ANODIZING EQUIPMENTS

Hi

Im looking for a supplier in the US for blasing equipment such as nozzles and guns. We are limited here in Sweden so any tip in the right direction is of value. The thing we look for most is Boron carbide nozzles for a gun called BNP.

We custom make birdcages out of 304L ss rod for exotic birds. After resistance welding, the cross-wire joints are silver brazed for additional strength and to make a smooth fillet so the bird’s claws don’t get stuck.
Our problem lies with the flux residue cleanup. We are presently removing the bulk of the sticky stuff with scotchbrite pads, and then finishing by manually polishing with a small buffing wheel on a Foredom flexshaft. This is very time consuming.
A series of pickling/neutralizing/rinsing tanks would take up quite a bit of room due to the size of the cages, and also be quite a bit of chemicals, expense, etc.
We can’t use the pedestal buffer due to its desire to hurl the cage across the room when it gets a good grip. It also only reaches the outside.
I’ve considered purchasing some kind of industrial steam cleaner that could get hot enough to remove the gooey flux, but I doubt it would do much for the firescale, which seems to need to be manually or chemically removed. This choice would also be expensive and would be one more machine demanding bench space in the shop. Please help us find a solution! If Caswell doesn’t have a product or method for this, can anyone recommend a direction for us to pursue?
Thanks in advance for ANY advice!

When i plate one way, the wrapping is covered with black smut, and when i reverse the polarity, the wand underneath the wrapping is covered with smut. What am i doing wrong? No matter what i do, the ipod doesnt seem to plate. If i leave it in one spot for too long on the ipod, the ipod "burns" in that spot, but i can easily wash it off. I’m only 14 plz help!

I heard lately from a friend about cracks in weld seams of an aluminum welded box, that was anodized after welding. The box served as an enclosure in a room, with standard room temperature and humidity. After less than three years, the weld seams cracked and some even broke free. An enquiry broght forward the answer that the acid used in the anodizing process, penetrated into the welding seams and served as a time bomb. After a couple of years, the seams disintegrated.

Is anyone familiar with this phenomenon and is it wiser to anodize before the welding process, or simply to switch to powder coating?

DanielWilcox quote: Now what i dont understand is what amperage do i go by when calculating the 720 rule…

You use the current density that you chose to make the run. CD is chosen by the parameters of the set up and the limitations of you PS.

The amperage setting applied to the PS is calculated from the CD used and the surface area of the part or parts being run.
SS

been coming here to the forum for a few months and finally registered..I posted A question regarding using cellulose insulation for a PC oven..and got A response via e mail..I fully appreciate it, and intend on replying..Just got in from work and too tired to appropriately do so..but will come morning..However I have one more quick question regarding type of metal to use for A PC oven..On the job today across the street the home owner had a new garage door being installed aND I asked for the old one, which was cheerfully given to me.. My main question is..will aluminum garage doors(16 feet long) be okay for the inside and outside walls if properly insulated? I can cut them down to about 5 feet in length, then double them up height wise(if not triple)..fill the already doors with insulation( not sure what yet) then cut more pieces to invert and put over the previously cut pieces to make a 4 inch thick inner wall for insulation..I pretty well like the idea that they are pretty well prefab as far as the thickness, and 2 inch recess on each panel(inverted and screwed together will give me 4 inches inner wall for insulation) and basically attach all my waLLS and roof together saving alot of work..I can also use the track for the automatic door opener with the channel for an already made product trolley to hang it from that will slide in and out to do my baking..Basically..the design is easy…but…Is aluminum acceptable for he inner and outer walls as long as I put enough extra metal sheetrock studs(to make 16 inch centers on the inner framing) then install my insulation. Will the aluminum hold up to 400 degrees with eough inner support and not warp or too much expansion when expanding and contracting? These doors are thickness wise about equal to 22 guage sheet metal…I plan on making an oven big enough to fit whole motorcycle frames in..is the aluminum durable enough to do so(sorry about constant rattling and repeat questions..adhd kinda gets ahold of me sumtimes)Thanks alot…Love the Forum here though..Great peo[ple and alot of good info

Hello All
I have never plated anything in my life. But I have a few pistols and revolvers that I would like to hard chrome. This includes the bore are well as the other parts. I could use a couple of car batteries, with a charger, for the power supply. The first question is: I have a number of switching powers supplies that came from computers. These are high output power supplies and should have no problem outputing 5 to 10 amps. Of course they need a load on the 12 and 5 volt rails so they don’t self destruct but a floppy drive will handle that part. The switching power supplies and two good size car batteries should be enough for pistols. What do you guys think?

