Ebony & Ivory - PotC compass build-up

[deathscythe]

I am loving this thread!
I will be getting around to making my compass at some point, although I'm using maple and dying it instead of ebony.

You do fantastic work sir!
Your inlays are amazing!

 

[Pulseriflefan]

LOL good to see that this thread is inspiring to some of you - you can do a lot yourself if you just give it a try.

Well, my english is maybe a bit to small to explain but I will give it a try LOL

The etching procedure is the same as you do for printed copper boards - the Natriumperlsulfat is eating copper. Brass is a mixture between copper and zinc.

With the toner transfer you protect the areas which should be not eaten by the chemistry.
Toner from laser or Xerox copy-machine is thermostatic and will "burned" on the paper through heat.
Once the toner is on the paper - you can heat it again with an iron or modified laminator. The heated toner sticks like glue on the metal.

I tried a bunch of different papers - some recommand catalog sides but I had the best results with the matt inkjet paper which has more paper instead of plastic inside.
The hard part is to remove the paper from the plate without removing the fine toner lines - it can take half an hour if you do it.

Check out "toner transfer" through google for further info - I just have some german sites for detailed info.

If you don`t want to etch you can also just bring the scale (not inverted of course) on the plate.

The toner transfer is working fine on all things - so a great way to bring details like lettering or graphics on.

Please feel free to ask for more clues.

 

[Jack of All Trades]

Amazing work! I will definitely have to give that a try! Where did you get the hollow wooden spheres? I can't find them ANYWHERE!

 

[PHArchivist]

Next thin we know, this will be a truly functioning, magnetic compass!

 

[Zombie Killer]

Outstanding work!!! I am going to have to look into that brass etching process. Way cool.

 

[Shylaah]

Oh WOW!! Pulseriflefan!! That dial trick is FANTASTIC! And so is your whole build!

Wish now I'd paid more attention in chemistry class!?
What is Natriumperlsulfat.....I hope it's not anything toooo dangerous/hazadous! And where would one buy it!?!

The "brass plate", how thick is that and how or with what do you cut it out? Could you do this right on a brass washer and not have to cut it out--cause I don't think my Xacto knife will work here :lol

Shylaah

making of a brass scale.

First I made the scale with windows "paint" - saved as bmp with very high resolution. Inverted black to white and mirrored it.

Printing on a sheet of matt 130g/m paper from Tetenal with high contrast in the size I need for my compass.

Note that you can only use laser or Xerox printer - no inkjet possible.

get a brass plate and clean the surface with acetone (or girls nail enamel remover) - don`t touch it after cleaning !

put the printed scale onto the brass plate and press an iron on (highest temperature) for a couple of minutes. The toner is sticking on the plate.

Let it cool down and drop the plate into a bowl of cold water to remove the paper gently of the plate with your fingers until you can see shiny brass

use the kitchen sink and fill it with boiled water - put a glas vessel into the sink with Natriumperlsulfat until the chemestry has ca. 45-50°C.

tape the areas which you don`t wanna etch with Tesafilm or anything else

hold the plate into the vessel and blow in some air with a drinking straw - do NOT suck ! Check the result each minute til you are happy with it.

rinse the plate with cold water and remove the remaining toner with Aceton - et voila : a nice detailed homebrew compass scale :

 

[HeroWorship]

Simply amazing!

Was the water in the sink boiled on the stove and transfered to the sink or just hot water out of the spigot?

 

[loly2kn2]

That's amazing. Keep up the great work!

Lawrence

 

[Pulseriflefan]

Amazing work! I will definitely have to give that a try! Where did you get the hollow wooden spheres? I can't find them ANYWHERE!

eBay is a great place for everything LOL Take your time to search for these - they pop up from time to time and are on sale for 8-10 bucks depending on the painting on them.

Not sure that they are on ebay.com so check out ebay.de

Next thin we know, this will be a truly functioning, magnetic compass!

that question will be answered at the end of this thread ....:cool

Wish now I'd paid more attention in chemistry class!?
What is Natriumperlsulfat.....I hope it's not anything toooo dangerous/hazadous! And where would one buy it!?!

