the strength Of the magnet
a n d the number Of tim es the wire is passed bet w een the

poles From this it will be seen that the size Of wire

.
,

t h e strength Of the magnet and the speed Of evolution r

3 0 M O DERN ELE C T R O PLA TI NG .

all have a bearing on the current p oduced and that b y r

altering the various factors given above we can Obtain

the quantity and strength desired B efore dynamo .

building had attained its present state Of advancement ,

great di ffi culty was experienced in producing currents o f

v l t g e by this means and the Older dynamos we e
o a .
,
r

Fig .
o
— A
. $Mo d e m Dy n a mo .

ve y apt t o bu n the wo k ; hence the notion still held

r r r ,

by many Ol d plate s that the dynamo is unsuited to do

r ,

r eally h ard and du able plating This is completely

r .

ove come in the mode n dynamo and the much lower

r r

speed Of the modern dynamo makes them at the s a m e

time less expensive to n and more durable and lo n ger
ru

lived The efo e th e plater who is tempted to buy a

. r r

second hand m chine o n account O f its l o w price ma y

-
a , ,
 M OD ERN ELE C T RO PLA TI N G .
3 1

find it the most expensive machine he could use and b e ,

fin a ll v obliged 1 0 throw it away and get something up to

date in order t o get the cost O f producing work down t o

a figure that will leave him any margin at all Whe n .

buying a dynamo see that it is a modern machine

,
.

S ee that it will d o y u r work o .

S ee that it does all that is claimed for it .

S ee that it does not require constant attention .

S ee that yo get a constant steady current

u ,
.

You want a machine that will not spark-

You want o n e in which you can control the current .

You want one that will not reverse or heat ,

.

Y o u want o n e that is noiseless .

G et o n e that is n t o ver est im t ed in capacity

o a .

G et o n e h a v mg all parts interchangeable .

G et o n e that when t x ed to its t m st c p a c ity will n o t

a u o a

d r op $ts c u r r e nt .

D ynamo s and motors capable Of giving the bes t

,

results for a short time may be constructed with very

little regard for mechanic a l principles In selecting a .

dyna m o or motor the fact that the machine is t o be used

,

f o many years under heavy strain an d subj ect to littl e

r ,

attention should not be overlooked Its continued elec

, .

t ic a l e ffi ciency is dependent o n a high order Of mechan

r

ical excellence .
 3 2 M O DERN ELEC T R O PLA T ING .

S etti ng u p a nd Runni ng The dynamo should .

r est on a solid o substantial foundation as nea to the

r r

t nks as convenient and be placed at a height that will

a ,

g ive you plater easy access

r to all its working parts ,

e specially room t o set o adj ust brushes as few min r ,

a

utes attention each morning adds greatly t o its e fli c i

’

e nc
e

y and keeps
, commutato and b ushes in good con r r

dition .

S ee that the dynamo rests fi mly o n it sfoundation as r ,

bsence o f vi b r a tion adds to t h e life Of the m chine and

a a

insures a more uniform cur ent r .

S et the brushes o that they come in contact with the

s

c ommutator both top and bottom s o as to be directly

opposite TO avoid sparks keep brushes beveled and

. . ,

avoid letting under leaves drag C arefully adjust the .

br shes without too great pressure to insure perfect

u ,

c ontact between brush holder and od T O O hard pres r .

. ure will c t the commutato

s u The brushes are f r . ur

n i h e d beveled
s and can be kep t so by filing O cca
, .

s io n a ll
y the proj ecting part o e n d O f top leaf can be r
‘

t immed A little ca e in adjusting b ushes so as to get

r .
‘

r r

the bevel resting squa ely o n the commutator will pre r

vent sparking S parking at the brushes does not n e c e s

.

a il
s
y indicate
r a fault in the armature It is more pro .

bably due to imperfect adj ustment TO remedy move

.
.
,
34 M O DERN ELE C T R O PLA TI NG .

and the method O f connecting the battery and tank for

sm ll wo k will be fully understood by eference t o Fig
a r r .

1 0 while the importance O f the size O f wi e used for

,
r

conductors etc is fully de t ailed in the table on page 2 7

,
.
, .

The a rangement and size O f connections for dynamos

r

in large shops using a numbe O f tanks is however

r ,
r , , ,

a ve y different matter H ere the plan is to use two

r .

large conducting bars unning f om the dynamo past

r r

the va ious tanks and to take the current from these

r

bars by means o f wires or rods leading to the va ious r

tanks False economy is Often practiced here and as

.
,

usual it leads to trouble O n e instance will be su ffi cient

, .

to explain what is meant A n electrotype found y pur

. r

c hased a dynamo when starting in business and Obj ect , ,

in g to the cost Of so l id copper b rs Of the size pre a

 M O DERN E L E C TRO PL ATI N G 35

scribed by the dynamo m anufacturer used lar g e brass ,

tubing instead E v erything w ent well until business

.

grew s o much as t o completely fill the tank with work ,

when they found that they could not deposit the copper
in the required time N aturally they thought they .

needed another machine ; the Old one was not up to its

rated capacity etc etc and the salesmen Of various
, .
,
.
,

dynamo builders looked solemn and tried to sell them a

machine to replace the fi st one O n e day the agent O f r .

the first one happened along heard the story and calmly ,

said: You don t want another machine G e t your

“ ’
.

new solut on nto your new tank and com e along

i i

with me while I b y the conductors and you p y for

,
u a

them . It w a s done ; the agent bought 1 % inch solid

$

copper rods t o replace 1 % inch brass tub es and the ,

dynamo thereupon deposited the copper within the

required time with b t /z t u / f l l f wor / while w ith
o a es u o e,

the tubes as conductors it had fai l ed to do it with o n e

tank full This will give an idea Of the importance O f
.

putting a little money i nto copper when it is called f o r

in the plating room The e x penditure occurs but once

.

and it should b e ample at the begin ning Take the .

advice Of the dynamo builder in regard t o the conductor

bars f o r his machine It will cost yo u money if yo
. u

don t
’
.
3 6 M O DERN E L E C TRO PLA TI NG .

The bars should be put up in such a wa y that thing s

cannot be hung upon them o fall across them U nles s r .

this is done the e is a constant temptation to the wo k

r r

men to hang wires hooks etc upon them and short , ,

.
, ,

ci cuits will be f equent When this is the case t h e

r r .

entire force seems to get attled and blind A large r .

plating est blishment had a large nickel tank copper

a ,

tank and a small brass tank all g o wrong suddenly

,

one mo ning DO what they would they could not

r .
,

find the trouble They telephoned to a dealer and .

asked f o an expert H e listened to the details and said

r .
:

Yo don t want me up there ; you ve g o t a short cir

u
’ ’

cuit some w he e ; find that and you ll be all right

r At ’
.
$

two O clock they telephoned again H e m t come o t

’
. us u

there H e went and the fi st thing he saw o n entering

.
,
r

the room w s an i on c owba leaning a g ainst the main

a r r r

conducto bars ten feet from the dynamo That crow

r ,
.

b a cost the wages O f ten men for half a day

r S hort .

ci cuits e expensive They have also been caused

r ar .

by fastening the conducto s to damp walls without any r

thing between the wall and the conducto r .

A ll permanent connections from the conductors to the

tanks should be solde ed when possible as it obviates r ,

the necessity Of keeping a constant watch o n all j oints ,

which must be done when screw clamps are used .

 M O DERN E LE C T RO PL ATI NG .
37

R eg u l a tion Of the Cu rrent hen the dynamo i s

— W
employed on several tanks at once the current must b e
regulated f o each by interposing a resistance switch
r

between the conductor and tanks This is always put in

.

On the positi ve bar and connected with the positive bars

Of the tanks Fig 1 1 illustrates such a switch
. . .

In using switch boards o r rheostats they are put up as

,

near the tank as possible The switch should rest at W

.
,

o r weak point , while putting work into the tank and ,

should then be turned towards the s t rongest point until

s uitable current is Obtained These resistance coils are
.

u sed to pre v ent burning the work as if b urned the

“ $
,

d eposit becomes brittle and v ery hard to polish Where .

severa l solutions are required separate s witch boards

should be used with each tank .
3 8 M ODERN ELE C TRO PLA TI NG .

A ll platers understand that di fferent voltages are

required to operate successfully di fferent kinds Of solu
tions a n d that when a su fficient v oltage is to be gener
,

ated for a solution O f the highest resistance and at t h e ,

same time utilized in low resistance solutions the tank ,

nearest the dynamo with t h e customary method

, ,

receives the most cu rent and a tendency t o burn and

r ,

blacken is noticed to a marked degree When metal s .

such as sil v er and copper are to be deposited in connec

tion with such metals as nickel and brass a higher elec ,

t r o motive force is required

-
and considerable drop in
,

voltage is demanded in the lower resistance solutions s o ,

as not to blacken the work .

Mea suring Inst rument s are often a necessity in

studying the conditions under which work is done and ,

if used will save their cost every month in any large

establishment by enabling the plater to know exactly
what quantity and strength of current he is using Thi s .

is especially t ue Of mixed solutions f o r the deposition o f

r

more than o ne metal such as brass bronze and other

, ,

alloys E ven o n single solutions they are frequently of

.

great service The Observing practical electro plate r

.
,
-

will know that the character Of a deposit Obtained in a

certain solution with a definite area o f Obj ects to b e
 M O DER N E L E C T R O PLA TI NG .

plated depends largely upon the reproduction Of certain

,

conditions and especially upon the tension Of th e current

,

for the certain area t o be plated TO reproduce such .

“

conditions it is highly important that either the electro -

1

moti v e force existing betw een a node a nd cath ode an d ,

the c rrent flowing through the sam e be accurately

u ,

Fig . 1 Vol t m e t e r

determined n order that they may be reproduc e d at will

1 .

The ordinary galvanometer s insuffi cient and Ofte nth i sl

leadi ng and n o t at all satisfactory f o r the act ual meas

,

ure m e nt Of either the v oltage o r current ; it indica tes

only a change Of polarity If it i s desired t o m eas ure

.

$
actua l ly the E M F existing at the t e m in a l Of th e
'

'

. . . r

dynamo or bath only the very best v olt m

, et ers Or ‘ ‘

ammeters should be used They should b e 8 0 c on

$

structed as t o indicate quickly and accurately a ny

I O M O DER N ELE C T R O PLATI NG .

sud d en changes in current and should be direct reading

,

in volts and a mperes and their indications should not be

,

subj ect to gradual changes A sensitive voltmeter will

.

indicate the slipping Of belts short ci cuiting in tanks

,
r ,

an d any i regularities O f power

r The general a c k n o w l
.

e d m e nt of the absolute necessity of these measuring

g

Fig . 13 .
—A mp er e me t e r .

i nstruments has increased the demand to such an extent

that they are now quite easonable in price
r .

Whilst it will be su ffi cient in most cases to use a volt

m eter in combination with a rheostat for regulating pur
poses it will sometimes be found desirable to determine
,

the actual a mount of current in amperes passing through

a tank It is a fundamental law O f elect olysis that a
. r

certain number O f amperes passing t h o g h a plating r u

'

solution will cause a definite weight Of metal to be

4 2 M O DERN ELE C T R O PLA TI NG .

and the lining and let the plater line it himself O ne O f .

the best ways to line a tank is t o stretch cheese cloth

all over the inside tacking it down neatly on the bottom
,

an d all four sides ; then nail a strip O f wood o n the upper

edge Of the tank so that it p oj ects about o ne fourth

,
r -

inch beyond the inside edges O f tank ; lay the tank on

Fig . 1 4 . W ood e n T( m e f or P ta t e rs .

its side level it up and heat the lining and pour it in o n

,

the cheese cloth until it s ta nds e v en with the strip o f

wood you have just put on ; allow this t o cool and repeat
for the other sides doing the bottom last The cheese
, .

cloth strengthens the lining and pre v ents it from crack

ing just as h ir is used to strengthen plaster Tanks
, a .

lined in this way will stand f o yea s They should r r .

 M O DE RN E LE C T RO PLA TI NG .
43

always be deep enough t o leave about si x inches between

the bottom and the largest work TO find the capacit y
.

Of any tank multiply the lengt h breadth and thickness

, ,

in inches and di v ide by 2 3 1 as 2 3 1 cubic inches make

,

o n e gallon .

S quare o round iron tanks Fig 1 5 are used f o

r , .
,
r

potash h o t water etc and are made in the same shapes

, , .
,

and sizes as the enameled iron tanks used for p l ating

solutions It is best to b uy these O f dealers in platers
.
’

su pplies an d not from p l um b ers as the tanks Of the latter

,

are frequentl y very thin and Of inferior iron and are ,

liable to break while in use and cause damage amount

ing to fi v e o r si x times the di fference in cost
The platers who are working in a small way will fin d
the best quality O f enameled iron cooking utensils ser v e
44 M O DERN ELE C T R O PLATI NG .

their pu po es ve y well but in selecting agate or blue

r s r ,

enameled basins pitchers cups pails etc a ve y close

, , , ,
r

watch should be kept for flaws in the enamel f o if the , r

solutions penetrate to the i on they will be destroyed r .

White enamel is usually selected f o this reason as it is r ,

much easie to discover imperfections in the white

r

enamel th n in the gray o blue It also enables the

a r .

workman t o see the color O f his solution better which is ,

sometimes an advantage S tonewa e c ocks and jars . r r

a e also in constant use in plating rooms

r to hold the ,

va ious acids pickles dips etc and the same care

r , , ,
.
,

should also be used in selecting them .

Hea ting Ta nk s S mall shops usually depend upon

.
-

gas o O il stoves placed under the various tanks or j ars

r

containing solutions that must be kept hot such as lye , ,

rinsing wate gold solutions etc as eithe o ffe s a means

r, ,
.
,
r r

Of keepin g up the desi ed temperature with very little

r

trouble o expense L arger establishments however find

r .
, ,

it cheape and better in eve y way to use steam j acketed

r r

ta nks as shown in Fig 1 6 These can be purchased in

. .

regular sizes holding from three gallons up to fo ty gal r

lons and the smaller and medium sizes are rapidly find
ing favor in many machine shops and factories where it
is important to c leanse the work quickly and cheaply .
 M O DER N E L E C T RO PLA TI NG .
45

S till la rger tanks f o heavy work are made Of boiler iron

r

and heated by a steam coil placed in the bottom Of the

tank ; this usually is allowed to simply lie upon the b o t
‘

tom O f the tank so that it may be readily removed

,

should it becom e necessary in cleaning the tank o r

repairing the coil.

In arranging the tanks in the plating room much will

depend upon the work to be done and the space that is
a v ailable ; the only rule that can be given therefore is t o
, ,

follow the order in which the work is handled in both

polishing and plating rooms so that little time and labor
,
4 6 M O DERN ELE C T R O PLA TI NG .

will be lost in car ying wo k back and forth with the

r r ,

consequent d ipping O f the lye and acids etc upon the

r ,
.
,

floor In large est blishments it is frequently an impor

. a

t nt item to h ve the wo k thus proceed in a straight line

a a r ,

and where it is necessary the tanks f o hot water and r

lye dips etc a e duplicated to avoid carrying the work

, ,
.
,
r

about S malle establishments will Of cou se be g o v

. r ,
r ,

erned largely by circumstances in the arrangement o f

tanks sawdust boxes etc
, ,
.
 CH A P TER III .

TH E P O LIS H IN G RO O M A N D TOOLS .

P olishing should always be done in a separate room ,

in order to keep the plating room clean and the eby pre r

vent the expense and annoyance caused by dirt and d ust

in the solutions In large shops this i s regarded as a
.

matter O f course ; but many small platers think that a

s eparate polishing room is not necessary ; that they can
co v er their solutions and get along very well without
goin g to the expense Of partitioning O ff a place t o do
their polishing The consequence is that their shop s
.

always look as if they had not been cleaned in six

months ; a thick coating Of dirt co v ers the walls ,

benches countershafts t o ols machines etc until it is

, , , ,
.
,

actually a fact that the cleanest place in the sh O p is the

floor This s ounds se v ere but if the reader will go into
.
,

such a shop and draw his finger along the walls he will
find it to be a fact The floor is swept daily and the
.

wa l ls are never cleaned P olishing is a v ery dirty

.
4 8 M ODERN E L E C T R O PL ATI NG .

operation ; the lint f om the cotton and felt wheels r ,

minute particles Of leather emery Oil tripoli c ocus , , , , r ,

wax and finely divided metal a e continually flying from r

the wheels and work and this dust penetrates every

thing These are the platers that tu n o t poor work
. r u

and don t s e e why they can t do as well as thei neigh

’ ’
r

bo s D i t is fat l to good plating and di t is in e p a

r . r a r s r

able from polishing .

B fli n g and finishing after plating should also be done

u

in a separate room f o the same reason M any platers r .

have frequent trouble from scratch i ng their work while

buffi ng often making it necessary to replate the a ticle
, r .

N ine times out Of ten such coloring o bu ffi ng was r

done in the polishing room where some heavy work had

been ecently done and the coarse emery o scale f om
r r r

the work had lodged o n the finishing wheels We are .

speaking now Of shops which take rough work and fin“

ish it The little shop with a specialty such as gold and

.
,

silver only o such other wo k as replating etc whe e

,
r r ,
.
,
r

hea v y cutting down i s not done will ha dly go to the ,

r

trouble O i duplicating the heads countershafts etc in

'

.
, , ,

orde to separate the work in this manner preferring to

r ,

take chances o n scratching etc rather than go to the , .

,

expense and trouble of separating the polishing and fin

ish in g but wherever practicable it will pay to do it and
, ,
S O M O DERN ELE C T R O PLA TI NG

each side of the dri v ing pulley and the yoke which car
.

ries the shaft is mounted on a stout iron column This .

arrangement no t only gives greater facility in h andling

the work but also preser v es t he perfect alignment O f
,

the boxes and even runnin g Of the shaft which was no t ,

Fig . 1 7 .
—P oti5 /ziu g H ea d on Col u m n . Fig . 1 8 .
—P otis /zi ug H ea d f or H e a vy

always the case with the Old style O f f a me owing t o ~

r ,

the sprin ging O f the floors when hea vy weights O f cast

ings a e piled near the machines as is usually the case in
r ,

large shops The column also Offers no Obstruction t o

.

sweepin g and shops using them are kept much clea n er .

M achines for heavy work Fig 1 8 have an upper ,

.
,

voke carried on the lower yoke and having bo x e s

 M O D E RN ELE C T RO P L A TI N G .

S I

supporting the shaft close t o the polishin g wheels thus ,

adding greatly to the steadiness an d consequent e ff e c

t ive n e s s Of the machine while allowing the necessary

room f o handling large work below the wheels

r .

Work t h at is t o o large and hea v y to be handled is

ground and polished by
means Of wheels carried
o n and rotat ed by a flexib l e

shaft Fig 1 9 This is , . .

nothing more o less than r

the flexible drill O f the

machin e shops which the ,

polishers have been quick

to seize upon and adapt
to their work with even ,

greater results than this

tool has achieved in the
machine shop as in many ,
‘

polishing shops there is

room for its almost c o n
m B uan

F
ig .
—Ft ot S / f G
zo .
~
dex z
stant
e
use
za
which
t
is
ri n
n o t the
i ng .
.

case W th m a c h n s t s I t i l l .

is cheaper and quicker than the Older swing frame

machines and being so much lighter and easier t o
handle workmen will d o much more with it
, .
5 2 M O DERN ELE C T R O PLA TI NG .

S mall work is polished o n bench lathes which consist

Of th e same yokes and shafts are shown in Fig 1 7 .

e x cept t h a t t h e y
are mounted upon
benches nstead Of i

o n columns owing ,

to the greater facil

it y O f h a n d l i n g
small pieces o n a
bench ;

Very small and

~

light work in shops ,

without power are ,

g o und and polish

r

ed O n foot power
machines as shown
in Fig 2 0 . .

In w orking pol
i h in g machines the
s

c hief points to be
O bserved are to use
F —F P w P H
ig . 20 .
oo t o er o tt s /l i ng e a d .

soft n d fl e x i b l e
a

belts that will hug the small pulleys closely and not
,

j ump and j erk when any h eav

y t a in comes upon them
'

s r

S uddenly and to keep the bea rings well babbitted nd a

 M O DERN ELE C T R O PLA TI NG 53

free from emery which woul d immediately sink into the

,

babbit metal a nd act as a lap cutting out the shaft very

,

rapidly .

B earings not pro v ided with closed Oil cups should

have covers of tin o brass over the O il holes and
r

the foreman should see that the covers a e k ept in r

place If there i s room f o it in the cups a little

. r ,

cotton waste laid in them and changed as fast as i t

gets d i ty will do a good deal towa ds keeping
i

r r

emery o t Of the bearings O f all machinery in the

u

po l ishing room .

Where possible the machines should be arranged so

that the workmen stand facing the light as this permits
,

them to see what they are doing without stopping and

turning their work about thus enabling them t o do more
,

work in a given tim e than they could if the light came

from another direction This m ay seem a trivial matter
.
,

but any polisher will assure yo that it is not and in a

u ,

business where the chief exp enditure is f o r labor every ,

saving of time is impor tant especially where a large

,

number Of men are employed .

