Ebony & Ivory - PotC compass build-up

[Shylaah]

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.

ROFL "I don`t think that is more dangerous than a chinese plastic toy car for kids"--too funny, too true!!!

Thanks for the additional info! I have my graphic still from when I did my compass, and some extra brass washers like I used for my dial. Gonna hunt up the chemical/s and give this a try!!
This is just too cool to be real!!
Imagine the possibilities.......
Today the compass dial--Tomorrow, the WORLD!!!!

Shylaah

 

[avbat]

Yea this is really cool. I am enjoying following this build-up. You are very detail oriented and that is really paying off, because what you have to show for it is awesome!!!

 

[Capn_Jack_Savvy]

I love you man! Great job! That is all I have to say!

Obviously mate you haven't been giving me the proper RUM to get you registered over at Keep To The Code!

PM me what your info: username / email address / real name! You will be a member by Sunday! And we shall see this thread over there too!

 

[HeroWorship]

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.

Very helpful, thanks! Got a better understanding of what's happening now.:thumbsup

 

[YenChih Lin]

Natriumpersulfat is Sodium persulfate in english.

Pulseriflefan, I'm very very impressed, I was stumbling over the thread, no knowing, what to expect (I'm not a PotC fan, nor did I saw the movie), but this is really craftmansship :thumbsup and "Made in germany"

 

[Pulseriflefan]

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

MAN - you make it not really easy to me :lol

Thanks for the additional info! I have my graphic still from when I did my compass, and some extra brass washers like I used for my dial. Gonna hunt up the chemical/s and give this a try!!
This is just too cool to be real!!
Imagine the possibilities.......

You are welcome - please let me know if you need any help for your project.
Indeed you can use this technic for a wide variety of things - eg a name plate (I am modifying a VP70 dart gun and will add the real "Heckler & Koch" name plate on this way).

I love you man! Great job! That is all I have to say!

Obviously mate you haven't been giving me the proper RUM to get you registered over at Keep To The Code!

PM me what your info: username / email address / real name! You will be a member by Sunday! And we shall see this thread over there too!

LOL sorry - what Rum you prefer exactly - I can`t remember that Jack`s rum bottle had a label on it LOL
That`s cool - thanks a bunch for the help. I tried to register two times without success some month ago. Actually I want to post this thread at the KTTC first but after such great feedback I am very happy that I started the thread here. Will send a pm after this post

Natriumpersulfat is Sodium persulfate in english.

Pulseriflefan, I'm very very impressed, I was stumbling over the thread, no knowing, what to expect (I'm not a PotC fan, nor did I saw the movie), but this is really craftmansship :thumbsup and "Made in germany"

Oh - thanks a lot for the translation - guess it`s now easier for our american guys to get some :thumbsup
LOL yeah - famous "Made in Germany" - a sentence a lot of people know and love



back from the mill - here some shots of the the work at the brass dial.

first mill out the center hole :

then the little recess in the middle reaching to the inner circle line of the scale

then around to cut the whole scale out of the plate

rough result

after some cleaning I am pleased with the scale so far :lol

I think I have to age the brass parts - don`t want to wait months for a natural patina. I found a promising salt solution in a 50 years old chemie book and will try to get this at Pharmacy next days.

 

[Shylaah]

That dial looks outstanding!! Just not enough superlatives to really convey what a splendid build this is!!

Thanks for the name in English, YenChih Lin. I'm out this morning to see if I can find something......I can't wait to give it a try.

You are welcome - please let me know if you need any help for your project.
Indeed you can use this technic for a wide variety of things - eg a name plate (I am modifying a VP70 dart gun and will add the real "Heckler & Koch" name plate on this way).

Oh, yeah, that's what I was thinking!! There are some things I need "engraved" and it would cost a fortunate!! I could never learn to engrave, but I can hack out what I need engraved in graphics and if I can use this method to etch it into the objects, then Natriumpersulfat FTW!!!