The "brass plate", how thick is that and how or with what do you cut it out? Could you do this right on a brass washer and not have to cut it out--cause I don't think my Xacto knife will work here :lol

LOL I am far away from being a good school-boy - just watch and learn and never give up. I`m a merchant - crafting I learned myself.

You should be able to buy Natriumperlsulfat in any store where you can buy electronic parts - this is in use to make copper boards. It`s not really special. I would`nt drink it but I don`t think that is more dangerous than a chinese plastic toy car for kids :lol

I used a 2mm brass plate which I had at hand - that`s around 0.08" at your World`s End.

LOL yepp your Xacto is like a Suiss Pocket Knife but you can`t do all with it :lol I will cut out the scale with my mini mill attached to a turning table (will make some shots of it).

A brass washer should work too - difficulty to place the printout exactly on it I guess but why not.

Was the water in the sink boiled on the stove and transfered to the sink or just hot water out of the spigot?

Both. First out of the spigot then transfering water in a pot ca. 5-6 times from the stove. Temperature is important for a fast etching process. Avoid too long etching (problems with "under-etching" will make small details wider)

 

[deathscythe]

Hey Pulseriflefan - one quick question:
Where did you get your Elforyn? I've done some on-line searches, and I found info about it, but nothing about where to order it... Did you pick it up somewhere local, or do you know where you can order it?

Thanks,
- ds

 

[LizardJedi]

This is awesome. I modified a toy one too... and it looks no where near where this is!

Looking forward to seeing it all together!

 

[Powermove]

This is a great looking project. It's nice to see something made from materials similar to what jack's compass would be made from (if he was real). Is there a way to stain the Elforyn to make it look older?

 

[muchuanlin]

Wow! Just superb!
good

 

[hoverboy]

Each new picture I scroll down to just keeps getting better and better! This is amazing.

 

[Pulseriflefan]

Where did you get your Elforyn? I've done some on-line searches, and I found info about it, but nothing about where to order it... Did you pick it up somewhere local, or do you know where you can order it?

I ordered it here : Nordisches Handwerk | Startseite

sorry, only in german :confused


thank you all for your great feedback :thumbsup

Is there a way to stain the Elforyn to make it look older?

Elforyn seems to be a combination of plastic and mineral material - I didn't try to age it yet but during the sanding it got a lot darker from the ebony strain.

Further I played a bit with the compass rose made out of a Elforyn plate : you can draw easily with a pencil and acrylic paint on it - the water acrylic paint seems to getting into the material - great stuff - I love to work with it. The rose will be painted from Mrs. Pulseriflefan :love at the weekend I hope.


now we have a nice hole into the lid :

inside view - some Ebony chips of the edge - will fill this later.

test fit for the wooden dome

a short moment I thought that it would be very very bad to paint the dome black - it's still showing parts of the Caribbean Sea :eek Betcha the PotC prop makers wouldn't painted it black if they had MY dome :lol

 

[HeroWorship]

Both. First out of the spigot then transfering water in a pot ca. 5-6 times from the stove. Temperature is important for a fast etching process. Avoid too long etching (problems with "under-etching" will make small details wider)

1. Is the ironing process really just 2 minutes?

2. How long is the hot water sink process? Why are bubbles (oxygen?) needed?

 

[Pulseriflefan]

1. Is the ironing process really just 2 minutes?

2. How long is the hot water sink process? Why are bubbles (oxygen?) needed?

1) yes, the brass plate is heating up very very fast, so 2 -3 minutes is okay - if you ironing to long or with too much heat the toner can go to liquid form and can ruin your little master piece - anyway you can remove the toner after a bad try with acetone so many time you want.

2) the etch time (you mean right ?) is depending on temperatur, chemistry and brass grade (how high is the copper part inside ?) - as I wrote, just remove the plate and check - if happy then hurrah - if not back to the vessel for further etching.

Actually you can go without bubbles - but the bubbles are helping to "clean-out" the etched areas where tiny particel are coming out. Only movement of the plate is not enough for a clean result.

 

[Jack of All Trades]

I cannot WAIT to start experimenting with this. This is such an awesome thread! *drool*

 

[PHArchivist]

Loving it!

I say keep the dome UNpainted (not serious) and leave the chips (serious), as they add character.

 

[paplooo]

looking good !
Im almost finished mine.... pictures soon...