G lass o r metal shades should be placed o v er each

wheel to protect the eyes o f the wor kmen ; sometimes
this is ob v iated by e x tending the hoods far enough over
the wheels t o ser v e as a shield When this is done the
.
54 M OD E RN E L E C TR O PLA TI NG .

hoo d is made so that it may be readily slipped back

upon the blower pipe when changing wheels etc ,
.

Ra tt l ing Box es S mall Obj ects such

or T umbl i ng . ,

as small castings stampings etc that are not required to

, ,

ha v e square edges are best cleaned by tumbling o r , ,

r a ttling as it is called in foundries L arge quantities Of

,
.

work are thus e asily and cheaply cleaned without much

manual labor which is the expensive item in polishing
,
.

If rough castin g s are being worked the sand scale , , ,

etc adhering to them is allowed to remain in the barrel

.
, ,

where it acts as a polishing powder brightening the ,

parts which are not reached by the metal O f other cast

ings ; but when tumbling for a bright finish the sand dirt , , ,

etc are exhausted by means Of the blower so that the

.
,
-
,

surfaces are finely polish e d by friction only— burnished ,

as it were by rubbing against other metal Of the sam e

,

kind A strong e x haust should be kept up when polish

.

in g in this way or the finish will b e dead instead Of

,

bright It is a p inciple in burnishing that yo u cannot

. r

get the burnished su rface smoother than the burnishe r,

so that a little consideration will show that bright work

is only Obtained by long continued tumbling and the -
,

bright finish comes rather quickly after all the pieces

in the b a el have become smooth It is therefore
rr .
, ,
 M O DE RN E L E C TR O P L ATI N G .
55

necessary t o handle the work in batches and not to ,

a dd more work after t h e b a t c h has been some time i n

‘

the barrel O the work will not finish e v enly and time
, r ,

Fig . 21 .
—E g g S /za p e d Tu m bl i n g B ox
- .

will b e lost instead Of gained The speed should be .

regu l ated so that the articles may have time to slip

down upon and slide o v er each other as much as
possible If t h e barrel turns t o o fast they will hug
.
5 6 M O DERN ELEC T RO PLA T ING .

the si d es Of the ba rel and be c a e d a o nd with it

'

rri r u
:

about 40 t o 6 0 revolutions per minute is correct ; if too

“

slow the action is unnecessarily prolonged Fig 2 1

,
. .

shows a new form O f tumbling barrel far superior to

anything else within o knowledge The barrel is egg
ur .

has a section of e xhaust pipe connected

to the hollow j ournal at one end a n d a tight and loose
'

pulley a t th e other end N O gearing whatever is used

'

. .

Three special ad vantages are found in the egg shape -

:

It gi v es the cont ents a double motion O ac tio n

'

f om ends to c e nt e a n d from sides t o center — caus

'

r r

ing a thorough m x n g a nd rubbing together Of all the

1 1

parts contained therein c l e a mng and polishing the c o n

,
.

tents bette and quicker than any other form Of barrel

r .

It requires less power as the end mot on causes the

,
'

contents at the ends to tumble into the center because

O f assuming the perpendicular earlier than those part s

at the side .

It runs with less noise because the contents are kept

,

moving in two directions at the same time doing away ,

enti ely with the intermittent motion so noticeable in

r

other forms ; doing away with gearing also lessens the

noise .

It is lined with a sectional lining O f hard iron which ,

can be cheaply and qui ckly replaced when worn o t u ,

5 8 M O D E RN E L E C T R O PL ATI NG .

Flat wheels are dressed with an emery wheel dresser a ,

tool generally listed by dealers and therefore u nn e c e s

sary to describe here C urved surfaces moldings
.
, ,

ogees and angles are ground with wheels specially turned

up by the workman to fit the surface in order to d o the ,

work quickly while preser v ing the shape ; as in pre

paring sto v e work for nickeling etc This turning is
, .

bes t accomplished by using a diamond turnin g tool ,

which can also be found in the market S uch wheels .

when glazed are also dressed with the diamond tool .

Work ha v i ng hollows too small for the large wheel i s

g round with a large and small wheel o n the same arbor .

This holds true in polishing as well .

Ca nva s Wheel s are ne x t used o n all large surfaces .

These are made o f coarse duck or canvas cut into discs ,

O f the required si e and z glued o cemented together

r

u nde pressure after which they are bored o t t o recei v e

r , u

t h e arbor, put o n the m achine and turned up to the

r equired shape with a wood turner s tools S ome shops
’
.

make th eir own canvas wheels but it is generally

,

c heaper to b
y
u them B oth
. glued and cemented wheels
have t h e i a d vo c a t e s The former claim that t h e e is
'

r . r /

little di ff erence between the m and glue d wheels are

cheaper ; the latter declare that a glued wheel is too
 M O D E RN E L E CTRO P L ATI N G .
59

hard and will not polish une v en surfaces a s well as a

wheel well made with a fle x ible rubber cement and that ,

a slight increase o f cost is more than made up by speed

in polishing It is a matter which every polisher will
.

decide f o himself according to the nature o f his work

r , .

C an v as wheels a re set up like wooden wheels The .

grade O f emer y will depend upon the nature Of the work

t o be done . If v er y rough and coarse iron surfaces are
to be worked N O 70 emery is first used followed by
,
.
,

NO 0. 0 ; if t h e surface is fairly smooth N O

9 0 is used at , .

first followed b y N O If the metal is brass tripo l i

.

i s used f o cutting down

r .

Wood P ol ishing Wheel s Fig 2 2 are made o f thin ,

.
,

s ections Of pine g l ued together with

,

the grain crossed bored and turned ,

u
p as pre v iously described and ,

final ly if flat covered with best oak

, ,

t anned leather glued o n the rim

,

a n d turned up true if it needs it , .

These wheels are set up by co v ering

t h e l eather with h o t glue and then

r olling in powdered emery O f the

de sired gra d e R ight here is a
.

F W d P ti ig s /zi ng
s ource o f frequent trouble It Often . 22 . oo o
.
 M O DERN ELE C TRO PLA TI N G .

happens that in gluing up a lot Of wheels O f di fferen t .

grades the loose particles O f eme y o n the 70 whee l r

will get into the glue brush and be deposite d on a 9 0

or 1 2 0 wheel N obody sees it Of cou se unt il t h e
.
,
r , .

polisher finds that he cannot get the scratches o t o f his u .

wo k until he changes wheels M uch time is Often lost

r .

in this way The emedy is to have sepa ate glue pots

. r r

and brush es for the various g ades When the emery r .

“

is no longer sharp it is soaked Off the wheel and fresh

powder again glued on It is customary to glue and s e t.

up wheels the last thing before quitting work at night $

,

in o der that the glue may have all night t o dry a n d

r

thus get thoroug h ly hardened so as to give the bes t ,

service O nly the very best glue w ill stand the work
.

Users Of leather covere d

Pol i shing Wh eel Cl ea ner .

emery w h e e l s
should us e a
clean er By .
'

placing the wor n

wheel in this
machine and let
ting it run a f e w
F —P t / i
ig W / t Ct
23 o i5 z ng zee ea n er
minutes with t h e
. .
.

w ter just touching th e rolle s all O f the gl ue a n d

a r ,
 M O DERN ELE C T R O PLA TI NG . 61

e mery will be remo v ed without damaging or loosen

ing the leather co v ering This machine Fig 2 3 has
.
,
.
,

two row s Of mo v able rods ( only o n e shown in cut ) ,

to keep the wheels from falling over The idle .

roller also has t wo positions f o r different diameters Of

wheels A s it requires n O attention o r time to use it
.
,

t h e cost o f this machine will be sa v ed in a few

w eeks labor S peed should be about 2 0 rev olutions
’
. .

T h e other wheels which would be inj ured by water

, ,

a r e cleaned with buff sticks which are made by glueing

a stick and dipping in N O 1 5 to N O 36 emery

. . .

Wh eel s are used in polishing and fine grind

Lea t h er
ing where a flexible wheel is necessary There are
,
.

many different kinds which may be classed unde this

,
r

head and while every polisher has his preferences

, ,

i f he has not the kind he prefers he can use another

, .

W a l ru s Wh eel s are made from the thick specially ,

t anned hide Of the Walrus and are unequaled f o work

, r

r equiring the wheel to be turned up to a thin moulded ,

e dge o curve as they are thick enough to allow such

r ,

shapes to be made from a single piece while the thinne

,
r

d iscs Of other leathers are apt to leave ridges Of glue

where it will mark the work unless greater care is taken .

62 M O D E RN E L E C TRO PLA TI NG .

B ull N e ck Wheel s are made as the name indicates

'

, ,

from the thickest and toughest porti ons Of hides and ,

form a harder wheel than W alrus They are much

‘
.

used in stove bicycle and other steel and iron work and
, ,

are turned and glued up as previously described The .

other leather wheels are similar in their nature diffe ing ,

r

only in the mechanical structure and deg ee Of hardness r ,

the desirable quality bein g the ability t o hold the

emery up to the work without allowing any lumps or
unevenness in the gl ued eme y t o cut into o r gouge t h e r

work ; this becomes mo e and more important as

$
r

the finishing p oceeds or softer metals than iron a e

r ,
r

being worked and so still softer wheels are used made

, ,

from felt .

Felt Wh eel s are used with e mery and glue or with ,

polishing compositions They are Of varying degrees .

Of hardness and either white o g ay C ertain peculi r r .

arit ie Of felt wheels though well known to professional

s ,

poli shers have never to our knowledge been printed

, , , ,

and it may be se viceable to mention them here The

r .

fi st point is that the highe p iced wheels are the cheap

r r r

est the e x tra price being more than made up in the

,

increased durability and uniformity Of the white wheels ,

which wea much longe balance better and give a

r r, ,
 M O DER N EL E C T RO PLA TI NG 63

super or finish than do the cheaper gray felt The

i ,
.

second point lies in the fact that the wool in a felt wheel
will cat c h fire u nder too hard pressure and once ignite d
-
,

it will smould er away under the emery and glue until it

has b urnt a long hole in t w o directions through the felt ,

without showing any signs until the coating breaks in

from the surface and the wheel being then o u t o f bal
, ,

ance . b egins to pound The only thing to do in such a .

,

case i s f o the workman to turn the wheel down to

,
r

where the felt is solid and start o v er again B urning is .

always the result Of carelessness and it is amusing to ,

hear a workman claim that the hole was there when he

got the w h eel forgetting that in such a case t h e wh e e l
,
e

would be o u t Of balance and he could not ha v e run it

that way without balancing the wh eel .

Cotton B uffs Figs 2 4 2 5 and 2 6 ,

.
, , made
of muslin and are used with pastes
O f tripoli croc u s o r rouge f o fin
, ,
r

is h in g o coloring They v ary in

r .

softness according to the nature Of

the work their material and the
,

method O f manufacture The hard .

est buffs are made in sections from

duck stitched or quilted together
, ,
64 M O DERN E LEC T R O PLA TI NG .

while the soft buffs are O f mu slin stitched only at the '

c enter A s many sections as may be necessary to

.

make the desired thickness Of wheel are put on the

a rbor and the flanges set up until the wheel runs prop

erly TO O tight flanges will cause the buff to spread

.

Fig . 25 .
—H a r d B ufi .

a nd unevenly ; if too loose the whee l will slip

run ,

making bad work .

Grea se Wh eel s W hen a leather covered wood. ,

leather O r felt wheel has had the eme ry on it worn

down smooth by u s e so that it no longer cuts freely a , ,

little tallow o Oil is applied to its face a little 1 8 0 emery

r ,

cake o polishing paste is applied and the work gone

r

o ve a gain
r The wheel thus prepared is called a grease
.
66 M O D E RN ELEC T R O PLA TI N G .

bicycle frames etc They are run o n flanged p ulleys ,

,
.

o n e O f which is supported o n a standard and the other

which is the dri v er is mounted in place Of a wheel o n

,

o n e Of the polishing heads .

Ba la n cing Wh eel s A ll wheels running as fast as

.
‘

they must in polishing require to be very carefull y

balanced o r they will pound o r chatter making
“ $ “
,

good work impossible B alancing is accom plished

.

by placing the wheel o n an arbor and rolling it o n

t wo le v el knife edged strips O f metal o n e on each
, ,

s ide Of the wheel Thus suspended the wheel will

.

stop with its hea v iest part down ward and with a ,

little chalk to mark t h e wheel and some small pieces

Of sheet lead to fasten o n the side O f the wheel ,

balancing is quickly and easily performed It may .

also b e done b y hanging the arbor between spur

centers as pulle y s are balanced in a machine shop
,
“

but the rolling method O f balancing o n bars which ,

is precisely the method the watchmaker employs in

poising a watch bala n ce is the quickest and best, .

B alancing should not be done until the wheel has

been turned true o n its arbor and glued up I t . ,

should ne v er be omitted A properly balanced whee l

.

wil l run true e v en and noiseless at an y speed

, .
 M OD E RN E L E C TR O PLA TI N G . 67

S peed of Wh eel s Wheels and buffs are run f om

.
r

to revolutions per minute depending on

,

their si e and the nature Of the work ; and here we

z

would like t o make a suggestion ,

which will materially increase the R v o l tio e ns

D i mi P M t
u
a e er in u e .

output Of any polishing sh Op If I h M i i M x i

.
ter
nc
n
es . n a
m m 11 1 11 1 1 1
we e x amine the table O f emery
u . .

wheel speeds gi v en herewith w e ,

shall find that the speed increases

rapidly as the wheel gets smaller .
3

M ost people imagine that this table 4

is merely a guide t o the safe run 5

6
ning speed o f the wheel and that 7
8
it is gi v en in order that the wheel 9
ma y no t burst while running This .
10
12

is an error ; the table simply means 4

6
1
1 0
99
that the gi v en number o f r e vo l u 8 88
1 0

79
20 0
tions fo any size O f wheel is that
r 722 20

4 66
2 9 0 20
wh ich will d ri v e the circumference 6 62 85 00 0

3 5 0 73 5 00
or cutting surf ace O f the wheel at 36 4 00

4 35 2 0
its proper cutting speed t o enable 48 3 00

the wheel t o do the best work an d

i

the most O f it . M achinists understand the point

thoroughly an d their shops are filled with cone pul
,
-

l eys t o enable them t o keep up the cutting speed

68 M ODERN E LEC T R O PLA TI N G .

on w ork Of v arying sizes In the polishing dep art

.

ment this is neglected The pulleys and counter

.

shafts are arranged to run the largest wheels properly ,

and when they are turned down from time to time ,

the work simply proceeds more and more slowly

until the w heel is worn out and a new o larger o ne r

substituted N Ow it is useless to tell a polisher to keep

.
,

up th e cutting speed o f his wheels unless you give him ,

the means Of doing so There should be four ste p o r

.
-

five step cone pulleys o n the line shaft for each machine
-
,

belted to the other cone Of the pair on a j ack shaft ,

which also carries the driving pulley leading to the

wheel arbor Of the machine This would enable pol .

is h e s t o speed up as their wheels got s m aller and the

r ,

increased output Of the s h O p would repay the outlay

several times over each year Th e cones could be
,
.

made of wood and would add nothing to the weight and

,

consequent wear on the line shaft N ow that so many

‘

large shops are being fitted up regardless O f expense in

order to get a great output o f work this is a point that ,

should n o t be neglected .

D ire ction Of
Po l i sh ing In all polishing operations
.

the successive grindings should constantly cross one

another as far as possible otherw ise the scratches will
,
 M O DERN E L E CT R O PLA TI NG . 69

no tbe taken o u t and the work wil l not have an even

, ,

mirror like polish The whe els should turn so that the
-
.

lower edge mo v es away from the workman and the

work is held up t o the wheel o n its under side so that the ,

dirt grit etc will fly back into the hoods while the
, ,
.
, ,

work in case O f accident would drop away from the

, ,

wheel instead O f falling o n it as would be the case if ,

another position w ere chosen f o r the work The pres .

sure should b e light and even and the grinding should ,

in each case be continued as long as any o f the

,

scratch s made by the coarser previous operation

e

remain o n the work ; when only the marks Of the wheel

in use can be seen the work may be considere d read y
,

for the ne x t operation .

Po l ishing M ateria ls In order to hold fine powders .

o n the wheels and buffs the y must be mixed with some

medium that wil l perform this O ffi ce and at the sam e ,

time act as a lubricant t o the work It was formerl y .

customary f o polishers to bu y their pow d ers and mi x

r

them with v ar y ing proportions O f O il tallow and bees ,

wax which was then cast into b l ocks The O bj ections

, .

to this were lack O f uniformity and the use O f t o o much

O il wa x tallow ( o all three ) in proportion t o the
, , r

amount Of powder which had a tendency to stu ff,

“ $
70 M O DERN EL E C T R O PLA TI N G .

(or fill up ) the buffs so much as to inte fere with their r

working properly The manufacturers O f polishing

.

powders have taken up the question and succeeded in ,

turning o t cakes that combine all the nece ssary quali

u

ties Of such a composition — namely the largest propor ,

tion Of powde r with the least amount Of binder and a ,

cake that is hard enough so that a small amount O f com

position may be evenly distributed Over the entire cut
ting surface O f the buff by holding the cake against the
buff while it is in motion and the paste so it will Cling
,

to the buff leaving the metal cl ean The manufactured

,
.

cakes also have their keeping qualities g e a t ly imp o ve d r v

r

f om the absence Of soft greases which were liable to

r ,

turn rancid and thus injure the working qualities o f the

,

cake These polishes are generally designated by the

.

manufacturer in such a way as to show the metal they

are intended t o be used upon and the grade of the p 01
,

is h in g material as N ickel R ouge H ard N O 1 ;

: , .

N ickel R ouge H ard N O 2 ; N ickel R ouge S oft ; S il v er

,
.
,

R ouge H ard ; S ilver R ouge S oft etc

, When order
, ,
.

ing these p olishing materials the purpose f o which they r

are t o b e used should always be stated as the order can ,

then be filled with that variety which is best adapted to

the work in hand ; and cleaner quicker and better work ,

will thus be produced with less waste Of material .

 M O D E RN E L E C T R O PL ATI N G .
7 I

T ri po l i is used in three grades —coarse f o r cutting ,

down rough o r hard brass etc o n hard buffs ; me d ium

,
.
, ,

used on medium buffs f o r smoothing cutting down

$

softer metals etc ; fine on soft buffs for coloring onl y o n

,
.
, ,

cheap work and for use in place Of the harder rouges

,

where the colo r O f the latter is Obj ectionable and it is ,

d ifli c u l t to get it out O f the work The v arious manu

.

f a c t u r e r s ha v e special names f o r their different gr a des ,

but it w ill b e suffi cient when ordering to state the kind

O f work and buff yo u intend t o use the cake upon .

Cro cu s is an o x ide Of iron made by ca l cining su l ,

phate o f iron in great heat and then grading it into p Ol

ish in g powders The more calcined part is Of a bluish
.

purple color coarser and harder than those portions

,

which h ave had less heat and is ca l led crocus while the
, ,

softer and redder portions O f the charge are called

rouge C rocus composition s Of v arious gra d es are
.

largel y used f o r co l oring iron and stee l .

Ro u g e is softer than crocus and is used for coloring

,

brass go l d sil v er and the softer metals It is di v ided

, , .

into numerous grades which are d istinguished by the

,

nam es Of the metals for which they ar e especiall y

adapted as : sil v er rouge gold rouge etc Its red color
, , , .
7 2 M O DE RN E L E C T RO PLA TI N G .

makes it particularly adapted for brass gold and some , ,

other metals where the re ddish tin g e sets O ff the co l or

O f the metal o n which it is use d The finest o gold .
,
r

rouge should be used o n canton flannel buffs

,
.

Vi enna Lime is a pure anhydrous lime O btained ,

from Vienna and is e x tensi v ely used where the red

,

color Of rouge is O bj ectionable It must be used while .

slacking o it is Of no v alue so the custom has been to

r ,

mi x it with Oil wa x etc in small batches and keep the

, , .
, ,

supply in the air tight tin o r bottle in which it is recei v ed

from the dealer E v en then great waste has attended
.
,

its use o n account O f air slacking L ately however .

, ,

several manufacturers ha v e succeeded in making suit

able compositions O f Vienna lime and pressing them into
cakes which are dipped in melted p a r a fin e and wrapped
,

in p a a fin e d paper Thus prepared the lime holds its

r .
,

polishing properties for se v eral months and these cakes , ,

under various names are meeting with considerable

,

favor fo r buffi ng nickel sil v er and other metals which it

,

is desirable to keep white .

B rushes A fter the work is colored it is necessar y

.

to wash O ff the Oil grease and polishing material which

,

still remains o n it This is done with brushes The

. .
74 M O D E RN E LE C TRO PLA TI NG .

rich in metal may have time to sink t o the bottom

,

before the water finds its way o u t O f the tank This .

tank is cleaned occasionally and the dirt taken from it ,

is dried a nd sent to the refiner This dirt v aries greatly .

in value ( from $ 2 0 to $ 1 2 0 per barrel ) according to the

nature O f the work d one in the sh O p S hops using the .
,

cheaper metals howe v er rarely save their wastes in

, ,

this way as they are n o t worth enough

,
.