Shylaah

 

[Pulseriflefan]

Oh, yeah, that's what I was thinking!! There are some things I need "engraved" and it would cost a fortunate!! I could never learn to engrave, but I can hack out what I need engraved in graphics and if I can use this method to etch it into the objects, then Natriumpersulfat FTW!!!

Shylaah

I wish the sideplates of a Perry London were made of brass instead of Sterling silver LOL

 

[Shylaah]

I wish the sideplates of a Perry London were made of brass instead of Sterling silver LOL

OH!!! But the ARE!!!

http://www.firelockpistols.com/catalog/productphotos/SP07.jpg

York County Firelocks Custom Cast Side Plates

And the brass one is half the price of the sliver!!

Shylaah

 

[Pulseriflefan]

OH!!! But the ARE!!!

http://www.firelockpistols.com/catalog/productphotos/SP07.jpg

York County Firelocks Custom Cast Side Plates

And the brass one is half the price of the sliver!!

Shylaah

OHHHHH MAAAAAN - you are my hero !! I am very happy that I was wrong !!!!
So I can do the sideplates myself from brass too :love
Now I just need some good printable graphics ....

 

[Shylaah]

That, I don't have, but I know there are members here who can do that,
who could knock something like that out of photoshop before I could get
my pencil sharpened!!

Anyone care to give it a go to make this into a hi-res B&W graphic for making an etchin'!!

Shylaah

 

[Pulseriflefan]

That, I don't have, but I know there are members here who can do that,
who could knock something like that out of photoshop before I could get
my pencil sharpened!!

Anyone care to give it a go to make this into a hi-res B&W graphic for making an etchin'!!

Shylaah

I think I can convert this into a b&w graphic with the software I allready use.

I worked at the compass disc - it`s made of Elforyn also - I trimmed the plate down to ca. 1mm - now time to beg gently Mrs. Pulseriflefan :love to draw the rose for me with acrylic paint (I can do a lot but drawing isn`t really one of my best skills).

disc, dial and little brass dome

brass dome mounted

test view with dial and dome

next job are the three brass struts and the "sun-dial" fin atop of the scale - I checked a load of real compass but this fin makes no sense to me without a proper sun-scale.

A very little possibility is that the fin was no sun-dial - maybe just a bearing mark but in this case the brass scale have to be rotateable to set the 360° at North before read-out the direction through the bearing fin.

The lid is blocking the sight through the fin anyway ...

 

[Jedifyfe]

I am not a fan of these movies BUT my GOD! This build is truly amazing and really fun to watch! Thanks for updating this as you go along. I am blown away by your attention to detail!

 

[DrMcoy]

What an amazing build.

As for the sundial making sense, you do recall that the compass simply pointed to what one's heart most desired, so while it looks like a real functioning compass, in the movie the characters simply would look down and see which way the arrow was pointing and that was the way they went. But perhaps I misunderstand your reasoning behind wanting to make each part of the prop purposeful and/or functioning as though it were an actual compass.

But this is likely redundant information for someone who has spent so much time and energy crafting such a beautiful replica.

Regardless, I am jealous -- loved the movies, adored the characters and thought this particular prop was one of the coolest inventions since the TOS Trek communicator.

 

[PHArchivist]

I am not a fan of these movies BUT my GOD! This build is truly amazing and really fun to watch!

Communist.

 

[Mojo_Turbo]

Do you need a latch for the front?

 

[Shylaah]

>>>clip<<<
I worked at the compass disc - it`s made of Elforyn also - I trimmed the plate down to ca. 1mm - now time to beg gently Mrs. Pulseriflefan :love to draw the rose for me with acrylic paint (I can do a lot but drawing isn`t really one of my best skills).
>>>clip<<<
next job are the three brass struts and the "sun-dial" fin atop of the scale - I checked a load of real compass but this fin makes no sense to me without a proper sun-scale.

