Re: Restoring Metal Nameplates
By Richard Vance
In answer to Mr. Van Essen's letter, 1/24/97, concerning Aeolian spoolbox wearplates: I have the same problem trying to make the elaborate spool box plates used in my Aeolian instrument look good. Later models used an ordinary etched aluminum nameplate technique; etch out the background, fill with black, and sand or scrape off the remaining surface, like a modern industrial nameplate. Aeolian lever plates were always made this way, as far as I know.
Earlier Aeolians (mine is 1912) used a different technique, similar to the making of clock faces. A thinly silver plated brass sheet is lithographed with the text, to form a mask; the background is then shallow-etched to remove the silver, and the exposed brass is blackened (with stannous chloride?) and the whole thing is heavily lacquered. It is virtually impossible to fix this by polishing without losing the thin layers of silver or black brass.
My solution is to make a new set. I have reproduced the plates using Visio. One can do two things with the resulting print-out. A cheap way is to take this to any print shop which can make a heavy aluminum Lithograph plate which can be cut up, heavily lacquered, and used as a replacement. The better way would be to find a shop which makes plaques photographically for trophies, presentations and the like, on a one-off basis (Alumagraphics does this in Pittsburgh).
I would be happy to send you a copy of this printout if you would wish to send me your address by private e-mail. I doubt that the complex Visio file will survive attachment to an ordinary e-mail.
Richard Vance
zebpiano@worldnet.att.net |
(Message sent Sat 25 Jan 1997, 04:32:11 GMT, from time zone GMT.) |
|
|
Mechanical
Music Digest™ Archives