S cra t ch Bru sh es are of t wo kinds — large hea v y

2
, ,

bru shes w ith coarse wire used exclusi v ely for cleaning
, ,

castings and smaller brushes Of finer wire used in the

, ,

plating room to burnish down the layer O f deposited

metal when f o any reason it is n o t taking well or wh en
r ,

an extremely thin and adherent coating is desired The .

speed Of scratch brushes is an important factor in their

life and usefulness The very best and softest brushes
'

will crystallize and break O ff at the hub if the brush is

run too fast The subj oined table gives the proper
.

speed for the v arious size O f wires :

W i
re . f
002 i h h ld
o an v l ti
nc s
p m
oui t ru n re o u o ns er nu e .

W i
re .
3 f
00 i h h ld
o anv l ti
nc s
p mi t
ou ru n re o u o ns er nu e .

W i
re .
400f i h h ld
-
0 an l ti
nc s
p mi t
ou ru n r e vo u o ns er nu e .

W i
re .
5 f 00 i h h ld
o 8 an l ti
nc s
p mi t
ou ru n 00 r e vo u ons er nu e .

Wi
re 6 f
. 00 i h h ld
o 6 an l ti
nc s
p mi t
ou ru n 00 r e vo u ons er n u e.

W i
re 8 f
. 00 i h h ld
o 5 an l ti
nc s
p mi u
ou t ru n 00 r e vo u o ns er n e.
 -
M O D E RN E L E C T R O P L ATI N G .
75

In using wire larger than OO 5 inch it is best to use .

-

swing brushes These consist Of an iron or wooden

.

hub which can be readily taken apart and new wires

,

substituted : It is the only brush that will stand with

heavy wire A smaller size O f swing brush f o mat
.
,
r

ting o r frosting finished work is also much used ,

.

In working the brush do no t bear t o o hard against the

wire The work should be just brought in contact with
.

the ends Of the wires If t o o much pressure is used you

.

bend the wires and d o n o t get as good results A fter .

using the scratch brush awhile the wires will become

tangled and the wheel will scour or burnish instead O f
cutting o r matting the surface W hen this i s the case .
,

simply turn the whee l the other side o t o n the polishing u

head so that the wheel will run the other wa y and

,

the wires will cut rapidly finally straightening them,

sel v es O ut an d then tang l e up the other way In using

,
.

soft fine brushes in the plating room when it is desired

. ,

to matt the work hold an Old file against the brush a

,

m oment and t h e ends Of the wires w il l become b ent so

,
~

that they cut the work instead O f burnishing S cratch .

brushing in the plating room is always performed with a

stream of water containing a little soap soap root ,

l icorice beer o r other frothy liquid trickling down upon

,

the brush so as to keep brush and work constant ly w et .

 CH A PTER IV .

PREPA RA TIO N OF W OR$ FOR PLATIN G .

M uch o f the success or failure O f plating may be trace d

d irectly to the degree Of skill and care used in preparing
the work before it is placed in the solution It is not t O O .

much to say that nine tenths Of the blistering stripping

-
, ,

turning yellow and other troubles which only show after

,

the work is done may be traced to its imprope pre

,
r

a r a t io n
p .

Iron a nd S t eel castings forgings etc are first

, ,
.
,

pickled and scratch brushed o r rattled to remo v e the

“

s cale if necessary then cut down wit h 70 emery on a

,

canvas wheel ; then with 9 0 emery until all marks Of

the 70 emery are taken out ; they are then fined on “ $

a 1 2 0 wheel then greased with 1 5 0 emery o n a

,
“

grease wheel This is followed by dry fining on a

.
“

well worn grease wheel and then colored on a wheel

glazed with pumice and a flint stone as previously ,
 M O D E RN E L E C T RO PL ATI N G .
77

described This gi v es the finest finish and the most

.

durable plating if the workman has been careful in

,

each operation to get o u t all marks Of the pre v ious o r

coarser grinding In many cases o n cheap w ork , the
.

dry fining is omitted and the o m s s 0 n can b e generally i 1

detected after the plating is done S moother work .

,

such a s replating o work that has been turned up in a

,
r

l athe o otherwise machined has o n e o more Of the

,
r ,
r

first grindings omitted according to the ci r cumstances ,

and the degree Of smoothness when the articles come

into the polisher s hands ’
.

Tableware a knife f o r e x ample is roughed o u t with

, , ,

0 emery o n a felt wheel then with 1 2 0 emery and

9 , ,

then with 1 5 0 emery o n a grease wheel until all marks ,

Of the 1 2 0 eme ry are polished out It is then dry fined .

and colored The finishing wheels shou ld be kept a s

.

smooth as possible in order to do the best work as the ,

plating will wear much longer if the steel be made per

f e c t l y smooth A fter the knife is co l ored it is boiled in
.
,

hot potash water to re mo v e all g r ease that is o n the

work It is then scoured with powdered pumice stone
.

and water using a stiff bristle brush until clean water

, ,

will run O ff and show no traces O f grease o n the knife .

A fine copper wire is then twisted o n to the handle and

the work dippe d into a pickl e Of o ne gallon O f muriatic
 M OD ERN E L E C T RO PLA TI NG .

acid and o n e gallon o f nitric acid with o ne quart of

water and a handful o f salt rinsed and hung in the solu
,

tion The same general procedure is followed on all

.

fi s t class steel and iron work

r - .

Bra ss a nd Copper if already smooth can be p o l

, ,

ish e d with tripoli on a cotton buff If rough they may .

,

be roughed o u t with 1 2 0 emery o r coarse t rip o l i t h e n

, ,
.

put o n the grease wheel and then polished with rouge

and finally with Vienna lime o n a soft bu ff They are .

then dipped in potash rinsed and then in a cyanide

, ,

dip — two or three ounces to a gallon of water — rinsed in

clean cold water brushed with powdered pumice stone
, , ,

as before described rinsed and hung in the so lu tion

, .

Zi n c
is roughed with fine emery and polished with
Vienna lime and o il B ritannia metal or lead must not
.

be left in the potash t o o long o r it is liable to eat o u t

,

the lead and t in ; the best way is to brush the work

thoroughly with the potash water instead o f dipping it ;
then scour with pumice stone .

Lea d, Tin anBritta nia are polished o n a walrus

d
wheel with pumice stone The pumice is mi x ed with a
.

little o il to make it hold together A little o f this is .

 M O DE RN E L E C T R O PLA TI N G .
79

then placed o n the work and it is held lightly against

the wheel D o no t press hard o n the work or it will
.
,

cut holes in the metal instead Of polishing A fter pol .

is h in g it is then scoured with pumice as before to ,

remove all o il and rinsed then plated L arge sil v er

, , .

trays are polished by han d with lump pumice stone

and water A fter all the fine ho l es a r e taken o u t in
.

this way a S cotc h stone and water are used until al l

,

marks o f the pumice are remo v ed It is then buffe d

.

with a seahorse whee l and pumice ( as described for

l ead ) then with har d rouge and finally colored with
, ,

soft rouge and alcohol In this wa y a large flat surface

.

can be made v er y smooth .

W hen the O perations d escribed abo v e ha v e been thor

oughl y carried o u t the work wi ll g enerally take a v er y
,

firm an d adhesi v e coat o f meta l if ordinar y care is taken

in plating with copper brass si lv er o r gold but nickel
, , ,

ma y gi v e some trouble if d eposited d irect l y upon the

obj ect especiall y if it be steel
,
.
 CH A PTER V .

TH E ACTION OF D IPS A ND PIC$ LES .

While the best polish is secured by grindi ng and

polishing o n a wheel many articles will no t admit o f
,

this either from their nature or form o because it

, ,
r

would be t o o expensive to treat them in this manner .

S uch articles are ther efore cl eaned chemically b y

immersing them in solution s which dissol v e the scale ,

grease etc adhering to them and lea v e a clean but

,
.
, ,

more o less rough surface which has to b e smoothed

r

afterwards Those solutions which are intended for

.

p olonged action on rough work are called pickles and

r

those which are i ntended f o r an instantaneous action o n

a surface already smooth are called dips There is .

little differe nce between their action e x cept that the dips
,

are intended to secure uniform action on the surface o f

the work which is a ccomplished by using strong acids
,

with little o no water while pickles usually contain a

r ,

large p oportion o f water and depend upon continued

r
82 M O DERN E L E C T R O PLA TI N G .

Bl a ck P i ckl e fo r Iron is made by mixing in a stone

j ar o r tank according to quantity
,

S lph i
u id 66 B
ur c ac
°
I p t ar .

W t a er 5 p t 1 ar s .

H ydrochloric acid may be substituted f o r the sul

p h u r ic if desired This is used chiefly
. for removing
scale from castings and forg ngs i .

B righ t Pi ck l e for Iron A pickle which l eaves the .

metal bright is made by mi x ing slowly in tke or der

n a med

W t
a er

C o nc e n t t d
ra e su l ph iur c a c id
Zin c

Nit i r c ac id 1 2 02 5 .

P i ck l e for Copper B rass E t c Forgings p u n c h ing s

, , . , i

etc are pickled in dilute sulphuric acid to remove scale

.
, ,

and then cleaned and brightened by dipping in a solu

tion made up as follows :

S l ph i
u id 66 B
ur c a c 5 p t b y w ight
°
0 ar s e .

Nit i id 36 B
r c ac
°
p t b y w i g ht 1 00 ar s e .

C mm o lt o n sa I p t b y w ig ht ar e .

L mp b l ka ac p t b y w i g ht 1 ar e .

A fter dipping and rinsing in h o t water the work is

ready for polishing and coloring .
 M O D E RN E LEC T R O P L ATI NG . 83

Brig ht Dip fo r C opper o r B ras s C opper or B rass .

work that is not to be buffed o r polished is best dipped in

first a pickle o f
N it ir c ac id 36 B °
2 00 p t b y w ig ht
ar s e .

C o mmo n sa l t I p t b y w ight
ar e .

Lam p bl a ck 2 p t b y w ight
ar s e .

A fter pickling until clean they are thoroughly rinsed

,

in boiling Water allow ed to dry a moment and plunged

,

into a bright d ip O f
“ $

N i t i c id 4 B
r ac 0
°
75 p t
ar s b y we g i ht .

S l ph i
u id 66 B
ur c ac
°
1 00 p t by w
ar s e igh t
mm
.

Co o n sa l t 1 p t by w
ar e ight .

Cya nide Dip fo r B ra ss P otassium cyanide in ten

.

times its weight o f water is used as a preliminary dip

when plating articles that would ha v e the polish injured
by the acid cl ips The work must be allowed to remain
.

longer in this than in the acids .

P i ck l e fo r G erma n S i l ver G erman sil v er m a y be

.

cleaned in the bright dip for brass o r in a preliminary ,

pickle o f dilute nitric acid and water ( 1 2 t o fo l

lowed by a dip o f equal parts o f sulphuric and nitric

acids and then b y rinsin g in boiling water and drying in
,

sawdust Use sawdust that contains no tannin

. .
 M O DERN ELE C TRO PLA TI NG .

Pi ck l es fo r Gol d All oys While prope ly belonging .

r

to the goldsmiths art it may occasionally be useful to

’
,

the plater to know how such pickling is done as it often ,

saves much time in coloring new work .

The methods given a e distinctl y infe ior to running r r

“

O ff the green as det iled in the chapter o n strip p ing

,
a ,

but may occasionally prove seful o n some kinds o f u

wo k or in saving time where it is desired to remove as

r ,

much as possible o f the coating befo e p t t n g in the r u 1

bath f o removing the green

r .

G old alloys especially those containing copper assum e

, ,

an unsightly dark b o wn exterio owing to the Coppe

,
r r, r

oxide generated b y the repeated glow heating du ing -

r

wo k In order to remove this the Obj ect must be

r .
,

pickled and either highly diluted sulphuric or nitric

,

acid is used according to the colo desired

,
r

If working with an alloy consisting o nly o f gold and

coppe either sulphuric o nit ic acid may be used
r, r r

indefinitely since gold is not attacked by either of these

,

acids while copper oxide is easily decomposed the eby

,
r ,

and after h a vmg been pickled the a ticle will assume ,

r

the color o f pure gold becaus its s urface is covered , e

with a layer of the pure metal .

If the alloy is composed o f pure gold and silver how ,

ever only nitric acid can b e empl oyed a nd the a rticle is

, ,
 M O DERN E L E CTRO PLA TI NG . 85

left immersed in it only for a short time ; this acid dis

solves a v ery small portion of the silver and the article ,

also assumes the colo o f pure gold r .

When worki n g with an alloy which besides th e ,

gold contains both copper and silve r the process of

, ,

pickling may be varied in accordance with the color

desired to be given to the article If the p i ckling i s .

performed in sulphuric acid the copper alone is dis ,

solved the a ft ic l e assuming a color corresponding to a

,

gold sil v er alloy which now constitutes the surface o f

-
,

the article .

If nitric acid is used it will dissol v e the silve as well

,
r

as copper and in this case a pure gold color is p o

,
r

du c e d .

P ickling is done by first feebly glow heating the -

article and cooling it ; this operat on is for the purpose i

o f destroying any fat from the hands o

. other contam r

in a t io n adhe ring t o the article If it was soldered with

.

some easily flowing solder this g l ow heating must be

,
-

omitted but it m ay b e c l eansed from impurities by

,
‘

immersing it at first into very strong caustic l y e and ,

rinsing it with water ; it is then laid into the acid .

The acids are e mployed in a dilut e state taking 40 ,

parts water t o 1 part concentrated sulphuric o r nitric

acid If more articles than o n e they had best be laid
.
,
86 M O DERN ELE C T R O PLA TI NG .

beside each othe in a porcelain o stoneware dish the

r r ,

diluted acid is poured over them and some article is ,

lifted o t f om time to time to watch the course of pro

u r

c e e d in s whether it has assumed a yellow color

g , .

When to satisfaction they a e rinsed with clean water

,
r

and dried While pickling for the purpose only of

.

causing the color peculia t o gold t o appear the process r ,

o f coloring has for its obj ect to lend the appearance of

very fine gold to an article o f an indi fferent alloy .

Various mixtu es may be employed f o the pu pose

r r r ,

and we give two recipes below which a e very appro r

r ia t e
p
M ix 2 pa ts saltpeter rpart table salt and 6 parts ,
1

alum with 6 % parts wate and place in a po celain dish r, r

f o heating
r A s soon as yo
. notice that the mixture u

begins t o rise add 1 pa t o f mu iatic acid aise the

,
r r ,
r

whole to boiling and stir with gl ss o d a a r .

The article to be colored and previously treated with ,

sulphuric acid as specified is suspended to a hook

, ,

either o f fli c ie nt ly thick platinum wir e o glass ; it is

su r

then int oduc ed into the rather slow boiling bath and
r ,

mo v ed around in it It is to be taken o t in about three

. u

minutes and insed in clean water inspecting its colo

,
r ,
r

at the same time If not to satisfaction it is returned

.
,

to the bath and this withdrawing o reintroducin g is

,
r
 M O D E R N E L E C T R O PL ATI N G . 87

repeated until the desired color is Obtained B y the .

latter immersions the article is left only o n e minute at a

time in the fluid .

When suffi ciently colored the article after rinsing

, ,

will be o f a high yellow and mat color ; it is washed

repeatedly in water t o remove the last traces of the
bath and then dried in h o t sawdust
,
.

I nplace of drying in sawdust the artic l e may also b e

dipped in boiling water lea v ing it in for a few secon ds ;

,

the adhering water will e v aporate almost instantan

e o u sl
y when the article is withdrawn .

The second coloring method consists in pouring

water over a mi x ture of 1 1 5 parts table salt and 2 30
nitric acid so that the salt is di ssolved ; it is then to be
,

hea ted until a dry salt residue is again present This .

residue is mi x ed with 1 72 parts fuming muriatic acid

and heated to boiling f o r which purpose a porcelain
,

v essel is t o be used .

A s soon as the pungent odor o f chlorin e gas begins

to e v olve the artic l e to be colored is immersed and l eft
, ,

f o r about eight minutes in the fluid f o r the first time ; in

other respects a similar treatment as specified abo v e i s

, ,

al so used for this method ; if the artic l e co l ore d was pol

ish e d previousl y a s u bsequent polishing is unnecessary

, .

O n account Of the v apors e v ol v ed by the c oloring

 M OD ERN E L E CTRO PLA TI NG .

baths which are dangerous to health t h e Operations

, ,

should be performed either under a well dr awing flue -

,

or what is still better in open air

, .

A lways keep the various pickles dips etc

, for the
,
.
,

various metals separat e from each other A simple and

.

e ffecti v e way is to mark the bott l es jars etc contain

, , .
,

ing them with asphaltum varnish as it will withstand

, ,

aci ds
.
9 0 M O D E R N EL E C T R O PLA TI N G

S uch solutions are compounded for use in two ways ,

without a battery and with o n e The first may be .

regarded as dips as they are Of the same nature and

“
,

used in the same way except that the articles remain in

,

the solution f o a longer time

r .

The second class is compo unded much as a plating

solution would be if it were intended to be used with a
strong current ; that is they are compounded with a
great e x cess of cyanide and strong alkalies with a little ,

cheap metal in them and they are invariably used with a

,

v ery strong current of great quantity The articles to .

be stripped are run as anodes with a copper carbon or

, ,

platinum strip used as a cathode In running work as

.

anodes there are certain conditions which make all the

di fference between success and failure H anging the .

work in such a bath and allowing it to remain quiet with ,

a moderate current will simply strip the work lea v ing it

, ,

clean but rough ; if a strong current be used and the

work is hung in the ordinary way the article will be ,

stripped but the surface will be blackened and need

,

repolishing ; if the articles be suspended by wires so as

not to touch each other and kep t c nst ntly in mot ion and
o a

the current be frequently int er r p ted the articles will

u ,

come out O f the solution bright smooth a nd ready to

,

color The work should be immediately rinsed in h o t

.
 M OD E RN E L E C T R O PLA TI NG .
9 1

water and rapidly dried The wash water may be saved

.

and used in keeping up the stripping solution The .

great utility o f such solutions will be at once perceived ,

as the saving of e x pense in refinishing O l d work and the

proper clea ning up o f many kinds o f new j ewelry etc ,
.
,

is extremely important and frequently has even more

influence upon the plater s reputation as a prompt and
’

skillful workman than it does upon his pocket book .

S tripping N i ck el Take a stout stone j ar which has

.

a co v er and place it where the fumes ma y escape when

it is being used P lace in it the following mi x ture add
.
,

ing the acids slowly in ti e r d er n med

,
l o a

W t a er
q t 2 uar s .

S l ph i
u id 66 B
ur c ac
°
6 lb 1 s .

Nit i id
r c ac 4 lb s .

A llow the mi x ture to cool before adding the n it r 1 c

acid The work to be stripped is strung on copper wire
.

and immersed in the so l ution It should be watched.

carefully and remo v ed an d thorou ghly rinsed in hot

water the instant the nickel is d issol v ed When pro .

perly done the work will be bright and clean .

St rippi ng S il ver S ilver may be remo v ed from cop

.

per o brass articles by dipping them in a mi x ture o f

r
9 2 M O DE RN ELEC T R O PLA TI NG .

equal parts of f u mmg sulphuric acid and nitric acid o f

4 0 B °
The
. copper is not attacked unless there is water ,

in the mi x ture O f acids C are must be taken to keep the

.

solution tightly closed ( in bottles or otherwise ) as it ,

attracts water from the air if allowed to stand open .

Iron a rticles are run as anodes in a solution of o n e

part of cyanide of potassium to twenty of water , with
copper o silver cathodes
r .

S t ripping Gol d G old may be stripped from copper

. ,

silver o G erman sil v er by dipping in a mixture of

r -

F mi g l p h i id
u n su I
ur c a clb .

Hy d ro c h l i id (
or c ac c on c .
)
N it ir c ac id 4 B 0
°

C are
must be taken to see that no water is allowed to
get into the mixture o the work will be attacked This
,
r
’

mi x ture w orks best while w arm and the same p r e c a u

tions as to keeping that have been mentioned in the

silver st i pping sol u tion a r e also applicable he e
r r

Iron and steel are stripped by running as anodes in .

cyanide O f potassium solution ; about ten ounces cyanide

to one gallon of water used with copper cathode ,
.

S t ripping Ox i des o R emoving the G reen as t is

,
r ,
1

Often called is a process which s o f great importance

, 1
 M O DER N EL E C T R O PLA TI NG .

93

in coloring new gold work and should be generally

understood by the platers who desire t o do really good
finishing on either new or Ol d work of low quality gold .

