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Some people are perfectly content with a plastic scratchplate, and that's fine.
But for the rest of us rebels, we need something different. This is for you guys.
This is my first instructable, complete with a plethora of errors and incoherent rambling!
I hope you enjoy it!
As for the making of it, not all of us can own laser cutters and other fancy gadgets that our fellow . . . instructablers? use.
Everything you see was done using these three tools (and maybe some really rough sandpaper)
~Rotary tool
~Tin snips
~Metal nibbler
Neither the nibbler nor the snips are pneumatic, they're hand operated (such a manly device, eh?)
This was my first time working with metal, so if an idiot like myself can do it, so can you!
But for the rest of us rebels, we need something different. This is for you guys.
This is my first instructable, complete with a plethora of errors and incoherent rambling!
I hope you enjoy it!
As for the making of it, not all of us can own laser cutters and other fancy gadgets that our fellow . . . instructablers? use.
Everything you see was done using these three tools (and maybe some really rough sandpaper)
~Rotary tool
~Tin snips
~Metal nibbler
Neither the nibbler nor the snips are pneumatic, they're hand operated (such a manly device, eh?)
This was my first time working with metal, so if an idiot like myself can do it, so can you!
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Signing UpStep 1Picking out your preferred piece of metal and cleaning it.
Although you can pick many different types of metal for this, I chose steel. In retrospect, that was very stupid, considering that I wanted copper, and steel is infinitely harder to cut. So I picked up a sheet of 22 gauge galvanized steel. I then cleaned it up with alcohol, 600 grit sandpaper, steel wool, and some elbow grease! So once you've got it looking vaguely respectable, move onto the next step.
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In fact, I am trying to do the same exact thing: copper plate a galvanized steel piece. I tried a tester piece that I put into a 2parts white vinegar/1part hydrogen peroxide solution with a 9 volt current. After a few hours I got a really nice copper plating on the steel, but it quickly flaked off.
What type of solution did you use? Also, what voltage/amp current did you use? How did you clean/treat the steel before you plated it?
Any tips you can spare would be greatly appreciated!!
To make the 'straight' scratches, all you need to do is go back and forth with a sanding block equipped with a fine grit (I would imagine about 400-150ish, anything higher, and you won't see it, anything lower, and it's doing more than just scratching), taking care to ensure it's STRAIGHT. If it isn't, it will look silly. I know, because that's what I tried to do when I originally made this. I plated it afterward because my brushing wasn't perfectly straight.
I don't know what you would use for the circular ones, other than those stripping bits that have many strands of wire that go into your drill.
Good luck.
For shiny steel or something to that extent, you could do a Nickel II sulfate bath (At least I think that's the compound you use for Nickel plating). I tried to do something like that with a Bigsby-esque tailpiece I made, but for whatever reason, the galvanized sheet metal from Home Depot wouldn't take to it (or maybe my amperage was too low?)
Thanks, although the photos don't really do it justice, the flash washed it out. It's a simple mahogany stain on alder with tung oil.