Re: [Harp-L] Chrome plating reed plates



I imagine this idea relates to sending the components off to an
electroplaters (Shudder! how many bits have I lost at the platers over the
years?)
I have known of people to do their own plating, but you'd have to be pretty
keen; out of the range of most hobbyists, and something your local council
may not regard favourably.
I'm stretching my knowledge of the subject here, but I suspect the
'anodizing', probably with
zinc, might be the way to go if you were considering trying this.
I don't quite know what the difference is between the understood usage of
the words 'electroplating' and 'anodizing',
but I have the idea that the latter might be something more within the
means of the hobbyist, and that the thicknesses of coating might be less.
Also the use of something like zinc (which, in addition I think would be
non, or less toxic than anything else I can think of) might
mean that filing back, scraping etc. might be possible, as the stuff is
pretty soft.
RD

On 13 November 2012 15:46, karen mass <kdmass7@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> this isn't a very good idea.
>
> first, it would have to be done with all the reeds removed, as the plating
> will enlarge them in all three axis, and would greatly change their pitch.
> the reeds will no longer fit in their holes.
> second, it would decrease the size of the holes, making it completely
> impossible for the reeds to vibrate in place, even if the reeds were
> removed prior to plating and replaced afterward.
>
> after plating was complete and reassembly was attempted, the holes for the
> rivets would be too small, and forcing the rivets or screws into those
> holes would cause the plating to break, exposing the brass underneath.
> clearing the reed holes would also result in plating breakage.   in my
> experience, plating breaks like old paint chips.  irregularly and prone to
> creating strips of unplated metal.
>
> i imagine there might be some way to mask parts of the plate (without
> reeds) to avoid these problems, but i have no idea of what they are, and i
> certainly can't see any benefits from plating.
>
> keep thinking outside the box though.   lotsa good stuff comes from that!
>
> iowaplayer
>



-- 
Rick Dempster
EÃâÅResources/Serials
LR&A
RMIT Libraries



This archive was generated by a fusion of Pipermail 0.09 (Mailman edition) and MHonArc 2.6.8.