D uring the v arious ope ations o f manufacture the r ,

numerous heatings for hard soldering cause a film o f

o x ides combined with the compounds o f the flu x and
,

th e baser metals in the obj ect to form over the surface ,

of the article and in many cases this coating is imper

fectly removed by the subsequent pickling and polishing
it receives If the article be colored without removing
.

t his coating entirely it will work through after it has

,

been a sho t time in use and the purchaser thinks he has

r

been swindled This causes trouble all along the line to

.
,

retailer j obber and manufacturer It is particularly

,
.

prominent with roll plate chains and next t o that in rings

o f 6 k t o 1 4 k quality A rticles o f this nature there .
,

fore should be n as anodes in a solution o f

,
ru

Ca r b t
o na e o f c o pp er

Ca r b o n a e Oft so d a

F FFF a mmo n i a 1 .

W t a er

C ya n id e of p t
o a ss u i m un til 1
°
6 B . is s h o wn .

Th e work is run as anodes in this so l ution using a ,

strong current and copper cathodes and keeping the

w ork continually in motion as described in the beginning ,
94 M OD E RN E L E C T R O PL ATI N G .

of this chapter P roperly done the work will come o u t

.
,

bright and smooth A n Ol d solution will work better

.

than a new o n e hence it should not be thrown away

, ,

but saved and added to from time t o time C are should .

b e taken to keep the solution at about 1 6 B ; under 1 0 °

.
°

B or over 2 0 B it will not do good work

.
°
. .

This solution will be found very useful in cleaning up

brass or other articl e s which ha v e become tarnished also ,

in cleaning chains etc to be replated as well as fo r

, .
, ,

finishing new j ewelry .

 C H A P TE R VII .

Q
UIC$ I N G S OLUTION S FOR CHEA P W OR$ .

It sometimes happens that the plater i s called upon to

gi v e a v ery thin and cheap coating o f sil v er upon ar ticles
which from their nature and the metal o f which the y
,

are composed cannot be polished and prepared f o plat

, r

ing in the ordinar y wa y ; we refer to such articles as

photograph frames in thin perforated designs cast from
, ,

a mi x ture o f tin lead and antimony or inc ( lead pre

,
z

dominating in the mixture ) trays and v arious other

shapes o f the meta l all classed by dealers as N ovel
,
“

ties
.
7)
These goods are genera l l y brought t o the plater
as soon as cast and must be p l ate d immediately for ne x t
to nothing .

S uch goods are strung o n wires dipped into hot,

water then into a h o t quicking solution composed o f a

, ,

strong so l ution o f corrosi v e sub l imate ( bichloride o f

mercur y ) an d sa l ammoniac which lea v es a v ery thin
,

fi l m o f mercur y o n the articl e ; it is then transferred to

95
9 6 M O DERN EL E C T RO PLA TI N G

a silve solution low in silver and strong in cyanide

r ,

kept in it a mo ment rinsed in hot water and dried and

,

lacque ed immediately The whole operation must be

r .

p e fo med rapidly and the wo k kept constantly in

r r r

motion while in the solutions The entire process ought.

not to occupy over two minutes O f course such work .

cannot stand inspection ; it is not intended to C heap .

ness and speed are the sole requirements When doing .

such j obs the plater must insist that the Wo k be lac

,
r

quered immediately ; it will discolor if allowed to stand

three o fou hours without lacquer
r r .

A nothe quicking solution frequently used o n work

r ,

composed of one O f the m ny alloys called G erman a

“

silver by the various hollow ware concerns consists of ,

a weak solution o f potassium mercury cyanide in water -

A weak solution o f acidulated nitrate of mercury is also

frequently used o n work o f this class .

These solutions are often useful in replating old wo k r

which has a tendency to refuse to plate in spots that

have been badly corroded There is n o sp e cial rule to
.

b e observed in regard to strength ; the Obj ect is simply to

coat with mercury spots that will not plate without it
and the less mercury employed to amalgamate the
surface the better f o the work S uch solutions should
r .

b e employe d j ust be fore the work is put into t h e plating

 CHA P TER VIII .

COPPER A N D BRAS S B AT H S .

P erhaps the most useful solutions for the man wh o

does plating in either a la ge o small way are the
r r ,

cyanide copper solution and the cyanide brass o r

b onze solution The acid Copper solution Often used

r .
,

which is merely sulphate o f coppe dissolved in water r ,

is easily made and used but has numerous d isa d va n

,

tages when compared with the cyanide It will deposit .

faster but leaves a rough and crystalline su face unless

,
r ,

used with cur ent of very low tension and cannot be

r ,

used o n steel as the latte metal is electrically opposed

,
r

to coppe in the presence of sulphuric acid and sets up

r ,

a local action which throws o ff the deposit in scales as

fast a s it is f o med
r .

The cyanide copper solution on the other hand ,

deposits a s mooth even and firm coating takes equally

, ,

well o n steel as o n brass o r other surfaces and i s ,

capable o f so many variations that it may well be

98
 NI O DE R N ELEC TR O PLA TI NG .
99

regarded as the basis of all brass bronze and cop ,

per plating In addition to this it is the onl y sure

.
,

means of making a fi m deposit of silve o r gold r r

on steel A ticles of iron o steel should first be

. r r

given a coating o f copp e and then the gold o r, r

nickel will be held firmly evenly and smoothly so , ,

that lighter coatings o f the more expensive metals

wear lon g er and look better than a thicker deposit
directly on the steel .

The old formulae f o r cyanide of copper solutions all

recommended mixing acetate of copper with carbonate
and bisulphite o f soda and then adding pot assium cyan ,

ide to the carbonate of copper thus formed This .

encumbers the bath with a number Of useless secondary

reactions and makes it liable to readily get out o f order
, .

It is much better to buy carbonate o f copper fro m a

dealer in platers supplies It is cheaper than the acetate
’
.
,

and does not put anything in the solution which is

unnecessary .

Fo rmu l a fo r Copper . To make the solution use ,

each gallon of water :

Ca r b o na e o ft co pp er

Ca r b o na t e ofp t ho as

C ya n id e of p t i m( h
o a ss u c e mi c a l l y p u re ) 1 0 02 5 .
I OO M O DE R N E L E C T R O PLATI N G .

D issolve ab out nine tenths the cya nide o f potassium

-
of

in a portion o f t h e water and add nearly all o f the car

bonate o f copper previously dissolved in a portion o f
,

the water ; then add the carbonate o f potash also dis ,

sol v ed in water slowly stirring u ntil thoroughly mixed

,
.

If yo ha v e a hydrometer make your s olution to 1 6

u ,
°

B then put in a small article and test your solution

.
, ,

adding cyanide or Copper o r both until the solution

, ,

deposits freely and uniformly .

This may be regarded as a stock solution and if much ,

work is done it is best to use it as a basis and mak e

,

others from it keeping them separate

,
.

B rass S o l utions o f any desired color may be made

by adding carbonate of zinc in varying proportions t o
, ,

the copper solution This is done by dissol v ing abou t

.

one part by weight o f carbonate o f copper to t w o part s

o f cyanide of potassiu m in s u fli c ie n t water to dissol v e

them and adding same slowly to the copper bath havin g ,

a piece of work in the tank at the time and noting the

change of color o f the deposit O n e part O f z inc a n d
.

two of copper wil l gi v e a yellow brass .

If the color is to be a light yellow brass add a littl e ,

carbonate o f ammoni a to the brass solution If deposit .

is granular add more cyanide ; if slow and dark a dd

1 02 M O DERN ELEC T RO LA TI NG P .

the a nodes When the cyanide is used up this green

.
,

co ting thickens up rapidly and the bath shortly fter

a , , a

wards stops depositing In such a case add cyanide

,
.
,

( dissolved in water ) ve y slowly in order not to get in r ,

too much When the bath is wo king properl y there

. r

will be no traces of this g een coating but wo k put in r ,

r

the tanks should be rapidly covered with metal and this

action is accompanied by conside able evolution of gas r ,

which forms a f oth over the surface of the solution if

r ,

the tank is full o f wo k r .

If too much cyanide is in the bath bubbles O f hyd o , r

gen will come from the obj ects to be coated but no c o p ,

per will be deposited and the emedy is adding c ,

r ar

bonate of copper dissolved in water with a little

,

cy nide
a .

If eithe o f the above does not give a rapid a n d even

r

coating the bath needs more metal and you a e likely

, ,
r

using t oo small an anode and stripping your b th The a .

r emedyis o f cou se found in adding more c rbonate

,
r , a

and using a la ger anode r .

A ny j obbing plate who will make p coppe n d r u r a

brass baths as above and work them a little while will

, ,

not be w illing to disca d them for anything now known r

to the trade a s in simplicity and ease of working and

, ,

variety of color they excel everything else in use

,
.
 MO DERN EL E C T R O P LA TI NG . 1 03

H ea vy Coppering For coppering before n c k e l in g ,

. 1

howeve the ordinary cyanide bat h wi ll not gi v e the

$

r,

best esults as the d eposits cannot be mad e thick

'

r ,

eno gh to buff down smooth and solid so that the

$

u ,

nic kel will hold as if the article were solid copper go on ,

smooth and bright and stand up under hard us ag e

,
;

B icycl e work is probably the hardest test Of nic keling

in use t o day and next t o that comes watchmakers ’
‘

-
,

tools especially lathes A ll manufacturers now concede

, .

that steel work S hould be co ppered before nickeling and ,

while there a e many methods o f copper pl a t in g t h e e

r ,
~

is only one way to treat work that i s subj ected to much

wear if you wish the best results
,
.

A strike solution is of no special benefit and doe s

“

not imp ove your plating ; a slightly heavier deposit

r ,

that will not stand b fli n g is hardly any bette as unless

u ,
r,

great ca r e is taken in scrubbing the nickel will p eel O ff ,

in spots sometimes taking the copper with it This

,
.

meth od also requires a very heavy coat of nickel f o ,

r

when it goes to the buff er it requi es a great deal o f c t r u

ting down before a good l stre can be Obtained The u .

best results can only be had by depositing a ve y heavy r

coat of copper so that the copper can be buffed b ight

,
r

without the steel showing through , and ecleaned with r

lime o whiting and a soft bristle brush B y adopting

r .
1 04 M O DE R N ELEC T R O PLA TI NG

this method o f coppering the work with a moderate , ,

current will stand from t wo t o three hours in the nickel

,

bath and in b u fli ng a beautiful lustre is obtained with

, ,

o u t the use o f any cutting down materials In b fli ng - . u

copper deposited o n steel the rough points edges o

'

, , r

corners that the polishing wheel m a y ha v e left are ,

rounded o ff consequently the final nickel bu ffing

,

requires only a slight pressure t o bring o u t a beautiful

color .

This method o f handling the copper plating is not

diffi cult but it requires close attention and a copper ,

solution built up to suit this work The copper solution .

should be rich in cyanide and have just enough copper ,

to give a free deposit To make the solution fill your.

,

tank about two thirds full o f wate ; then dissolve in a

-
r

separate v essel 1 0 ounces o f C P cyanide to each gal . .

l o n o f solution you intend to make and when dissolved ,

add to the water in the tank and sti ; in another vessel r

dissolve 5 ounces per gallon of pure carbonate of cop

per This should prefe ably be O i the moist form but
. r ,

if the moist is not procurable the dry will do C are

‘

must be used in either case to see that the copper is

thoroughly dissol ved in the w ater before adding it t o the
solution Then add the dissolved ca bonate to the
. r

cyanide in the t a nk a n d stir until it is all taken up

,
.
.
1 06 M OD E R N ELEC T RO PLATI NG .

cu ent and repeat until the di ffi culty is ove come

rr ,
'

r .

When the conditions are right ; work c a n be left in the

copper solution for several hou rs withou t showi ng the
le st signs Of blistering
a .

A ny number of brass and bronze baths may b e made

in this way by dissolvin g salts of the metals in the

required proportions with cyanide and wate The r .

salts taken are generally the c rbonates as ca bonic a ,

r

acid is the weakest and is the efo e displ ced by the r r a

cyanide with less loss by secondary reactions as car ,

bonate f potassium may be easily destroyed in the

o

b th by adding little hyd ocy nic acid which d ives

a a r a ,
r

o ff the c rbonic cid in bubbles a n d leaves the b ath

a a

quite clean and free f om secondary e ctions f a more r r a ,

r

so at least than c n be done when using salts from

a

stronge acids The result is the efo e the forma tion o f

r . r r

cyanides of the metal in c o mbination with the double

cyanides of the met l a n d potassium E ventually the
a .

single salts become double salt s and then the bath is in

smoo t h wo king orde This is the reason tha t Old
r r .

b ths wo k bet te than new ones If a bath were to be

a r r .

made from the double cyanide of potassium and ny -

a

othe met a l it should wo k well at the beginning but

r r ,

this is too expensive ; so the pl te makes the cyanide o f a r

the metal by dissol ving the carbonate with cyanide of

 IVI O DE R N ELEC T R O LA TI N G
P . 1 0 7

potassium adds fr e e cyanide to the bath and thus forms

, ,

the desired salt while working .

In working baths o f mixed metals the intensity of the

cur ent is important as well as the quantity and the
r , ,

use o f measuring instruments is r ecommended espec ,

ia lly to the plater who is working combinations that are

new to him .
 CHA P TER I$ .

N IC$ EL PLATI N G S OLUTION S .

P erhaps of all the solutions in use today those

, , Of

nickel have undergone the most changes The write r .

has in his possession se v enteen f o r mu lm some of which,

are very comple x in the r working and could n o t be

i

guaranteed to remain constant f o twenty four hours if

r -
,

used with a modern dynamo and large anodes To a .

chemist these formul ae are very interesting as they c o n ,

tain the chemical history of the progress in working the

metal ; but to a workman they are very misleading ,

consisting as they do chiefly o f exploded notions c On

,

c e ive d when batteries equally unreliable formed the

, ,

only source of current and expert dodging to favor the

battery Often c onstituted the entire sum o f the opera
t o r s knowledge G rad ually howe v er the citrates
’
.
, , ,

chlorides tartrates phosphate s pyrophosphates nitrates

, , , , ,

etc have been eliminated and the only bath n o w in

.
,

use is the double sulphate of nickel and a mmonium ,

I I O M O DERN ELEC T R O PLA TI NG

and open the valve slightly so that the stea m enters ,

and dissolves the salt which it does very rapidly , .

D ip o t the heavy solution as fast as it fills the j ar and

u

add it to the water in the tank stirring vigorously after ,

each addition of salt until the S olution stands at 6 % B

, .

to 7 B A workman can dissolve a hundred pounds

°
-
.

o f salt and get a large solution ready in an hour in this

w y when it would take all day o even longer t o boil

a , ,
r ,

and make the solution as first described .

A no des as to the anodes They are espec

N o w, .

ia l ly important in nickel solutions because the solution ,

does not readily dissolve the m etal and this action takes ,

place only under the influence o f the cu rrent N ickel .

sulphate is not a good conductor o f electricity ; ammon

ium sulphate is a good conductor o f the current but ,

exercises n o dissolving action upon the anodes The .

double salt therefore is used to combine the two quali

, ,

ties desi ed and the f ee sulphuric acid liberated by the

r ,
r ,

deposition immediately passes to the Opposite pole and

,

attacks the anodes ; but the union between the nickel

and the acid in the nickel sulphate is sufficiently c o m
, ,

p l e t e so that
,
there is n o t enough acid left to attack a

strip of metal suspended in it without the a c t o n of the l

cur ent If we think over this action and its co se

r . u
 M O DER N E LEC T R O PLA TI NG . I II

q therefo
u e nc e s , e , it will b e seen at once that the
r .

anodes may be left i n the solution when no wo k i s r

being done and thi s is the general p r actice as it saves

, ,

handling the anodes It is also evident that a large

.

anode surface must b e maintained t o avoid stripping the

solution and that cast anodes are p eferable be cause r ,

rolled anodes are harder and require more current

power t o drive the meta l from them into the solution
-
.

C ontinuing w e also discover that the anodes should

,

be long enough to reach to o beyond the bottom o f the r

work in order to insure good edges ; and further if the

, ,

anode surface is too large and a strong current is used ,

the bath is a p t t o be rendered alkaline through a partial

withdrawal o f the acid from the ammonium po tion of r

the do u ble sulphate A lso we find that the exclusi v e

.
,

use of rolled anodes is likely to ender the bath st ongly

‘

r r

acid by robbing t h e bath o f its m etal and leaving the

,

acid Fo these reasons some platers prefer to use

. r

rolled anodes at the ends o f the rods where the current ,

action is strongest wit h cast anodes in t h e middle

, ,

where it is w eaker This practice however is b eing

.
,

gradually gi v en up as with dynamo current the action

,

is more uniform R olled anodes are Often used f o

. r

small solutions Of o u e o r two gallon s as it is easier t o

~

get them in small sizes

I I Z M OD ER N E LEC T R O FE ATI NG

The most suitable distance o f the a nodes to the

obj ects to be plated is from 3 % to 6 inches ; nearer
than than that the nickeling is apt to be une v en
, ,

because the metal has n o t had ti me to be e v enly dis

tributed in the solution while farther away the r esist
,

ance is increased and more power is required to deposit

properly ; the current is often regulated in this way
when other means are lacking .

St rength of Current Under all circumstances and.

with all metals a weak current will gi v e a slow dense

, ,

and fine grained hard deposit ; while a stronger current

,

produces a softer and more open or e v en crystalline ,

deposit ; and as nickel is naturally a brittle metal it f o l ,

lows that a moderately strong current is required to '

a v oid a brittle deposit The most suitable current

.

strength is 3 % to 6 v olts in the bath depending largel y ,

upon the size and nature o f the work and this is gen ,

e ra l ly secured by the use o f two B unsen cells connected

.

for intensity for small work and the use of a suitable

,

dynamo for larger operations The quantity should be .

from 4 to 8 ampere per 1 5 square inches O f surfac e of

. .

the Obj ect to be plated This hol d s good for iron brass
.

.
, ,

steel and copper but zinc requires about double the

,

above current .
1 1
4 M O D E R N EL E C T R O PLA TI N G .

a slightly acid bath the Obj ects t o be plated should be

,

c oated thinly with nickel in two o r at most three min , ,

u tes without much gas rising from them S mall bubbles

,
.

c oming slowly and regularly indicate regular action If .

t h e Obj ects throw o u t a great number Of gas bubbles

a n d are instantly co v ered with a white thick deposit , ,

w hich soon changes to a dull gray especially around the ,

e dges and points or corners the current is t o o strong

, ,

a n d must be reduced by putting more work in the bath

o r shutting o ff current This depositing white and then

.

t urning gray and finally black is called burning the

w ork If the current is t o o strong though not enough

.
,

s o to burn the work the nickel will peel o r blister after

,

t h e obj ects get into use o in aggra v ated cases the y wil l
,
r

n o t stand buffi ng .

If there is no deposit o n the O bj ects in three minutes ,

a nd they gradually discolor turning darker the , ,

c urrent is too weak and more current must b e put on

, ,

o r less work be put in the bath It is a pious idea in

‘

s uch cases to make a vig o rous search for short circuit s -

.

The writer could if he were disposed give some very

, ,

a musing instances o f such happenings in shops where ,

t hings are allowed t o hang o r lie o n the conductors .

S uch cases often arise where the workman has

n eglected to keep things clean The dr ippings o f the
.
 M O D E RN E L E C T R O PLA TI NG . 1 5

solution foul the rods as the work is taken o t o f the u

bath and this interferes with the current in a marked

,
-

degree The hooks f o r anodes and work and the rods

.

o n which they hang should be kept clean and bright by ,

scouring with fine emery paper .

S ometimes this trouble is caused b y dirty anodes .

W hen the current is insuffi cient to dri v e the meta l

rapidly into the solution a dark coating o f o x ides
,

gathers o n the anodes v ery similar to that which forms

,

o n the mc i n some forms of primar y battery

z This .

must be removed b y taking o u t the anode and dipping it

in water and scratching o r scraping it o ff with an O l d
file co l d chisel o r anything o f that nature $ ee p
, ,
.

anodes cl ean .

The same troub l e sometimes ari ses when the ano d e

surface is so small that n o t enough current can pass
into the solution This is the usual result o f a mistaken
.

i d ea on the part o f the proprietor o r foreman who ,

refuses to buy anodes until e v ery scrap of nickel about

the place has been used u p It is better t o sell the worn
.

anodes as scrap than t o attempt to use them in this way ,

as the loss will b e l ess than that caused b y tro u ble in the
p lating .

T he current is known to be right an d the deposit is ,

gray or streak e d o r spotted The bath i s a l kaline o r

, ,
: ,
1 1 6 M O DERN EL E C T R O PL ATI NG .

has too much metal in it or t o o little metal or contains , ,

copper G e t your litmus paper and hydrometer

. .

If the bath is right and the current is right and the

same defects appear the work has no t been properly
,

cleaned o r has been allowed to dry after cleaning or

, ,

has been handled with dry o greasy hands after clean r

ing so that a trace of grease on the work was turned

,

into a wa xy gum by the acid o f the solution A os l u t e . o

c l e nliness of the work m st be

a maintained in nickel u

plating .