Also I would like to hard chrome the bore of these pistols. I have seen a lot of guys on the web that must think they are experts but I doubt it, that’s why I’m asking here. The situation is how do I control the amount of chrome deposited on the bore? A deposit of say .005" is no problem and will have little to no effect on the pressure of the round. Having shot 357 bullets, sized .358, out of my 38 super, normally shoots bullets sized .355, and had no pressure signs at all. ( My pistol is custom 38 super race gun and will not run unless the pressure is high, well above SAAMI specs. Don’t worry to much it’s made for that) But with all that said I don’t want to put down so much chrome that I turn it from a 38 into a 32. How do I control that? I’m sure time is a factor but how do I determine how much chrome is being laid down for a certain amount of time in the bath?

And to make it even more interesting what about rifle barrels? They are a lot longer then pistol barrels. Do I need some sort on anode that runs the length of the bore? Or should I setup some sort of device that flows solution down the bore or both? Also what about bores that have pits? Is it possible that I could lay down some chrome. Then polish the bore with something like 600 grit polish and a lead jag. This would remove the chrome that is on the surface but leave the chrome that is in the pits. Then chrome it all again until I have a smooth surface. I know that this is done on machine tools, like cams and chranks, but I have never heard of it being done on a rifle bore. Any thoughts about this?

And don’t worry about any BATF involvement. I have no interest at all of working on other peoples guns. ( WHAT A PITA ). But I have enough guns of my own that will keep me busy for a very long time.

Oh one last thing. I have an aluminum frame 1911 that I bought from a pawn shop cheap. The person or persons that owned it before me didn’t seem to have a good grasp on the term lubrication. So the steel slide has worn the aluminum frame to the point that the slide is a very sloppy fit. Now I could try and squeeze the slide down to fit the frame but I have never seen this done with any kind of good results, and I’ve seen guys try a lot. Also I have never heard of aluminum being plated. Anodized yes but not plated. So does aluminum take chrome plate? Or any other type of plate for that matter, the harder the better?

Also if I have a section of what I want to plate that I don’t want plate on, like a threaded section, how do I prevent the plate from attaching to that point? Does one use a wax coating? Or should I make a threaded part, something like a nut over a bolt, to go on the part that I want clean and use something like rtv?

Any advice you have will be appreciated.

I think it’s very cool to do your own work no matter what it is. I have paid people before for custom work and wasn’t very pleased with what I got. So I am of the opinion that if I have to pay to get a crappy job I would rather do it myself and get a crappy job. And if I am real lucky it won’t be a crappy job because I will have spent the time it takes in prep to get a good job.

TIA

I was cruising through the threads here for I am now trying to build A PC Oven and seen a couple make them from refridgerators..With all the plastic in them now days I realize this will have to be gutted out..but does anyone have any plans for a fridge oven build? Or any specific info would be appreciated in this build. I have A sandblasting cabinet I built from a full sized fridge, but we have no heat involved in that build. I was looking around for tin, stainless and all other options in the local salvage yards the last few days, but have not found anything satisfactory as of yet…Fridges I run across no less than 3 or 4 weekly out at the curb sides. I want A bigger unit but A fridge unit would do for awhile just to play around wth..I have never even touched A PC gun as of yet, but fixing to learn..any pertinant info on a fridge oven build would be greatly appreciated…I have been coming to Caswells for A few months now concerning sandblasting mostly, and finally have decided to get into powder coating as well..Thanks..Great Group here..and tons of info!!:razz:

Looking to get into PowderCoating soon,as I already have A sandblasting set up and alot of my customers ask me about powder coating all the time. I am A retired Paint Contractor with 37 years experience, but have never touched A PC gun in my life.After extensive research, and many trips here to Caswells, I have decided to now build An oven to powder coat from. I have alot of unopened cellulose insulation laying around and was wondering if this would be sufficient to insulate a PC oven with, providing it is packed in tight and 4 inches thick.Supposedly it has A higher flame retardent rate of common unfaced fiberglass insulation and I feel it will hold 400 degrees quite effeciently, but My main concern is..will the constant usage of 400 degree temperatures make this cellulose, "settle" or break down or anything of the sort?I have many more questions coming soon, but I will try not to flood you all with multiple questions concerning this build..Please let me know your thoughts on using cellulose Insulation on a PC oven..Thanks..

I am fairly new to powder coating but have recentlypainted
My skateboard trucks which i was very proud of. So this
thread is all about showing off your favorite or ost recent
works of art.

Maybe learn or teach something new at the same time.