SOHC.co.uk Forums > Anorak's Corner
Gatepost (Gateros ) Plating kits
Orcade-Ian:
Dom,
I've been using Gateros stuff ever since I came to Orkney (2005) as I didn't trust sending precious stuff away. Those recessed bolts can be troublesome if you just suspend them by their threads as you can create an air pocket as you lower them into the electrolyte. I use strips of that thin perforated building strapping and run a 6mm tap through the holes. Then you can screw the recessed bolts in sideways and suspend them horizontally. I also have various bits of thin plate with lots of 3,4 and 5mm threaded holes which I suspend from the cathode bar. It's a hell of a lot quicker than wiring each part separately.
Ian
Orcade-Ian:
Just remembered a piece I put on my site in the early days before I hit on the strapping idea.
http://www.stallard-engineering.co.uk/Engineering/Zinc%20Plating.htm
Ian
DomP:
--- Quote from: Orcade-Ian on October 14, 2023, 04:23:42 PM ---Dom,
I've been using Gateros stuff ever since I came to Orkney (2005) as I didn't trust sending precious stuff away. Those recessed bolts can be troublesome if you just suspend them by their threads as you can create an air pocket as you lower them into the electrolyte. I use strips of that thin perforated building strapping and run a 6mm tap through the holes. Then you can screw the recessed bolts in sideways and suspend them horizontally. I also have various bits of thin plate with lots of 3,4 and 5mm threaded holes which I suspend from the cathode bar. It's a hell of a lot quicker than wiring each part separately.
Ian
--- End quote ---
That's a really good idea Ian! I think you are onto something with the air pocket too, in my haste and excitement to get plating I overlooked that bit. I'm having issues with rough finish now which I think is down to over estimating the surface area of my bolts, again I would imagine a slow plate is better if a bit time consuming.
Orcade-Ian:
Hello again,
Yes, the rough plating is usually down to too much current or too much time (or both) Don't despair, just put them back into the brick/path cleaner until clean again and re-plate at a lower setting. The air pocket does produce a dark surface. I use a 3" wire wheel in the pillar drill and grip the bolt in an old Jacobs chuck with arbor and clean them up that way. Sometimes I might just go round the internal wall of the recess with a scriber if there is stubborn crap there, then back on the wheel. Occasionally they end up in a dark corner of the workshop, only to be found years later when looking for something else!
Got to say, although time consuming, it's very rewarding.
Ian
DomP:
Yes it's certainly rewarding, I wouldn't say I've produced a perfect finish yet but I do now know why, tomorrow's batch should be somewhere near perfect I hope. I've ordered a small waterfeature pump from Amazon to save me having to agitate the solution by hand.
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