The d eposit is white but peels under the buff o r can

, ,

be scratched o ff wit h the thumb nail C urrent t o o :

s trong o r bath too acid

The work is full of small holes but the deposit is ,

otherwise good There was a coating o f dust on the

:

surface of the bath which you neglected to sk m off and i ,

which stuck to the work w hen it was put in the bath .

When a bath gets du sty o co v ered with a film o f oil ,

r

or benzine s moke soot e tc it should be skimmed o ff

, , ,
.
,
.

This is accomplished by removing all work anodes , ,

rods etc from the tank and allowing it to stand until

,
.
, ,

t h e film gathers o n the surface of the solution ; then take

a sheet o f tissue paper by two corners letting the sheet ,

hang v ertically and slowly drop its lo w er edge o u the

'

solution at one end o f the tank letting the sheet come ,

1 1 8 M O D E RN ELEC T R O PL ATI NG .

scratch brushed sco uring with pumice and cleaning

,

thoroughly will do as well then return t h e wo k to the r

solution .

With things working correctly the work will take a ,

white e v en deposit which will gradually thicken until

, ,

a dull bluish luster appea s and the work does not take
,
r

a further regular deposit unless remo v ed from the bath

,

and scratch brushed If allow ed to remain in the bath

.

without scratch brushing after the co l or turns into a

bluish luster any further deposit is o f a dull gray ; all
,

the metal deposited after this occurs must then be

polished away to get a bright finish .

hung vertically should be turned

Lo ng Obj e ct s, ,

after being coated about half the desired thickness as ,

the nickeling is always heavier at the bottom of a deep

solution Fo r this reason it is better to hang the wor k
,

with its greatest dimensions lengthwise of the tank when

possible .

Th e T empera t ure the solution is a frequent

of

ca use of trouble in country shops and some in cities , ,

also if n o provision is made f o keeping them warm over

,
r

night in cold weather The amount o f nickel salts that

.

water will dissol v e and hold in solution depends largely ,

 M O D E RN ELEC T R O PL ATI N G . 1 1
9

upon its temperature ; the hotter the water the mor e ,

salt it will hold If the bath is allowed to g o below 60

.
°

F a portion of the salt will crystallize and be foun d a t

.
, ,

the bottom of the tank and o n the anodes thus robbin g ,

it of its metal and makin g bad work until it is redissol v e d .

D ens it y
of th e S o l utio n S ometimes the solution
.

becomes too dense on acco u nt Of the constant remo v al

,

o f water which adheres t o the work that is taken o u t

, ,

so that cr y stallization o f the nickel salt occurs o n t h e

anodes When this occurs take o u t the ano d es an d d ip
.
,

them in hot water until the salt is disso lv ed ; then retur n

them to their places and add the water to the so l ution ,

thus sa v ing the salt and reducing the density o f t h e

solution to its proper standard .

S ometimes when baths are being worke d v er y hard

, ,

the plan o f hanging bags of double sulphate sa l ts to t h e

rods o v er night is adopted This is a simple and easy
.

wa y o f refreshing a so l ution that is being constantly

robb ed as the salt has all night to d isso lv e
, .

Bora ci c A c id We ha v e pre v iously mentioned the

.

use o f boracic aci d This is sometimes o f v alue when

.

the so l ution becomes muddy and dense from becoming ,

a l ka l ine s o that the d eposit is no l o ng er white an d

,
1 20 M OD E RN E L E C T R O PL ATI N G

tough The acid is then used in the proportion o f about

.

two ounces to the gallon o f solution and has the effect ,

o f clearing up the solution and whitening the deposit .

It is useful under some circumstances although baths ,

ha v e been run for y ears with only the occasional addi

tion o f double salts and many platers running large
,

plants ne v er use anything but single and doubl esulphate

o f ni ckel in their baths .

T h i ck D epo sit s ith a bath and current

. W
r egulated work may be left in the tank as
,

d esire d and a coating of any desired thickness

p roduced if occasionally
, remo v ed and scratch
when e x tra hea vy deposits are required .

D ea d Fi ni sh . O bj ects
which are n o t t o be polished
but l eft dead white should be rinsed v ery thoroughly in
,

b oiling water then swung in the air to t hrow o ff as

, ,

much water as possible and allowed t o dry spontan ,

e o u sl
y and
, as dead nickel is v ery readil y soiled it ,

s hould be handled as little as possible .

Pol i sh ing is done with felt o r cotton bu ffs with a ,

little rouge and then with Vienna lime u sing v ery light
, ,

pressure o n the work and 2 5 00 to

'

,revolutions of
,
1 22 M O D E R N EL E C T R O PL ATI N G .

this formula which I ha v e n ev er seen published may be

, ,

of considerable use I give it in f u ll Fo r each gallon of

, .

solution desired take ,

Do u b l e su l ph a te of i
n c k e l a nd a mmo n a i
FFFF A q ua a mmo n i a
C b tar o na e o f ammo n i a

A r se n ci .

C ya n id e of p t o a ss u i m C P
, .

W t
a er t o ma k e o n e g a l l o n .

handled this solution is easily made but

I f p r o p e r ly
'

unless certain methods are followed it can only be made

with d ifli c l ty if at all The black color o f the deposit
u ,
.

is due solely to the arsenic aided a little by the great ,

excess of alkali in the bath If you get in pl enty o f .

o f arsenic
y ou will ha v e a fine v el v ety black ; if less
arsenic is used the color is brownish and if little is used , ,

the deposit will be powdery and will not adhere .

T o D is so l ve A rse ni cA rsenic is dissol v e d in cold .

water with great difli c u lty ( about one part of arsenic to

eighty of cold water in the course o f a week ) so we see
at once that here is o u r trouble A rsenic will dissolve .

one part t o t w ent y of water by boiling some hours ; this

is of course impracticable also but it furnishes a hint
, , ,
.

C ertain salts naturally inso l uble in water are readily

, ,
 M O D E RN E LE C T R O PL ATI NG . 1 23

soluble with the carbonates o f the alkaline m etals a s ,

carbonate Of sodium carbonate o f potassium carbonate

, ,

o f am m onium etc and as we are going to ha v e ammonia

, .
,

in our solut on we take the latte r salt in preference to

i ,

the others f o r o u r sol v ent f o r the arsenic A gain all

.

.
,

h o t solutions will hold more than cold ones and the ,

stronger o u r carbonate of ammonia solution is the more ,

arsenic may be dissolved in it Therefore we shall get

.
,

along much better by dissol v ing o r arsenic and car

u

bonate O f ammonia by boiling in a v ery little water than

we would if we took more o f it .

I have been thus particular o n this point because the

use o f arsenic is often recommended in various solutions
which have a tendency t o gi v e coarse o r granular
deposits and its proper introduction into a solution is a
,

point that I ha v e ne v er seen e x p l ained in any o f the

many works o n p l ating which I ha v e e x amined M an y .

pounds o f it ha v e been put into v arious solutions only to

lie as mu d on the bottom of the tank because the p er
,

s o n who recommen d e d it to a plater in d ifli c u l t either

y
did not know o r did not take the troub l e to te ll him h o w
t o get it into the solution so that it would sta y there .

A nd what i s true of arsenic is also true of many other

insoluble sa l ts in more o r l ess frequent use in p l ating .

It may be stated as a rule that an inso l uble o r sparingl y

1 2
4 M O D E RN E LE C T R O PLA TI N G .

s ol u ble salt may be readily diss ol v ed by combining it

with another salt more readily dissolved and not a nt a g
o n is t ic to the solution thus forming a double salt which
, ,

e asily dissol v es and gi v es little o r n o trouble I t is .

-

usual t o select the carbonates for this pur pose because

t hey are more readily attacked by other acids o alka
'

lies carbonic acid b eing the weakest o f the acids an d

,

f ormin g weaker combinations with other el ements .

Ma k ing up th e S ol ution The car b onate o f ammo

.

n ia should be powdered and mi x ed with the arsenic and

t h e two put into a glass bottle and put into a sand bath

o r the bottle ma y be put into a water bath if the quan

(
t ity is so great that a large bottle is required t o h old it )

t hen a little water is added and the whole is heated .

The carbonate of ammonia dissol v es first and th en dis

s olves the arsenic . I i the carbonate is not all dissolved ,

m ore water must be added .I f the ca r bonate is all dis

s olved and a ft e r h e a t in g for some time some of the

'

a rsenic still lies o n the bottom more carbonat e shoul d

,

be added slowly until the arsenic is all dissol v ed In .

this way it is possible to get v ery strong solutions o f the

.

insoluble salts .

The nickel salt may also be dissol v ed separately in

some more o f the water at the same time to hasten
, ,
1 26 M O D ERN ELEC T R O PL ATI NG .

Th e depo sit should take place rapidly and e v enly a ,

s ufficient deposit to color being obtained in three o four r

minutes and if only coloring is desired it should then be

,

removed coming o t of the bath a dull black which

, u ,

polishes well and is easily cut through with the bu ff fo r

a cut through finish L ea v ing the work longer in
“
.

the bath will give a hard e v en durable finish e x cel

, , ,

l e nt ly adapted f o r man y purposes and greatl y superior

,

in color and wearing qualities to any dips o other r

methods now in common use and a t n o greater cost

'

t han that of ordinary bright nickel plating .

 CH A P TE R $ .

S ILVER PLATIN G BAT H S .

C hloride of sil v er d issol v ed in cya nide of potass ium

, ,

has l ong been the stan d ar d sil v er pl ating bath T his is

- .

s o fro m two causes : O n e is that t h e use o f electro

plate d ware in silver h a s been so much more e x tensi v e
t han that o f any other meta l that more attention was

pai d t o the solutions an d the y were simp l ified whi l e the

, ,

formu l ae fo r other baths were neglected ; the other is

found in the readi ly workab l e nature o f the metal ,which
combines easily with the other elements .

The o l d formu l ae all told the workman t o start with

the si lv er an d make h is baths from the metal but it is no,

longer ad v isab l e t o do so as the process is te d ious a nd

,

troublesom e and wil l cost him more than it will to buy

,

the ch l ori d e with the additiona l disa dv antage o f ha v in g

,

impurities in his bath if he attempts to work up o l d sil

v er as he probably wi ll S till for the information o f
, .
,

t hose w ho desire to know the process w e will gi v e it

,

1 27
1 28 M O D E RN EL E C T R O PL ATI N G .

To Ma ke Chl ori de of S i lver Take a wide .

mouthed t wo quar t bottle with glass stopper the kind

,
-
, ,

called salt mouths by druggists a n d place in it the

“
,

silver yo u wish to dissol v e which should be bent ir r e g u

,

l a r ly o r cut in pieces so as to present as much surface

,

as possibl e to the action of t h e acid P our in it a quan . .

tity o f di l ute nitric acid —o n e part acid t o ight o f water e

—and place the bottle in the open air or some place ,

wh e re the fumes evol v ed may escape freely from the

O pen mouth of the bott l e without fouling the air of the
room as they are disagreeable to breathe a nd will tar
, ,

ni sh bright metal and b l e a c h o u t wall paper etc A d d

‘

.
,

the acid a li t tle at a time until all the sil v er is dissol v ed

, , ,

so as not to get in too much and thus waste the acid , .

W hen this is accomplished prepare a saturated solution ,

o f common salt chloride of sodium and pour it a little

( ) ,

at a time into the nitrate of sil v er previously formed

, ,

stirrin g all the time with a glass rod The nitric acid .

then lea v es the sil v er and unites with the sodium form ,

ing nitrate of sodium and freeing the chlorine which in , ,

turn unites with the sil v er forming ch l oride o f sil v er

, , ,

which gradually falls to the bottom in the form o f a

white powder when the water becomes quiet A fter
,
.

allowing all the sil v er t o settle to the bottom so that the

-

liquid abo v e is c l ear add a little more salted water until

, ,
1 30 M O DER N ELE CTRO PLA TI NG .

druggist to calculate for yo the amount o f chloride yo

u u

should have and the difference between the actual and

,

theoretical amounts will show the loss from im purities

in the metal and the washings etc S till the above is , .
,

useful only in working up scrap o to the e x pe iment ,

r r

alist etc,
.

Th e S ol utio n plating should contain three ounces

fo r

o f silver chloride and nine t o twelve ounces of 9 8 per

cent potassium cyanide per gallon o f water It is best .

t o make the solution by rubbing the chloride of silve to r

a thin paste wi t h water ; dissolving nine ounces o f cyan

ide in a gallon of water and adding the paste stir ing o , r r

shaking until dissolved and then adding cyanide until

,

the solution works freely .

A cyanide bath may be prepared and the silve , r

worked into it with a batte y by using a strong cu rent

r , r

and la ge anode and small cathode but it presents no

r ,

advantages over the o n e made with ch l oride and this ,

mode is used only when the workman is away f om r

read y communication with a deale in supplies or his r ,

bath has become spoiled by accident and he has not time

to make another in the regular way and must get his ,

wo k out In eithe case the baths should be filtered

r . r

when made and from time t o time while being used in

, ,
 M OD ERN ELEC T R O PLA TI NG . 1 31

o der to keep them clean ; and the dirt from the filters
r

should be saved and sent t o the refiner as it cont a ins ,

considerable silver
The mai n thing in wo king a silver bath is to keep
r

the proper proportions between the sil v er cyanide and ,

the current If there is not enough cyanide in the bath

.
,

its resistance to the curre nt is greatly increased and the ,

p l ating becomes irregular n consequence ; if there is too

i

much cyanide the work does not plat e readily has a ,

yellowish o brownish color and peels in scratch brush

r ,

ing o if the excess be v ery great the obj ect will n o t b e

,
r

plated at a ll but will give o ff bubbles o f gas S imilarly .

,

a weak current requires more free cyanide than a strong

o ne Wit h a l ittle experience the operator will soon
.

learn to j dge his bath by the appearance o f his work

u ,

and to add silver o cyanide t o the bath or i n c ease or

r , r

decrease his current as required .

Qua ntity a nd S t rength of Current Th e mo st .

suitable strength of curr ent for the bath gi v en above is

o n e hal f volt and the deposition will require o n e fourth
- -

ampere o f current for each fifteen inches o f surface

coated A s the S mee cell is o n e half volt it is gener
.
-
,

ally used and the current is c l osely approximated by

,

making the amount o f zinc surface immersed n the i

 M O DERN ELEC T R O PLA TI NG .

battery equal that of the obj ects in the bath which can ,

be done by using two or more cells and coupling as

many as desi ed for quantity ( all the zincs togethe and
r r

all the platinums together ) for the plating so l ution and ,

coupling f o intensity ( zinc platinum zinc platinum

r , , , ,

zinc platinum ) for the striking solution which equires

, ,
r

a stronger cur ent and a solution weaker in silver A ny

r .

other battery will do as well p ovided the above c o n ,

r

d it io n are observed
s .

Appea ra n ce of th e
Wo rk a nd A no des The .

obj ects being coated should assume a dull white color ;

if the colo is bluish the bath needs cyanide ; if the
r

white coating fo ms quickly and changes to a c ystalline

r r

st ucture turning dark metal is wanting If copper

r , ,
.

and brass a ticles dipped in the bath are coated with

r

metal without any current there is too much cy nide ,

a .

The anodes should be white when no current is o n and

become gray while plating changing back to white ,

when the current is o ff If they remain white during

.

the plating there is too much cyanide ; I f t h e y remain

,
~

dark when no current is o n the bath needs cyanide ,

.

When the bath needs cyanide it should b e dissolved in ,

water and added a little at a time to avo id getting in t o o ,

much When silver is need ed a little chloride should

.
,
1 34 M O DE R N ELEC T RO PLA TI NG .

with the work and also with the cyanide and silver
,

which h ve been added from time to ti me in correcting

a

the bath .

When silver chloride is added it is attacked by the ,

free cyanide and decomposed forming cyanide of sil ver

,

and chloride o f potassium The latter is a readily solu

.

ble salt and remains in the solution When the cyanide .

used contains potash instead o f being chemically pure ,

,

the potash remains in the sol tion and slowly turns into
u

carbonate o f po t assium by the action o f the air When .

this takes place to a considerable degree the silver

deposited becomes dull porous and spongy owing to
, ,

the interference with the current by the increased resist

ance of the bath This is corrected by slowly adding
.

hydrocyanic acid until the precipitate in the solution is

nearly all dissolved and the deposit is once more firm
,

and of the proper colo when the bath should be filtered

r,

to emove the dirt and other impurities . A lways save

r

the residue from filtering and send t o the refiner .

G reat care must be exercised in handling any bath

containing cyanide as it is a deadly poison B e very
,
.

careful never to d rink fr om any v essel that has been

used in handling cyanides ( or prussiates ) in any way o r ,

to handle them with cut or scratched fin gers N e v er .

fill a syphon by sucking for the sam e reason ; it has

,
 M OD E R N EL E C T R O PLA TI NG . 1 35

killed many a man who was too careless t o do his work

properly The way to fill a syphon is to plunge it in a
.

pail of water or fill it from a hydrant or wash b ottle

, ,

and then when the tube is full o f water close the two ,

ends firmly with the fingers and place o n e in the solu

tion t o be syphoned and the o ther in the vessel t o which
,

it is to be transferred ; then Open the upper end o f the

tub e and finallythe lower one If handled in this way
.

large tubes may be used and syphoning rapidly done

If the bath becomes t o o foul to be corrected in this
manner take it into the Open air where the gas can
,

esc a pe freely and add hydrochloric acid until the sil v er

,

has all been precipitated as chloride D raw o ff the so l u

.

tion fro m the precipitate with a syphon as de s cribed in ,

making chloride o f sil v er ; wash it thoroughly dry it and ,

mix with twice its weight o f c arbona te Of soda and half ,

its weight of pulverized charcoal This mi x ture is then

.

fused in a crucible and allowed to cool when on break ,

ing the crucible a button o f silver will be found in the

bottom This may then be redissol v ed in nitric acid
.

and turned into chloride as pre viously described o used ,

r

as metal anodes in forming a new bath .

A mo unt o f S i lver D epos it ed . following table

Th e
shows the amount Of silver generally deposited upon
1 3 6 M O D E RN ELEC T R O PLA TI N G .

plated ware and may be regarded as su ffi ciently close

,

to ser v e as a general stan dard

OU NT O F S I LVER DEPO S ITE D O N PLATED W ARE
AM - .

ARTI CLE S S R AR
. TI CLE S PW T
I L VE .
G RS . . G RS .

T bl $ iv
a e n d es . C C m p er oz . IO up s , re a

D t d T $ iv
e se r an 8
ea n C hi ld
es s

B tt $ i v
u er n es .C p Ch l d l d l i d IO u s, i s,g o -
ne

S oo T bl
p ns , a e go l d
D t eser S t d F it an s, ru

T ea Cl y 66
e er

M t d us ar Wi ne

S lt a B kt Ck as e s, a e

C d ar

L dl S o
a e s, up T s m ll u re e n , s a

Fo k D ir s, nn e r l g ar e

I) e s e rt xt l g e ra ar e

N Pi k
ut c s C to m ll as rs , s a

N p k i Ri g
a n n s l g ar e

T St
ea e s B tt D i h u er s es

Pot U T s or rn s , Sy p J g
ea ru u s

C off ee .with t d £ 6 6‘
s an s

S m ll C ll B ll
a a e s

W t hC 8 Si a c a s e s . 1 0-1 ze

Op F en ace

Di l a s

The cost of depositing silve with a battery s r i

from to p e o n c e of s ilver deposited ; f r u o

this 2 5 cents will be for battery and the balance for ,

metal n d maintenance o f solution etc This does not

a ,
.

include the cost o f preparation of the work o its s b s e r u

quent burnishing lacquering etc , ,

.
1 3 8 M O DERN ELEC T R O PLA TI NG .

ing and the use of a double cyanide o f sil v er solution .

To begin take the prepared nitrate o f silver and d o

, ,

not attempt to make it from the grain o metallic silver r ,

as you can buy it cheaper from the manufacturers o f

chemicals than yo u can possibly make it yourself .

In making say o n e gallon O f solution dissolv e 2

, , ,

ounces o f nitrate o f silver in plenty of water say two

.

, ,

gallons ; then dissolve in a separate vessel having a ,

spout about 4 ounces of cyanide o f potash in about

, ,

o n e half gallon o f wate

-
From this cyanide solution
r. ,

pour a little at a time while stirring into the nitrate of

, ,

silver solution C ontinue this as long as a precipitat e

.

is formed P our the cyanide in more cautiously and

.
,

in smaller quantities as you proceed to pre v ent getting

, ,

in an exces s o f cyanide which woul d dissolve the pre

,

c i it a t e d
p silver When. the precipitate is no longer
produced readily give the solution a thorough stirring
,

and let it settle for about five minutes ; then pour a few
drops o f the cyanide solution into the nitrate solution ,

and if no whi t e precipitate is formed stop ; any further ,

addition of the cyanide will cause a loss o f silver N o w .