A very little possibility is that the fin was no sun-dial - maybe just a bearing mark but in this case the brass scale have to be rotateable to set the 360° at North before read-out the direction through the bearing fin.

The lid is blocking the sight through the fin anyway ...

Surely Mrs Pulseriflefan couldn't say 'no' to putting the finishing touch on this masterpiece!! Look forward to seeing that.

The "the 'sun-dial' fin atop of the scale" is called a gnomon. I know this is a movie prop, a crazy compass!.....but I never did understand the design. It is more like a pocket sundial than a compass? Maybe that's what it is and why everyone thinks it's broken!??!

Exactly! "this fin makes no sense to me without a proper sun-scale" --a pocket sundial would have a different kind of dial to show the time, and the equinoxes and the solstices.

But, oh well. It's still a wonderfully creative little piece the prop masters came up with for us to drool over and replicate!!!

Shylaah

 

[Pulseriflefan]

As for the sundial making sense, you do recall that the compass simply pointed to what one's heart most desired, so while it looks like a real functioning compass, in the movie the characters simply would look down and see which way the arrow was pointing and that was the way they went. But perhaps I misunderstand your reasoning behind wanting to make each part of the prop purposeful and/or functioning as though it were an actual compass.

I guess it's easy to misunderstand me when I think about my english LOL
My passion are movie props - actually I allways try to build my stuff out of real components if possible. After a year of search without coming up with something I decided to make my scratch-build compass. I checked a ton of images of octogonal boxes and compass - some boxes looked close but only close. No brass compass I have seen had that scale.
I tried to analyze the images of the PotC hero I have to make it close as possible - and today I am still unsure that the recess in the scale is just a recess or the base of a rotateable dial to set the degrees. To be honest my first brass dial was rotateable - this one will be fixed.

Will say shortly : I am not trying to build a working compass - just try to understand how they built the prop for the movie.

loved the movies, adored the characters and thought this particular prop was one of the coolest inventions since the TOS Trek communicator.

you are talking straight out of my heart - I fully agree you here !!!

Surely Mrs Pulseriflefan couldn't say 'no' to putting the finishing touch on this masterpiece!! Look forward to seeing that.

The "the 'sun-dial' fin atop of the scale" is called a gnomon. I know this is a movie prop, a crazy compass!.....but I never did understand the design. It is more like a pocket sundial than a compass? Maybe that's what it is and why everyone thinks it's broken!??!

Exactly! "this fin makes no sense to me without a proper sun-scale" --a pocket sundial would have a different kind of dial to show the time, and the equinoxes and the solstices.

But, oh well. It's still a wonderfully creative little piece the prop masters came up with for us to drool over and replicate!!!

Shylaah

LOL we will see - I guess Mrs. Pulseriflefan :love has no choice after the diner I cooked last Saturday - and I have never cooked anything before in my life LOL

Do you need a latch for the front?

thanks a lot - I allready have found one at the box of my milling-tools (recycling rule #1) Guess where the upper part of it is now :lol

now I trimmed the half-dome to the correct size and made the hole in the lid 1,5mm wider cus it looked a bit to small

dome :

lid inlay finished

testfit :

maybe you have allready noticed the needle-pin hole at the lid - yes - my compass has genuine worm-holes at the lid and body.
Only a worm with an excellent sense of taste is eating ebony :lol

 

[PHArchivist]

Recycling... Cannabilizing... Its all the same!

 

[Shylaah]

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LOL we will see - I guess Mrs. Pulseriflefan :love has no choice after the diner I cooked last Saturday - and I have never cooked anything before in my life LOL
>>>clip<<<

Now that's dedication and going the extra mile

>>>clip<<<
now I trimmed the half-dome to the correct size and made the hole in the lid 1,5mm wider cus it looked a bit to small
>>>clip<<<

The mark of a TRUE artist, worrying over a millimeter :thumbsup

>>>clip<<<
Only a worm with an excellent sense of taste is eating ebony :lol

and VERY STRONG teeth :lol

Shylaah