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Options for nickel-plating one small part??

awake

Titanium
Joined
Jan 24, 2006
Location
Angier, North Carolina
I am getting ready to do a small project for a friend -- replacing a thumbscrew on an antique woodworking plane. Making the thumbscrew is no problem, but the original was nickel plated. My friend says he will be fine with polished steel, but I'd like to see what would be involved in getting it nickel plated.

Questions: 1) Is it likely that I could get one small part nickel-plated for any sort of reasonable cost? I'm assuming my best bet would be to find a shop that is getting ready to send parts out, and see if they would let me throw this one in with their parts -- yes? no?

2) What sort of adjustments would I need to make to allow for the plating? I assume I'd want to cut the threads under-size? How much? What sort of surface finish would be best?

As you can see, I have never done anything involving plating, so I may not even be asking the right questions. Any help will be most appreciated!
 
awake:
I nickel plate small screws for old telegraph keys. I make the screws from brass stock---and wrote detailed instructions on how to do nickel plating in the home. Just type in
Nickel plate home rig and there should be a thread started by me on the subject. Many folks do it and if you have questions just email me at [email protected]
 
Around here the answer to question 1 is no, I have however seen in some gun supply books DIY parkerizing as well as nickel playing kits. Another option could be stailess with a 1500 grit paper finish. Just an idea
 
plating

I have found local platers will cut you some slack if you are not in a rush and can wait for them to throw your piece in with another job. Also helps pricing if you give them a part they don't need to polish or lay down a base coat on before final plating (thickness of coat also matters). Caswell plating (no affiliation) also offers home plating kits. Good luck.

Ed R
 
Caswell Plating has a nickel "plug and plate" kit for $37

I haven't used the nickel one, but I have used the gold and silver with great success. I didn't bother with the brush plating method they explain, I just dip plate the parts and have no complaints at all.

As long as you get all the grease and grime off the part it works like a charm every time.

$37 might be a little more than you want to spend for one part.. but once you have mini little nickel plating system for small parts, you'll probably find some more use for it.

It will be easier to nickel plate brass though. SS will require the "SS plating activator" as well, to be used before the nickel.
 
I will second the stainless. Make a nice job of making it and polish it right up. Will look just as good as nickel but not a yellow and not as blue as chrome, stays a nicer silver at least to my eyes.
 
Nickel plating is easy. It does have to be heated, so I use a crock pot and manually control the temperature just by switching it on and off. You need a DC supply, only a couple of volts, and a piece of nickel sheet for an anode. You need to experiment with the current to get a bright finish, but it is one of the easiest types of plating.

Bill.
 
Doesn't the color of monel fits nikkel better ??
If so you can make it from monel
(if you can find a piece off coarse )

peter from holland

Indeed it does, but monel and nickel silver are nasty to machine. I make the occasional screw or other part from that stuff and it matches up with old nickel quite well. Expensive stock + tough to work with = I'm thinking about plating in the future. . .
Cheers,

Frank Ford
FRETS.COM
HomeShopTech
 
I've had the same problem and thought about trying some plating. Either it's just one or two parts, or modification of an already plated part. Would be cheaper to buy the home kit than to drive to the platers, much less pay the minimum charge.

A question re the home set-ups - can you plate nickel directly over steel, or is a copper strike necessary first?

Also - how toxic are the solutions and fumes? I've always understood plating to be a pretty hazardous affair.
 








 
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