,

if the vessel is large enough to permit it add more water ,

so as to render the solution less dense and thereby ,

facilitate the settling o f the preci p itate L et it stand .

until tho oughly settled so that the liquid abo v e is clear

r , ,
 M O DERN EL E C T R O PLATI NG . 1 39

and then pour O ff the clear liquid and add a n e w l o t o f

fresh water ; let it settle again and pour the liquid o ff the
,

pre cipitate R epeat this washing two or t hree times

.
,

and throw the moist precipitate upon a filter and once ,

more throw fresh water u pon the same so as to render ,

it perfectly pure Then place the precipitate into about

.
,

n —
o e half gallon of soft water ( if possible rain or
$
, ,

distil l ed water ) and add cyanide o f potash in solution

, ,

until all the precipitated sil ver is dissolved and making , ,

with the cyanide sol ution about o n e gallon A dd about

,
.

I ounce more o f free cyanide to the sol tion when it u ,

will be ready f o use

r .

In making a small solution I would suggest that the

,

workman buy the cyanide o f sil v er and dissolve the same

in water and cyanide o f potash ; in other words take 1 ,

gallon Of water 2 ounces o f cyanide o f sil v er 4 % ounces

, ,

Of cyanide o f potash ; mi x and stir th em thoroughly and ,

filter through closely woven muslin .

S t rength of th e Current Th e intensity o f current

.

required for the deposition o f si lv er is about o n e volt '

The articles to be plat ed should never boil as in copper ,

and brass solutions A dj ust the surfaces of your cathode

.

t o that of your silver anodes and the t w o to the stren gth

,

o f your current to prevent a s o called burned deposit

,
-
.
1
4 0 M O DERN ELEC T R O PLA TI N G .

Use chemically pure cyanide only Fo r the electro

.

platin g Of spoons knives and forks richer solutions say

, , , ,

3 ounces o f sil v er to the gallon

, are used
. Two ounces
of silver to the gallon make a fairly rich solution L et
,
.

your anode surface be nearly that Of your cathode

surface so as not to impove ish your solution and adj ust
,
r ,

your c rrent so as to prevent boiling at the cathode

u .
 1
4 2 lVI O DE R N . EL E C T R O PLA TI NG .

r eadily concluded that the man who can sp ead the least r

gold over the most surface and make it stick has an , ,

immense advantage over his competitors in nine tenths -

Of the work done now a days - -

.

In addition to this no other metal gives so great a,

variety o f shades o f color hardness and wearing qualities , ,

as does electro deposited gold A bath made up Of

- .

chemically pure chloride of gold and used with fine g dl d

anodes will gi ye anything from a pale 1 6 karat color up
t o 2 4 karat yellow o any number of shades o f a coppery
,
r

red according to the temperatu e o f the bath and the

,
r

strength Of current used E ach o f these shades will v ary .

in its hardness speed of deposition and wearing qualiti e s

, .

Fu the mo e a gold bath differs f om all other metals

r r r , r

in the impo tant particula that while in all othe solu

r r , r

tions care is taken t o keep the strength up by using

anodes equal in surface to that of the work immersed in
them the opposite is the rule in gold work ( o n account
,

of the cost ) and as the surface o f the work put into a

,

gold solution is f equently ten fifteen or twenty times

r ,

that of the anode ( particula ly in g o l d l in e d hollow ware ) r

it follows that t h e solution is being constantly robbed

and must be as constantly doctored if in steady use .

This matt e is furthe aggravated by the extreme d i in

r r s

c l in a t io n o f gold to form chemical combinatio n s with

 M O DERN ELEC T R O PLA TI NG . 1
43

other substances making it correspondingly easy to

,

release the metal from those combinations and thus ,

causing it t o deposit with great speed with a compa a , r

t ive l y weak current .

From these considerations it will be readily seen that

there is abundant reason for the existence o f the special
is t s in gold work and hence we have platers who cannot

color colorers who n ever plate and finishers who know

, ,

but little o f plating or coloring as practiced by the two

first mentioned ,

N a t u reof th e M et a l G old is o n e the most malle

.

able and ductile Of the metals ; w h e n p u r e it is o f a yel

low color beco m ing paler by the addition O f silver and
,

redder by the presence o f copper Unless sp ecially .

refined it always contains traces o f these metals which

, ,

is the reason gold baths made by ru nning an anode in a

cyanide solution will not give as rich a color as those
made with pure chloride o f gold The specific gr avity
.

o f gold is from f or cast to ,

f o rolled and r ,

for precipitated powder In m elting it exhib its

.

a sea green color It readily alloys with most metals

.

and is seldom free f om some o f them in nature The

r .

most co m mon o f these are mixtures of silver and

copper but tin and lead form alloys ve y di ffi cult
,
r
1
44 MO DERN ELEC T R O PLA TI NG .

to separate from gold and render it hard brittle and ,

unfit f o working This is not apt to trouble the

r .

plater unless he att empts to work up old gold when he is ,

almost certain t o get into t ouble from the solders etc r , .

,

contained in the old metal .

Chl ori de of Go l d P ure gold prese ves its luster in. r

the air and is not acted upon by any o f the acids such ,

as sulphuric hydrochloric nitric etc It unites readily

, , ,
.

with chlo ine and then as chloride with the mixtures

r , ,

w hich generate the chlorine ; therefor eif we take hydro

chlo ic acid mix with it enough nit ic acid to slowly
r ,
r

destroy it ( thus liberating the chlorine ) and place in it ,

some gold foil wire or sheet the chlorine liberated from

, ,

the acid will unite with the gold and f orm chloride of
gold which will remain in the solution This mixture o f
,
.

acids is known as aqua regia The formula is .

'

Nit i id r c ac

Hy d ro c hl ior c ac id 2

In dissolving the gold it is necessary to ha v e

G ldo p t IO ar s .

A qua reg a i 1 5

The proportions gi v en are the exact quantities needed .

In practice howeve a little more aqua regia is taken in

,
r,

o der to allow f o loss by evaporation C t the gold into

r r . u
1 4 6 M O D E RN EL E C T R O PLA TI NG .

a nd the chloride is ready for weighing into the solution .

I f e x treme purity is desired it is dissol v ed in water and

a gain e v aporated before using .

From the abo v e description it will readil y be seen that

t ak ng nto account the necessity O f starting with pure
i i

a cids and pure gold it will not pay a plater to attempt to

,

m ake his chloride as unless in some emergency it will

, ,

b e cheaper to buy it The operation is gi v en howe v er

.
, ,

i n order that the plater may have a clear idea of the

p rocess if it should become necessary to use it

P ercenta g e of Gol d in Chl ori de P ure chloride of

.

g old contains 6 5 per cent o f gold and 3 5 per cent chlo

r ine ; therefore there are 3 1 2 grains O f gold in a n ounce
,

o f chloride o f gold It is well to remember this fact as

.
,

it affords a ready means of determining the proper

a mount of chloride to add in making up baths from

f ormulae which gi v e gold only in the formulae and vice ,

v ersa .

Va rieti es of Gol d S ol utions We n o w come to the

.

f ormulae f o r the baths a n d here we will note a wide

,

d i v ergence in practice as to the amount of metal t hey

,

c ontain ; they v ary from 1 5 grains o f gold per quart up

t o 3 2 0 grains per quart acco rding as they are to be used

,
 M O D E RN ELEC T R O PL ATI NG . 1
47

hot o r cold and with a battery or dynamo current and

also according t o the color required .

Proportions of Cya nide They also vary in the

.

proportions o f cyanide used the lighter baths e q i

, r u r

ing more free cyanide and the hea v ier ones less This .

cyanide question is largely settled by the current u sed ,

a current o f 3 volts requiring about ten per cent o f free

cyanide and a stronger current less until we reach about
8 volts when the excess of cyanide should be v ery slig h t
, .

T he reason is that the cyanide reduces the resistance o f

the bath allowing the current to pass more readily and
, ,

as the metal a l so performs the same O fli c e we shall ,

’

interfere wi t h the color and texture o f o r deposit if theu

due proportions are no t Observed TO O large an excess

.

o f cyanide yiel d s deposits o f an ugly pale color as if

, ,

there were sil v er in the bath while too great a quantity

,

o f metal has a tendency to cause a red brown deposit if

the current is not kept o f suit a ble strength .

H ot baths for hot gilding work with from 1 1 grains

, ,

to 2 0 grains of gold to the quart and a considerable

e x cess Of cyani de while those f o r cold gilding and pla
,

ting should contain not less than 6 0 grains per quart and
may ha v e 3 2 0 grains T he latter high content o f gold
.

is used with a dynamo current where great speed is

 M O DERN EL E C T R O PL ATI NG .

required and the work is simply dipped in and taken out

again the deposit taking place almost instantly
,
.

Col or of the D eposit There are t w o ways o f

.

v arying the color o f the deposit O n e is by v arying .

the temperature and is generally practiced with hot baths ,

in which a solution of 9 0 F gi v es a pale color ; 1 2 0 F

°
.
°
.

to I 3 O F gi v es a fine yellow while increasing the temp

O
.
,

e ra t r e
u to I 4 O F gi v es a reddish color The second
°
. .

method is that practiced in cold baths and it is a c c o m

l is h e d by v arying the current A small current gi v es
p .

a pale color ; a medium current a fine yellow and a large

current re d der tones A little experience will enable
.

the operator t o match colors readily either way but he ,

must be cautious about g etting too much gold o n as the ,

increase of temperature o r current strength will hasten

the deposit Of the metal in a marked degree making it ,

necessary to correspondingly shorten the time the work

is in the bath L astly the operator must determine
.
,

whether the work is to come o t o f the bath bright o to u r

come o u t dull and be brightened under the brush ( o left r

dull ) and choose hi s bath accordingly

,
.

Hot B ath s are generally supposed t o gi v e a closer

te x ture a n d finer grained deposit than cold baths owing ,
I
S O M O DERN ELEC T RO PLA TI NG .

cyanide will dissolve them readily The usual practice .

in such places therefore is to keep a strong st o c k s o l

, ,
'

tion o f gold ready t o add to the bath This is made by .

dissolving one part of chloride of gold and o n e ( or one

and one half ) parts Of cyanide o f potassium separately
-

in distilled water and then mixing the two solutions the ,

r esulting cyanide o f gold being all readyf o work as r

soon as put in the bath O f course it will be readily

.

understood that as the obj ect is to have a strong stock

,

solution o f gold cyanide it is advisable to use as little

,

water in dissolving the gold and cyanide as will suffice

to keep the gold cyanide in solution in the stock bottle .

A little reflection will also show that the gold disapp ears

from the bath much more rapidly than the cyanide so ,

that it will be prudent t o use as little cyanide in the

stock bottle as will dissolve the gold o we shall pre , r

s e nt l
y have too much cyanide in the bath .

In working h o t b aths hot water must be added from

time to time to make up f o that lost by eva poration
r .

H ot baths are also e m ployed by many on the score of

cheapness as they work with so much less gold in the
,

solution as previou sly stated and also because they may

, ,

be advantageously used with batte ies When u sing r .

gold solutions o f m ny different colors for fancy gilding

a

the saving is considerable .

 M O DE R N E L E C T R O PL ATI N G 1 5 1

Col d Ba th s are how e v er preferred in m a n fa c t u r

, ,
u

ing establishments where power is readily accessibl e

,

and dynamos can be used to supply a steady current o f

uniform strength and any desired quantity In such .

cases uniformity of color and thickness of the deposit

are the chief obj ects desired and these are best secure d
by having large bat h s made up to special co l ors a n d
maintained by anodes of the same quality o f metal as is .

contained in the bath it being better to put the money

,

into large solutions rather than run any risks o f lack o f

,

uniformity in thickness and color o f deposit o n article s

which are turned out by the hundred o r thousand a n d
-

afterward carded o r bo x ed in dozens from an in d isc im r

in a t e heap as in such cases any di fference in the deposit

,

would be sure to show when the goods were carded o r

boxed H ollow ware t o o is gold lined with cold solu

.
, ,

tions o n account of the greater con v enience in handling

and the fact that it is someti mes undesirable t o hea t
them after they ha v e reached a finished stage of manu
facture . H eavy plating o f watch cases chains etc , , .
,

is generally conducted in cold baths using plenty o f

current o f l o w voltage and conducting the work slowly ,

in order t o secure a uniform and hard deposit This .

,

however should not be confounded with coloring o

,
r

finishing cases where th e v ery opposite is the rule

,
.
I 5 2 M O D E R N E L E CT R O PLA TI N G .

S t rength of th e Current In cold gilding as in

. ,

o ther plating the operator must always remember that

,

a weak current of suitable quantity t o deposit uniformly

will gi v e a close g rained hard deposit while a strong
-
, ,

c urrent , e v en o f less quantity will gi v e a coarser more

, ,

o pen te x ture which increases in the size of the grain

,

with the strength of the current until it becomes cry

s talline and finally becomes a powder y deposit which ,

r efuses to adhere This applies to the st r eng fl z of the

.

current independently of its qu nt ity and should be

,
a ,

distinguished from the action of too great a quantity o f

l o w voltage as the latter simply darkens the work until
,

it burns it by causing a powdery deposit as before

, ,

without causing anywhere near as great an increase in

the size Of grain o f the deposited gold .

L arger and cold baths also require a greater current

s trength than smaller and hot baths as the quantity of ,

surface o f work exposed is usually greater and the dis

tance between anodes and work is also greater thus
$

causing more resistance in the bath which it takes more

current t o overcome

Current When the operator

R e g u l a tion of th e .

is using current from a dynamo the supply is always

ample and reg lation becomes merely a question of
u .
1
54 M O DERN ELEC T R O PLA TI NG .

takes the anode plunges it far enough into the bath t o

,

get su ffi cient c u rrent and moves it about near the parts

o f the work that do not become coated immediately ,

thus favoring those parts When the work has bec ome
.

evenly coated a ll over with gold the anode is with

,

drawn until the current is ight to produce the desired

r

colo and the deposition then p oceeds mo e slowly

r r r .

This method of current regulation by the anode is the

same for both cold and hot solu tions and for dynamo and
battery currents ; but in working with a battery ( lining
hollow ware f o instance ) the workman should always
r

make sure that his solutio n is rich in gold and that he

has current enough to coat evenly at the start other ,

wise the coating will b e une v en and may not stick at

all ; so most workmen prefer to be on the safe side and
couple up cells enough to give plenty o f current of the
prope strength S ometimes in lining water pitchers o
r . r

other deep vessels in which the solution is poured into

,

the vessel instead o f putting the vessel into the bath it ,

will be found that the anode is t o o small to move about

as described ; in such cases the wire from the work is
unfastened and moved about on the outside of the
pitche in close contact with it so s to control th e
$

r ,
a

deposit by favoring those portions that are slow This .

met hod while not equal to the other will aid matte s
'

, ,
r .
 M O DERN ELEC T R O PLA TI NG . 1 55

Col or of the D epos it In working cold baths if

. ,

the color is too pale while the deposit is good there is

, ,

eithe not enough current o t o o much free cyanide for

r r

the amount of gold in the bath P ut o n more current .

in such a case and if that does n o t remedy the color add

more gold cautiously unti l the due proportions of gold
and cyani de are restored If the color is too red reduce
, ,

the current and if that does not fix the color there is t o o

much gold and not enough cyanide in the so l ution so , ,

o f course we add cyanide and water slowly

'

.
,

In wor k ing h o t baths we have another factor ( th e

tempe ature ) to consider B elow 1 2 0 F the color
r .
°
.

should be pale ; 1 2 0 to 1 30 F should give a fine yellow ;

° °
.

1
4
°
0 to 1 70 F gi v
°
es red shades
. Warm up a ther .

mo m e t e so as n o t t o break it and put in the bath

r, If ,
.

the temperature is right then change the current and

,

finally the solution

B y always e x amining the current first and then the
b ath ( in cold baths ) and temperature current and bath ,

in th e order named in hot baths the workman will run ,

no risk of getting a good bath out of order .

A n y work should be immediately coated with gold on

being placed in the solution If the deposit takes place .

only o n the parts nearest to the anode o if the work is ,

r

coa ted a n d the gold is afterwards dissolved o ff again the ,

1 5 6 M O D E RN EL E C T R O PLA TI NG

current is too weak or there is too much free cyanide .

C hange the current fir s t ; t h e n look after the bath If

‘

the d eposit takes place t o o rapidly it will be irregular ,

patchy o r spotted ; then the work should be well scratch

brushed and the current changed and finally the bath as
before .

Formul a e fo r Gi l ding Pla ting P laters who

a nd .

have thoroughly understood o u remarks o n the man r

a e m e n t of gold baths will ha v e n o need Of any form

g ,

ul ae for gold baths as they will be able to make or fix

,

up any requ red baths from their knowledge of the

i

metal cyanide and current without any special formul ae

, ,
.

S till W e will give here a few o f t hose in most common

,

use with observations on th eir nature and use f o the

, ,
r

benefit o f those who may desire to experiment a little

with them to learn the capabilities of each
,
.

Ba th s fo r St eel and Iron I n gilding direct o n ste el

.

and iron ( w ithout a pre v ious coating o f copper ) the

baths should contain less gold than f o r other metals it ,

being generally s uffi cient to take a portion o f the regu

lar bath and add water and a little more cyanide of
potassium until the desired color s Obtained T 0 0
, i .

much gold gives a dark deposit which does n o t adhere ,

1 5 8 M O DERN ELEC TR O PLA TI N G .

gold in the solution and run them until the solution

,

contains s fli c ie nt metal to deposit well In making

u .

s olutions by the battery process the O perator should ,

c hange the depth of his anodes from time to time

.

a s they are liable to be cut through at the water line

u nless this is done the action being greatest there

, .

The anode to be stripped should also be much la ger r

t han the other .

Red Go l d So l utions If the operator happens to

.

h a v e a cyanide o f copper solution he can make up vari ,

o s shades o f red gold solutions by mixing various quan

u

tities o f the two solutions The color depends o n the.

relative quantities o f metallic gold and copper in the

s olutions Ten per cent o f copper gives a pale red ; 2 0
.

p er cent of copper a fiery red and 30 per cent gi v es a ,

d eposit o f a copper color but which will n o t tarnish ; o r

,

the solutions may be made by dissolving cyanide o f cop

per in water and adding it to the gold solution If the .

c yanide is n o t at hand dissol v e carbonate of copper in

,

c yanide o f potassium with a little water

,
and the same ,

e n d is obtained They should be worked with anodes

.

O f the same composition as the solution o a fine gold , r

a n d a copper anode of proper proportions may be hung

s ide by side in the solution .

 M O DERN EL E C T R O PL ATI N G . 1 59

Green Go l d I n c re a smg the quantity o f sil v er in a

.

carat gold solution will gi v e greenish shades if the cur ,

rent is properly regulated I t is not easy to do such

.

work uniformly however as the current has to be

, ,

nicel y regulated according to the surface o f the work .

To o w eak a current will deposit more si lv er than gold ,

and t o o strong a current will deposit more gold than

sil v er making a yel l owish instead of a green color
,

W ith a resistance box and a constant source o f current

a v ery p l easing green gold may b e obtained which will
-
,

do a great deal t o brighten up m eda l work especially if

used in connection with red shades .

Pa l e S traw Col ored Gol d This is obtained by.

adding to the ordinar y gold solution a small quantity of

cyani d e o f sil v er pre v ious ly dissol v ed in water and
, ,

working the solution cold with a weak current and smal l

anode keeping the work constantly in motion t o
, ,

brighten the color and secure a uniform deposit .

Ro se C o l ored Go l d This is Obtained by adding

.

suitable quantities of copper and silver cy anides to

the gold solution ; but it also requires close attention t o
the proportions o f current and work H o t baths are the .

b est for this solution .

1 60 M O DERN ELEC T R O PLA TI N G .

N i ck el Gol d S ol utions P robabl y o ne of th e

d
an .

m o s t u s e fu l alloys of gol d for platers is that with

'

nickel ; besides being cheaper it has a much richer color

than a solution containing gold and sil v er a nd gi v es a
correspondingly better appearance t o the finished work ,

o r which is the same thing permits a much larger p r o

, ,

portion of the cheaper metal to be used for a carat

color In addition to this it is much harder a nd w e ar s
.

better in consequence o n large flat surfaces o r edges

-

e x posed t o wear such as watch cases chains harness

, , ,

trimmings etc It is in use in many o f the case fac

'

.
,

tories and a number o f the l arge finishing shops of the

E ast L ike the solutions gi v en abo v e it is made by
.
,

adding cyanide o f nicke l to the ordinary gold cyanide

bath and working with anodes o f the same composition .

The solution may be made by dissol v ing from anodes ,

as gi v en above for gold or it may be made by dissolving

,

double sulphate of nickel and ammonia in water to

which cyanide o f po tassium has been added boiling to ,

expel the ammonia and then addin g the solution to the

,

ordinary gold solution C arbonate or chloride of nickel

.

may also be use d dissol v ed in cyani d e as abo v e W e

, .

ha ve not gi v en proportions as v ery few use any e x act

, .

formula ; in a general way it may be stated that the

usual practice is t o use 30 parts of nickel to e ach 1 00
1 62 M O D ER N EL EC T R O PL ATI N G .

h as a certain current st r ength at which it will deposit

m ost freely a n d that if the work be done with this
‘

s trength o f current that meta l will be deposited in

,

e x cess o f the others and in aggra v ated cases to the

,

e x c l usion o f the others Thus it is possible to deposit

.

e ither inc alone o r copper alone from a brass solution

z ,

o r gold alone from a nickel and gold solution A cer .

t ain plater in N e w York C ity has recently published a

b ook in which he states that no mi x ed so l utions are

c apab l e of doing good practical work for any length o f
,

t ime a statement which has caused m

,
uch amusement to
t h e platers who are d o in g a r c h it e c t u r a l work in brass

a n d bron e in C hicago and other

z large cities plating ,

c olumns 1 5 feet long and 1 8 inches in diameter panels ,

3 6 x 72 inches ele v ator work etc

, in bronze composed
, .
,

o f cop per zinc and tin brass plating o n sto v e castings

, , ,

e tc . The whole secret is in the proper regu l ation o f the

current both as to quantit y and strength O nce the
,
.

proper current is found the d iffi c ul t v ceases as long as

,

that current is maintained H ence in working with .

,

mi x ed solutions the workman should ha v e a means of

v ar y ing the v o ltage and quantity o f his current and o f ,

r eading the v oltage and amperes o f the current s o that ,

h e may compare them with his work Volt meters and .

a n d ampere m eters are e x pens ive but they will teach a ,

 M O D E R N E L E C T R O PL ATI N G . 1 63

workman more about his work o n mi x ed solutions in o n e

month than he c a n l e a rn otherwise in ten y ears
“
'

N e c essity o f S k i ll In no other branch o f elec

.
.

t r o plating is skill more necessary than in gildin g or

-

gold plating W hi l e it is comparati v ely easy to O btain

.

some kind O f a gol d co v erin g o n an article it is often an ,

altogether different matter t o match a color o t o Obtain r

a thin hard and brilliant coating that shall be durable

,

without being costly .

The D ura bi l it y go l d plating does no t depend alto

of

gether o n the time it is in the solution If the current .

is about two or three v olts ( about equa l t o a B unsen

cell o r two S mee cells connected for intensity ) and the
,

quantity is proportioned t o the work in the bath then ,

if the solution be worked at 1 2 0 to which also

°

deepens the co l or of the deposit it is possible to get a

,

coat inside o f fi v e minutes that will last f o r se v eral

y ea rs.

It is alwa y s best when other conditions are a l l right

, ,

to keep the work mo v ing and immerse the gold anode

su ffi cientl y to suit the surface o f the work that is being
plated ; care should b e taken not to allow the work and
anode to touch each other as a black o r burned spot
,
1 64 M O D E R N ELE C T R O P L ATI N G .

wi l l be left on the work where v er the ano d e touch es it .

A fter getting the first slight coat of gol d the work ,

should be scratch brushed with a fine brass s c r atch brush

( wire about . 0 0 3 inch
) letting a l
, ittle soap suds drip on
the brush This lay s down the first coat of gold which
.
,

should b e su ffi cien t to co v er the article entire ly The .

scratch brush acts as a burnisher A fter this it is thor

.

oughly cleaned o f the soap suds in hot water and aga n ,

i

placed in the solution The time it remain s will ha v e t o

.

be go v erned b y e x perience but generally fi v e minutes

,
'

will gi v e a su ffi cient coat to stand burnishing .

Col oring is always done with pure gold and the best ,

workmen take especial pains t o see that no sil v er is

allowed in the solution They d o this by using only the
.

best chemicals and frequent ly e v aporating t heir baths

,

and parting o u t the silver with nitric acid B y this .

means they Obtain an immense ad v antage o v er others in

the brightness and thinness o f the coating of gold
deposited an ad v antage which shows chiefly on the
,

ledger o f the establishment and in the reputa tion o f the

,

house for quick and skillful work .

A cold solution will g iv e a pale color ; increasing the

temperature to 1 40 gi v es a reddish color ; 1 2 0 to 1 30 ° °

gives a fine yellow The reason o f this is that heat

.
 CHA P TE R $ II .

ORM OLU FI N I S HES A N D D I PS .

The return o f ormolu into favor and its consequent

extended use in finishing clocks statuettes furniture
, ,

trimmings desk ornaments paper weights etc is sure

, , ,

to bring with it demands upon the younger platers for a

knowledge of this finish that they ma y find it extremely
difficult to attain ; consequently a short historical sketch
may be o f considerable use and interest to all who ha v e
spent less than twenty five years in the business
- .

Ormo l u as originally produced was a golden yellow

,

alloy composed of copper 5 8 3 parts ; tin 1 6 7 parts ;

, ,

zinc 2 5 3 parts The large proportion o f tin ga v e it

, .

easy flowing qualities so that v ery sharp castings were

,

Obtained . S ome times the proportions were a little

,

altered so that an e x cess o f copper ga v e a reddish color

nearly resembling that of the then popular R o man gold .

The idea was in all cases to produce an alloy that e x actly

1 66
 M O D E R N ELE C T R O PL ATI N G . 1 67

matched the color o f the g old that was afterward s

placed upon it so that v er y litt l e gol d shou l d be n e c e s
,

sary to produce a durable smooth and e l e g ant fini s h I n .

all cases the obj ect was buff ed bright and perfectl y
smooth then d ippe d in potash pickled and washe d in
, ,

h o t W ater t o remo v e al l gr e ase and finally: fire g i l t

, .

S o metimes portions Of the O bj ect were burni shed l ea v ,

in g the rest a mat surface gi v ing strong contrast s o f

,

great beauty ; s ometimes it was l eft entirel y mat g i v in g ,

a sort o f half lustrous surface e x cee d ingl y soft an d ye t

brilliant ; and sometim es it was left a dead surface simi
lar t o the satin finish of to d ay The secon d o f thes e
- .

( the dul l l uster ) was regarde d with the greatest fa v or

and required the most j u d gment to produce as a l itt l e ,

t o o much gold was certain t o make a dead surface whil e ,

too little rendere d the work une v en A fter finishi ng

‘

.
,

the work was l acquere d and as the fire g i ld ing withou t

,

burnishing ga v e an e x ceeding ly open d epos it the lacque r ,

penetrated deep ly into it and l asted a v er y long tim e .

The abo v e was the ori g ina l ormo l u an d many sp eci,

mens are still to b e seen with their original l ustrous soft

ness unimpaired b y twenty five o r fift y y ears use u nder
-
’

g l ass sha d es o r other co v ering O thers origina lly a s

.
,

g ood ha v e had the gold rubbed O ff them b y continuou s

,

dusting o r perhaps the energetic use of soap an d water

, ,
1 68 M O D E RN EL EC TR O PL ATI NG .

so that there is a dark brown stain o n all the high lights -

a n d large s r f a c e s j w h il e the less e x posed parts show

u

traces o f their original beauty M uch o f this old bric

.

a brac will be gathered up from the garrets and brought

-

t o the plater now that it is once more in fashi on

,
e $

There was also another finish called ormolu which ,

c ontained no gold and was inferior t o it in durability but ,

h a d almost as much luster when new This was much.

u sed in furniture grates andirons and fenders etc o f

, , , ,

t h e cheaper class and is now coming back with a rush

,
.

I t is produced entirely by v arious dips and then l acquered

to preser v e the color thus Obtained .

In repairing o r refinishing the genuine ormolu all ,

p re v ious coatings o f lacquer should b e taken o ff the ,

O bj ect buffed bright then dipped successively in caustic

,

p otash ,
h o t water a bright
, acid dip again in hot,
water
a nd then into the gold bath where a v er y thin d eposit
,

o f gold o f j ust the color of the bronze used in the

o bj ect should be laid upon it The current s hould be
.

r egulated to give a very smooth and fine deposit an d ,

o n e that is as bright as possible W hen the coating has

.

reached the color desired it is at once remo v ed washed

, ,

t horoughl y in h o t water and lacquered The great .

O bj ect to be obtained is to use so little gold and ha v e it

s o e v enl y distributed that the metal shall be effectually

1 70 M O D ER N ELE C T R O PLA TI NG .

This should be well stirred before using part o f the ,

z inc sulphate remaining undisso lv ed The work is left .

in this f o three o r four seconds and washed in running

r ,

cold water then dipped in hot water and dried in saw

, ,

dust when it is ready for lacquering If the color is

, .

not satined enough repeating the dips and washings ,

as above will deaden the surface still more .

The lacquer used is generally a celluloid o r other col

o rl e s s lacquer with a little gold lacquer added to it to
,

get the proper shade .

The second method consists of cleaning and buffi ng

as usual then dipping in a bri g ht dip consisting o f
, ,

S l ph i
u id
ur c ac I g ll a on

N it i idr c ac 3 pi t n s

W t a er I pi t n

C mm o t bl lt
on h df l
a e sa , a an u .

The obj ect is then washe d and dipped into th e ormolu ,

dip which consists o f

Zi b t
nc c a r o na e

S l ph i
u id
ur c ac

N it i idr c ac

P lv i d
u ltp t
e r ze sa e er

M i ti ur a id c acp l i tt l t
, t i m
1 cu , e a a e .

C are should be tak en in mi x i ng the abo v e as unless it ,

is done slowl y and carefully there is likely to be trouble ,

from the ebullition o f the aci d s When the dips are .

 M O D E R N E L E C T R O P L ATI N G . I 7I

properly constructed f o r the meta l used an in st a nt a ,

neo n s immersion i n the bright dip followed by hot

,

water then the ormolu dip and again by hot water

, , ,

and drying in sawdust wil l gi v e the lustrous sur

,

face spoken o f ; repeating the operation will gi v e a satin

finish .

This formu l a is in d ai ly use in one o f the l arge estab

l ish m e nt s o f this cit y and gi v es the results with a speed
,

and certainty that l ea v es nothing t o be desire d with the ,

ad ditiona l ad v antage that almost any shade o f gold ma y

be gi v en b y v ary ing the tint of the l acquer .
 CHA P TE R $ III .

BURNI S HERS A ND BURN IS HIN G .

B urnishing while once regarded as indispensable to

,

the production Of a smooth hard and durable surface

, ,

after plating is graduall y being gi v en up as the opera

, ,

tions o f polishing and plating are better u nderstood ,

and it is now generally acknowledged that if the work

has been properly smoothed in the polishing room prop ,

erly cl e aned and plated with a current that will gi v e a

hard and tough ( but n o t brittle ) deposit there will be no ,

need o f burnishing ; simpl y bu ffi ng bright with soft

rouge and very light pressure will make a fine looking
,

j o b in such a case . If the deposit is soft and s p ong y ,

from t o o strong a current in plating o if the polishing,

r

or preliminary cleansing be imperfectly done so that the ,

j ob will n o t look well or wear well matters can be con

’
,

s id e r a b l
y impro v ed b y b u r nis h in
g
, as it will press dow n
a nd harden a soft deposit and smooth o v er rough and
spongy places caused b y imperfect cleansing or fault y
1 74 . M O D E RN E L E C T R O PL ATI N G .

returned if as Often happens flaws de v elop during the

, ,

first day o two o f their use The burnishers selected

r .

by the plater will ha v e t o be kept b y him if he pur

chases them The reasons for this are that the tools
.

are carefully made are subj ect t o inspection before pur

,

chase and are so hard that they are easily broken by a

'

fall or an accidental blow while in use S uch a blow .

ma y start a crack in the stone which ma y develop into ,

a chip a week afterwards and then the workman is ,

ready t o swear tha t it ca me o u t o f itself under proper

“ $

usage These are a few of the reasons that discour

.

age the use O f stone burnishers among workmen ,

although they admit the advantages O f such tools over

steel These are superior s moothness and consequent
.

ease in working greater durability o f the bu rnishing

,

surface and less tendency to fill up with metal and less ,

loss o f time spent in polishing the tool .

S t eel B urni shers In many respects t o o the steel

. , ,

bu nishers are subj ect t o the same tendencies as the

r

stone although they v ary more in te x ture The closer

,
.

grained and hard er the steel becomes the smoothe it ,

r

can be made and the longer it will wear and also the
, ,

gr eater will be its tendency to chip o r crack for steel ,

that is glass hard is easil y broken

“ .
 M O D E R N ELE C T R O P L ATI N G . 1- 75

A lthough but little inferior t o stone in the hands o f a

skille d workman the no v ice is v er y apt to cut his work
,
-

with steel b u rni shers by fai l ing to keep the surface o f

the tool polished and free from meta l o r b y filling the ,

tool with t o o hard pressure o r by ho l ding it at such an

,

angle that it wil l dra g the surface o f the work instead

o f g l i d ing o v er it and pressing it down e v enly and
firmly .

D ifferen c e s in Meta l L ike most other simpl e

.

operations burnishin g is almost entirely a matter o f per

,

sonal skill an d proficiency and can on ly be acquired b y

,

practice T he obj ects to be attained are smoothness

.

and uniformity o f surface and speed in producing them .

T he platin g in smal l shops using batteries o r those ,

usin g dynamos i n which the plater is careless o r unski l l

,

ful wil l v ary greatly in its te x ture S ometimes it comes

, .

o u t soft thick and spongy and at others thin close an d

, , ,

s o hard as to be rather brittle v ar y in g accor d ing to the

,

strength and quantity o f the current and the proportions

O f cyani d e and me t al in the bath The burnisher there
i
.
,

fore works upon v ar y ing te x tures o f metal and he i s

, ,

e x pected to l ar g e ly correct the faults by burnishing a ll

t o a har d durab l e coatin g if he i s doing bright work $
“
.
, ,

O f course if the work is t o be left mat and onl y rims ,

1 76 M O DERN EL E C T R O P L ATI N G .

borders and escutcheons are b u rnished he will be ,

unable to do anything to correct the mat portions but ,

the di fference wi l l be felt on those portions which he

does burnish .

Metho d of Using The tool is grasped fi rmly in

.

the right hand with the burnishing e nd close to the little

,

finger and the forearm resting o n the edge o f t h e bench .

Then with a firm steady pressure the tool is mo v ed

, ,

backward and forward without taking it from the w ork

, .

The tool is kept constant ly moist b y dipping it fr e

q uently in a bowl of soapsuds stan d ing on the bench an d
it is kept polished by rubbing the b il r nish in g surface on
a piece o f leather nailed on the bench and ha v ing a little
tin putty o r Vienna lime and O il on it A p i ece of thick .

wa l rus or sea horse nai l ed flat i s general ly used and

-
, ,

by passing the burnishers o v er it the n arrow way ( as if

o u were cutting it with a knife the tool soon make
y ) , s

itself a track that fits perfectly and thus polishes the

whole surface at once sa v ing time as a stroke o r t wo
, ,

on the leather co v ers the entire surface D ifferent .

widths of tools wi l l of course ha v e separate tracks on

t he leather.

The tools are o f di fferent shapes to suit variou s

requirements of the work Fig 2 7 and the first burnish
, .
,
1 78 M O D E RN ELE C TR O PLA TI NG .

ing is done with tools o f comparati v ely sharp edges ,

while the finishing is done with much rounder ones ,

although as the workman acquires skill he will go o v er

, ,

his work less and use fewer tools gradually settling

,

down to a few forms which he fin d s best suited t o his

run o f work .

B rittle deposits must ha v e j ust su ffi cient pressure to

smooth the work ; coarse and spongy metal needs harder
pressure C aution must be exercised in inspecting the
.

work before beginning to burnish as un l ess it is known

,

to be all right the metal ma y be stripped O ff from faulty

,

places in the work by too much pressure and this is ,

prett y sure to be followed by a quarrel between the bur

misher and plater The former maintains that the work
.

was n o t properly plated and the plater alleges that it

wou ld ha v e stood all right if the burnisher had not
strippe d it through carelessness In any case the work
.

has to be done o v er .
 C HA P TE R $ IV .

S OM E FI NI S HES FOR PLATERS .

O ne the most v e x atious questions that anno y the

of

a v erage plater is that o f finishing o r co l oring his “

work I was in a supply store recently and o v erhear d

.

a customer sa y t o the sa l esman That sil v er so l ution .

“

y ou sent me isn t right at all I want black sil v er

’
. .

T his plates a ll right but is as whit e as the pure meta l

, ,

a n d I want that black silver that is seen e v er y where

n o w a days
- -
The salesman seemed to re g ard the p r o
.

t est as an e v eryday a ffair and calml y explained that the

,

b l ack co l or was pro d uced afterward gi v ing some simp l e ,

d irections an d h e departe d apparent l y satisfied and cer

'

t a inl v wiser .

T his set me t o thinking and after o v erhauling a lot o f

,

O l d formu l as containing a l most e v er y thing from bi ll s

,

a n d l i v ers o f ducks to chlori d e o f gold and platinum I ,

b egan to wonder h o w man y o f tho se who used those

r ecipes reali e d what the y were doing and it occurred

z ,

1 79
1 80 M O DERN ELEC T R O PLA TI N G .

to me that perhaps a few plain words on the chemistr y

o f these finishes might be o f service to the younger
generation of platers I n the first place it will be evi
.

dent that all these mysteriously compounded ecipes are r

simply intended to tarnish the bright metal N o w .

,

most o f the colored c ompounds on silver copper and ,

brass consist either Of sulp h ides chlorides or carbides ;

,

that is of a union o f sulphur chlorine o carbon with

, ,
r

the metal upon which the discoloration is to be pro

du c e d .This being clear it follows that we must use
,

those compounds in o u r dips which have the sulphur o r

chlorine held i n very feeble union with the base so that ,

it will readily part from that base and unite with the
bright metal when it is dipped into the solution This .

is practically all that there is to the dip and it will be ,

readily seen that the vast quantity o f stuff put into many
o f the recipes is utterly useless in fact worse than use
, ,

less most o f them being a positive detriment

,

O n e of the compounds most generally used is the

pentasulphide of potassium ( liver o f sulphur ) It parts .

readily with its sulphur and the potassium being left

,

free in the solution attracts oxygen first then carbonic

, ,

acid from the air a nd thus becomes caustic potash

, ,

which is too well known as a cleansing agent in the

plating room to need further comment .
1 82 M O D E RN ELE C T R O PL ATI N G .

strength O f the solution gi v en abo v e is suitable f o r al l but

the lightest shades ; for these it is ad v isable to add more
water The workman will see that there is a large
.

margin left him for taste and skill in using these dips as ,

is always the case in simple operations and if he wil l ,

patiently l earn h o w to do them by experimenting with ,

the v arious metals he will be wel l repaid for his time

,
'

and trouble .

O n e of the most useful dips for platers ne x t to the ,

liver o f s ulphur mentioned above is the green This is

, , .

generally used o n brass more rarely o n copper an d ,

silver a nd frequentl y on zinc The same rules as to

, .

cleanliness o f the obj ect and the length o f immersions ,

washings etc apply to all these dips and it will b e

,
.
, ,

understood without mentioning them in futur e .

Green Red o r Brow n Bronze fo r Bra ss is f r e

,

quently used on st a tuettes either o f brass o r copper , ,

builder s hardware etc and is composed of

’
, .
,

H yp l p hi t
o su f di m e o so 4 u o u nc e s .

N it t f i
ra e o ro n 4 o un c e s

W t a er I q t ua r .

D issolve the iron and soda in the water and allow ,

to stand until thoroughly incorporated Then dip the .

article as previously described O n being immersed .

 M O D E R N E L E C T R O P L A TI N G . 1 83

the article turns brown then red an d finally green so

, , ,

that it wi l l readi l y b e percei v ed that any number o f

shades can b e produced with this clip

O l ive B ra ss is ma d e by imm ersing in

Green on

P h l id f i
e rc or e o ro n I p t b y w ig ht ar e .

W t a er p t b y w ight 2 ar s e .

This dip produce s green tints ranging from a pale t o

a dark Oli v e green o n brass according t o t h e time of ,

immersion The articles after being buffed should

.
, ,

ha v e al l g rease remo v ed by being d ipped in h o t potash ,

then in h o t wa t er then in a solution o f cyanide ma d e

, ,

up o f o n e half pound of c y anide O f potassium to each

-

gallon o f water and finall y immerse d in the green dip

,
.

If the color is une v en the treatment with pumice stone

,

previously described must b e applied .

Frequently articles brought in to be repaire d o r

cleaned up are from some cause such as worn plating , ,

etc unsuitable f o r dipping as the co l or would b e v ery

.
, ,

uneven while it would n o t pay t o strip and replate In

,
.

such cases the color is applied in the finishing lacquer ;

G reen Pa tina o n a ny Met a l C arbonate of cop .

per o r v erdigris or any suitable mi x ture o f the t w o

, ,

salts according to the tint desired is mixed in zapon

, ,
1 84 M O DERN ELEC T RO PLA TI N G .

lacquer o any light colored varnish and applied to the

,
r ,

o bj ect wit h a brush and the high parts i mmediately

,

wiped o ff with a rag dipped in the proper solvent for

the varnish If zapon o r other celluloid lacquer be
.

emplo y ed the rag should be dipped in lacquer

,
“

thinner ( acetate o f amyl ); if an alcoholic varnish

$

be used then o f course alcohol should be used o n the

, , ,

wi ping rag It takes a little experience to get the nec

.

essary touch to leave a smooth and e v en coating on the

Obj ect ; when this is once acquired however the work , ,

is accomplished as quickly as plain lacquering and can , ,

Of c o r s e ; b e used o n any metal A final coat o f clear

u .

lacquer should be given after the bronzing coat is d y r ,

to protect the bare parts o f the metal from oxidation .

Lig h tGreen o n Sh ee t Zinc A very n i ce light .

green may be imparted to sheet zinc by means o f the

following : D issolve 1 0 parts of hyposulphite o f sodium
in 1 00 parts o f water in a well glazed stone crock or a
glass j ar and then add to it slowly with constant stir ,
$

ring 5 parts of sulphuric acid The liquid will become

,
.

hO t by the addition of the sulphuric acid and it should

'

be allowed to cool until the milk o f sulphur settles in

powder or lumps at the bottom D ecant the liquid c o n .

tainin g sulphate of sodium and sulphurous acid and

 C HA P TER $ V
.

TH E M ET H O D S OF US IN G LACQ
UERS .

With the e x ception o f nickel and gold all the work ,

turned o u t by the plater is greatly impro v ed in appear

ance and the durability of the final polish b y ha v ing o ne
or more coats o f l acquer applied to it before deli v ery to
the customer In the case o f easily tarnished metals
.
,

such as brass o copper and when the final color has

r ,

been produced by dipping this is a necessity

,

The Oldest lacquers we re simply transparent v ar

nishes generally of shellac and alcohol applied v ery
, ,

thin and repeated two or three times to get the n e c e s

sary thickness and perfectly co v er the metal With the .

in v ention o f celluloid and its application to so many

articles o f ornament and use came the death blow to
,

the gum lacquers as it was speedily found that celluloid

,

could b e dissol v ed in acetate o f amyl and acetone and ,

thus prepared made a harder tougher more t r a n sp a

, , ,
r

ent more durable and cheaper lacquer than a ny o f the

,

1 86
 M O DERN ELE C T R O PL ATI N G . 1 87

combinations o f gum and alcohol or other sol v ents It .

is more easi l y handle d can be co l ored more readily and

, ,

is the only colorless lacquer an d therefore the only o ne

,

perfectl y adapted to sil v erware .

The ce l luloid lacquer is sold in the market under v ar

ious names but may be classifie d under two g eneral
,

heads colorless and colore d The y are largel y sold in

,
.

v arious grades adapted fo r special purposes and if the

, ,
l

plater is doing a special l ine o f work he will find it

most economica l to buy his lacquer as speciall y pr e
pared for that work Those doing a large v ariety Of
.

work or desiring to e x periment will find it o f a d va n

, ,

tage to buy co l or l ess l acquer colors and l acquer ,

“

thinner and mi x co l ors to suit themselves L acquer .

colors are specially prepared and are sold in a c o nc e n

t r a t e d form so that the novice must be v ery careful not
,

to get in too much They dissolve rea d i l y in the lac

.

quer but do n o t become e v enly d istributed throughout

,

the whole O f the fluid for some hours so that care must ,

be taken t o m x them the da y b efore they are to b e

i

used if more than a few ounces o f a specia l co l or are

,

to b e made up .

L arge estab l ishments ha v e a room ( free from dust )

heated to 1 4 0 F and pro v ide d with a chimney o r other
°
.

m eans O f draught to carr y o ff the fumes o f the acetone ,

,
1 88 M O DERN ELEC T R O PLA TI NG .

which are disagreeable to many persons The lacquer .

is p l aced in a wooden o enameled iron vat and the

r ,

articles perfectly clean and warmed t o 1 00 o 1 1 0 F

,
°
r
°
.
,

are hung on hooks and dipped into the vat taken o t , u ,

turned about a moment to allow the superfl ous liquid u

to run o ff and hung up to dry The lacquer thickens

, .

up in use and must be diluted from time to time with

the thinner “
If too thick the work is uneven ; if too
.
$
,

thin rainbow colors show o n the article an d it must be

,

dipped again .

A rticles which cannot be hung up are generally dried

in trays having bottoms made o f wire cloth ; a rather
coarse mesh is used and the trays are stacked up o v er
the source o f heat after the articles have ceased to
,

drip In this way great numbers of small articles may

.

be handled in very little space and may be left in the ,

drying room long enough to become thoroughly hard ,

which is the chief point as regards durability o f the

lacquer .

S mall establishments generally use a sheet iron drum

o oven which may b e heated by gas o an o il sto v e to
r ,
r

the degree required to bake t h e lacquer properly To .

warm the articles they use a hot plate o an i on “

,
$
r r

tray placed o v er a gas sto v e M any small sh ops do .

their drying on wire trays resting on a steam coil when ,

 I N DE $ .

B ffll ti kk wh l
u s c
BB u ne c e
ii hhi g ff t of e s

A i
c d bo i
All o y fi of, rac c
t t gth B
u rn s
u rn s
n
e rs
, e ec s

on
s, e ect s c u rre n s re n
tto l s ee

Am l g m ti g i
a a a n z nc
m tho d of
s
e
ne
u s 1 ng

m t e er
B o x t mbl i g h of s ap e s

Amo t of i lv d o it d
un s s er ep s e es , u n

A od
n f b es or ra ss
CO p p e r
ii l vk l n c e
s er
AA i gito di o lv
qua re a
C v wh l
an as ee s 58
rs e n c , ss e .

CC h l o ti o l oftioo l d j
a ra s u ns . . _ 1 57
d e g 1 44
t g of go
r

p e r ce n ld m a e 1 46
of i
C o l o i g with go l dlv s er 1 28
r n 1 64

B l i g wh l i o l i hi g
n p s n 65
wh l
Q

a an c n ee s ee s 65
B tt y DB i l
er u n se n C o tio
nn e c ns
a ,

C o b th m
fl ,

an e p p er a s
i ra v
me e
ty
C op d ii kfl f g m t of an a e en
p e r, p or 83
B tt i
a er e s c o lgi gm t ofup n p c e or 82
m
l tio i
an a e en to
CC ootto d bmffwh l po l i h s 78
se ec n o run u ee s 57
BB l l t k t i k l p l ti g
e s ra p s n
C o pl i g b tt i u s 63
ac n c e a n n a e r es 22
BB o ib thi d
u
ra c c a c 71
ra ss a
m
s
m t of a n ag e en
C t g l tio f
u r re n , re
90, 1 01
u a n O
1 52
dip f C t t t h f b ll o y
u rre n s re n g 1 61
olii vkl gf f e
or
r ee n , or
or a
r as s
s
1 01
1 05
c e or
po p
l i hi g s n goi l k l cop e r.

BB ight
r
it Gi
i ldi g
to o li h
n
i lv
n c e 112
ann a , s 1 1 s er 3 1 39
B o gb ow f b b Cy id di f b -
r p ,

r nze , r n or r ass an e p or ra s s 83

g i k i lvi re e n o n
re e n o n z n c
ra s s C yb i d of ot i m i b
an
at
e p ass u n ra s s
1 01
p n on s er C yb thi d o f pot i m i o p
an e ass u n c p er

B h d re b on r ass a s 1 01 , 1 04
C y i d of ot i m igolv l d bb thth
. .

ru s es an e p ass u ln a s 1 47

B ff otto
u s, c
t h
s c ra c
n
in s er a s,
 I NDE $ .

Dip s an d pi kl tio of c e s, ac n II o t mi k l t f m i
n s ru en s. e a s u r ng
o
Dip f o r c pp
y id f b
b er o r ra s s r n, p c e or
c an e or ras s d t l to o l i h
an
o mo l r u
s ee p s

D y mo o oftio f
na s , c a re
c nn e c ns or
i m t of r e q u re en s
of u se

El t i it y d fi itio of
ec r c e n n -Q

E l t o oio fl i d
ec r p
,

n u
E m y wh l
er ee s

M an a g m t of b tt i e
e en a er s
M ac hi y f po l i h i
ner or s ng
Fel t wh l ee s Ma t i il f i to l i mh i t
er a s or p s ng
l x ib l h ft
Fe e s a M e asu r ng n s ru en s
i i hi g go ld
Fn s n
ibl kkl i k l n c e .

ac n c e
Fi i h
n f l t
s ‘
es or p a e rs

Ni k l b l d p1dl tio l gtio

c e an s u
n
ns 1 60
1 21
ac a
d o it
o l tio f l t i
ep s s, au s n
1 09 , 1 24
s u ns
a p p e a r an c e oi -1 1 3

GGo ldm i lv i k l f o ditio of

.

er an s e r, p c e or 83 c n n 113
1 20
a ll o y pi k l fs, c es 84 91
b th m a s, te f 8
or
e r a t u re o -l 4 1 55
c hlo id r e 0
.

1 44
toto dti i o l v ss e
s r p 92
l ti g d bi l it y of
.

p a n u ra 1 63
o l tio hot
s u o l o of
,

ns , c 8 r 1 42 1 4 , 1 5 5 Ol iv g e b re e n o n ra s s

o ld c
1 48
1 51
O mo l dfii i h
r u ps
n s
f b ig h t gi ld i g
or r n -1 5 7 Ox i d to t i e s,
es

f io d t 1 or r n an s ee -1 5 6
s r p

o tt i i g i k l c n a n n n c e
c a ra 1 57
gl re e n . 1 59
pa e 1 59
d
oto k
re 158
1 58
PP lti o ld o l tio
a e g
m t l
s u ns
r se n a o n a ny e a

G wh l f s c 1 49 Pi kl bf l bk f i o
a
c e or ra s s
re a s e ee s 64 n
G bl i oh t i b ac or r
re e n r n ze or r as s 1 82 b ight f i o r or r n

ti mg o n z nc
m t l
n a o n any
1 84
1 83
o
g m i lv C p p er
an s
pa e a er
to o v re e 92 o ld ll o yg
er
a s
 I ND E $ .

PA G E .
PPoi l ik hi g i ldv i tio of
n on s er 1 85 St l b i h h
ee u rn s e rs , s of
s n
hm td i l re c n 68 St b
rap s , lt ap e s

S t i k i g o l tio
, e
ea s -5 0 5 2 n s n
S t i pi g l tio
r

r
a er a s
oo m vm tihil tio y ooff ac ner
,

69
49
r n
goi l dk l
p so u
u
ns , u se of
, .

en n 49
l
n c
Po l i hi g wh l woo
a e
s n
d
ee c e an e r 60
59
oixl vi d es

Po l i hi g bb it i
s n ras s 78 o l tio
s
s
er
ns , u s e of
S l ph l i v o f
. u
a nn a 78
i
r
op
il o d d t l c pe 78
u
Swit h i t c
u r,

, re s s an c e
er
O
O ‘

r n an s ee 76
78
ikl ea . .

n c e 1 20
t in 78

P p tio i of wo k
z nc

P opo tio of m t l
re a ra n
lt
r
in
76
1 61
T k h p ti itgy of
an s, ca ac 43
r r ns e a sa s n 44
P mi to
u ce s ne 73 io
ea
n 43
li i g
r .

n n 42
pml til l a ng 41
s 43
T m t o f goi ldk l o l tio a .

e p e ra u re s u n s 1 48 ,
. 155

Qi k i g o l tio
n c 1 18
u c n s u ns T to
in ,
T ipo
r li
o li h p s
e
78

TT mbi l ig gy bol l ow
u
u rn n
x n es
e .

R ttl i g bo x n es 54
R d b o b
a
n ze o n 1 82
R d go l d o l tio
e r rass
- L -1 5 8

ti l tio of po l i h i g oo m
s ns
R g l tio of
e
t u
Ven a n s n r
e u a n c u r re n
1 3 1 , 1 39 , 1 42, 1 5 2 io l t g l i
V e nn a me
R mo v i g g 92 V
ol t t
n re e n a e
R i t l ti l
e .

e s s an c e , e e c r c a 10 V me e r
wit h c 37
RRoo g o l o d go l d o l tio s .

se c re s u ns 1 59
u e 71

W h ee s , l
bb ll l i kg a an c n
u nec
v c an
.

l
as .

S thb h
c ra c 74
m y o dm
c eaner

So ig i k es
ru s
run
f lt e or c
er u
s n 73
S tio l p l ti g
c ur n

S h ft fl x ib l
ec na a n 1 37
51 gl th e
r e as e

S h p of t l b i h
a , e e
ea er

S ilv h l o id
a es s ee u rn s ers 1 77
1 28 p d i
wwool d o l i hi g s ee O

y id
er c
an
r e
1 38 a ru s

S i l v o l tio c e
n
l t i l p it y of p s
Wi
ns
S i lv mo t d po it d
er s u
re , e e c r c a ca ac
Wo k p tio of
un s 1 36
o l tio m g m t f
er, a e s e 4 -
r re p a r a n
s ns, anao e e n o 1 3i , 1 3 3 ,

wo k d od
u
an an e s i n 1 32
S ilv p l ti g h p wo k
r
er n 95
pito kt ip a
n on
, c ea r
1 85
91
Si k o i g
n sc
s r
ur n
.

73 Z i tol ightmg l g
nc , a a a ma t e
S p d of t h b h
,
f
3
es re e n or
ee s c ra c ru s
to o l i h
66
p s
 The Escapemen s
wI ll t ht t d lwith t T h i C o t t io d P opo tio
o k tw p tmy d it gthom o ghPlyp i ll C otv t dP i d d ib d
an
.

es c a
Al e r
en s
n s ru c n an r r n . l
a c c c e r u u s ra e an esc r e .

u s ra e d 8 en 50
l oth b i d i g a ra s. a er ers r ce
S m i
a e n c n n 75
i E y
Pr ze W t h l d R
ssa ioni g B y F 0 Ri Thi wo k
a c C eaning an epa r n ce
too k h fi —ti p i ( o ff d by Th Am i J w l ) i o mp titi o s r
. . . .

t rs r ze . e re e r c an n c n
with thi t y o
m t T k i g D ow Fi tti g
h w
e
i C o i ts x t x m i tio o f
Fitti g C t P i v ot
t h M ov
er r t er s
e
n en s : E
e
na
e er
n t
e

d B i dg
r
en a D nl n; n
.

th e a ; n
a
en e r an
e e

Bi hi R Et hd th Pk W o C S t P i io T i xg h i B tio l o Rf p i i
us
;
ng ; n s a e; rn en e r n ns ; ru n t e ar re ;
r
e a r
e;

ng t h e a c F E m Mu t t l ng on q u ar e o n na n a n
i g S m wm d M h i m E x m i tio o f T i I m it tio
e
;
p r n
'

Gil l d i i gg P iGv ot Ml kPi ig B l

s
n
; te
S t ff Th H i p i J w li a
ec
n
an s ; a
a anc e
a
na
u ze e ;
n
a
ra n ; a n
; s; a ; e a rs r ng ; e e ng ;
C ean n in e ne r a . r ce

W d C
at ch an m t Jw li B y N B Sh wood A o mp l t t
h rono e er e e ng re a
tio f G mthi dbj Mt k d h owl yl R i pi iit t TooC ol t t P ltoi i i
se o n s su ec an t e n
.

o ne
.

n
.

r n
er
.
.

n en s :
c
ec u
e e
ar t es

n J u se in d H w U a an
Thh m S h} Tphi gE dd hP okl i Too
e s l g e e s; eq u s
e ; a hi gl h J w ll HOp n i g h J w l S tti g
an s n t e e :
e
en n
s
t
o se
n
i t to p i I ll e e
Re
e e ; e

gt l
t cevvg e n s a ; G e n e ra n s the
i
e a ; e a r er . us
1 ra e Er ce

tt l B y F W h lpl y k ow l d g d
‘

Genera Le E erG ngraying h t n

tho t y Hi l t t d b t wo k C o t t e e e ac e e
. . .
,

au i r m o n e n g r av g G a es an n en s : en
L i d C v O igi l ity P ti s es r
.
.

e ra l Hm O B ts t eg 1 nne rs ; nes an na
l P o i t i o of G v
rac ce
M a t en a ; T tm t o f G v C o t S p i g
s
.

n ra er ; r ea en
ur es ;
ra
r
ers ; r r ec
;
ac n ;
C o ffi hP l oE kg P v i p g Ntio o fyPTl t l L i o f n at e n ra n ; ec e ssa r o o s; ay ng
W U
o u t; t n
Go f Lv tt M Ith ol di otiof C oftti g vS l op T d Hf igi ht ra e rs ;
e
e
r
s
re ara
u n ; e an
a e; se
e
G e er s ; nc na n ra er ; r an s e r n g ;
LH ttm App op i t Lo d Sh o t N m e ers r a e for ng an r a es ;
o i L yi g O To hi g Up i ffi l t
r

M t i l
y
d th i T t m t Too l
D ar
d
n n a n ut ; uc n ; cu
an
a er a s an rea en s
M t i l Sh p i g G v h oi mof
e r

Too l E g v i g i Ri g G v f S
C a er a s;
s; n ra
ar
n
en n
n n
;
ra ers ; ce
a e:
s; ra e rs or
EFo gm vtio i g B l od kO dm S t tio d C ip h t h i
I n
iptio ra n c s an an s ; er s , e r
r a n an rn a enta n; n sc r ns ;
Bwitht MM o og omf C Mttio gog Cmip h d thC oi mTp td es a nn e r u n ; er s a s ar e
n ra s; n ra s an e r re a
m t Fig M o og m Ci h id I
en ; t u re n s or p ero s; n er
t wi i g C o m p l x M o og m l T tm t C opio ly I ll
ra

n n G e n ra s; e n er a en us us
pp P p C l ot h re a .
,

t r at ed 112
‘

. . a er

W t hm k d Jw l ti R i pt B k A wo k h op
’ ’
Th e an e e ers a c Prac cal a ers
ece oo r s
c oo mld p io oo mdp ii ig g fl l l i gd ppi ktil gl fopo ml i hl i db doi i tiog o lfo
an n, c r s n u an rac ca r u a an rec ns or
.

s e r s an sd l
e r n , c ea n n , in , s ng , r nz n , c
t i i g m ti g
c
t hi g i g v i hi g g l
r
ing , s a n n , c e en n , e c n , ac q u e r n ,l a rn s n , e n e ra
di tio
ns o r f
n s fi i hi g l l m t l
n a e a s, un r e s h d d o f mh mi l l o
sc e a n e u s r e c e ipt
d p o o f g t v l to l l p ti l w t k d j w l
rec s
an r c e s s es re a a ue a r ac ca a c a ers an e e ers
Thi i h o ly b oo k
s st e
d i tio f t h i n on t e h m k t
a r e tic - a y
m po t a
it d
ve s ut hant
i
gic f ll
e e
h b ow l o f o v
d ompl t
i
.

ns o r e c ng na es , r ra s , etc , n t e s s u en r
poo
re c
d i lv ti l i g l Thi ll d t t
.

ns an s er ar c es i n en e r a s s o -c a e ra d e se c r e s
s
s o ld b yv it i p o l i t d pD op o f fotohm t dto t t h t
c er a n e rs ns at
.

ze n s er ra e s e c re s a
d d f e rt s e o r sa e n b ra e a er s a t r c an e
f o d i th i boo k W o th i w ight i go l d to p ti l w t h
a re a
un n ts e n a ny r ac ca a c
d j w l p g il l t t d p o
s r
m k
.

er an e er 1 32 a es , u s ra e Pa er c ver s .
Fi E g l i h m l i bi d i g
a e . .

ne n s us n n n

P i i g h B l
osn A tE e y of a ance l m it B y J L Fi
. n ssa u n u su a er . . . nn
H i p i i g A o mp l t t
a rs r ng n ti th ofc h i i i Be e r ea se o n e a rt; a rs p r n g n g y
A Z i
. .

Pr ce

A dj t m t t P iti i m d C mp ti Th o l y wo k
. .

us I
en s h o os ons, soc ron s an o ensa on. e n r on
th e su bj t i p i t pp l ll ec n d
r n P . 50 . u s t ra t e . ri c e

R i i g W t h C
epa r n a c A p ti l t ti th
ases bj t B W rac ca r ea se o n e su ec y
C o t Jt R p i i g h P d t h Li i g P d t . . .

S hw a na t u s n en s : a r n t e en an ; n n en an
H ol Wo k oi t S o ld i g h B l T C l o i g of h
c . e
h at t e n s; er n t e eze ; e s n t e
C T ki g O h D t
a se ;
es ;
a
r
n pp P i ut t e en s 40 r ce

Jw l P ti l R i t B k C o t i of m o t v l bl
. .

’
e e ers rac ca m ece p oo n a ns a ua
d i fo m ti o
s e
ipt fo g t h d f o m h 8b t d m a a ss
.

m l
.

u a s an n a n, t e es an o st
li bl o Fi f th di tio v i d d l g d pp P
re c e s, r r a e re r
_
re a e s urces . e n , re se an e n ar e 4 . rl c e

Pi t y P W E ig T
.

E
r ze th B l ssay on ff C ii d Be a ance hi S a and n er n er s
y too k h fi t p i off d b y t Am i H o o l ogi l S o i t
. . . .

e s sa t e rs r ze er e 9 er c an r ca c e y .