Excerpt from the Notebooks of P. Phineas von Hedwig
By Fearless Fabricator on Tuesday, December 16th, 2008
Read more from Steampunk Projects in The Lab
3 comments
Transcriptions from P. Phinneus’ notebooks are just that. They are neither complete nor instructions, but are what he feels he needs to write down to remember or learn. They are posted here for inspiration and so others can have a base schema of knowledge to from which begin their own research. These are not complete instructions!! Do more research of your own before attempting!! Copies of the original notes can be found on deviantart. (http://fearlessfabricator.deviantart.com/ )
Non-Ferrous Metal parts production (page 1)
Non-Ferrous metal when heated* and quenched quickly becomes soft. Slow cooling has a hardening effect. (It will work harden.)
Copper rivets can be made from (copper) wire, which has been soften by tempering. Slowly (with light strokes of a small ball peen hammer) peen one end in a vise or pliers. Trim slightly long, about the same (as the) width of the wire after inserting in a well-sized hole. Slowly peen the other side (he means the freshly cut end). Bending can occur if worked to quickly or too large of a ball peen hammer.
Plumber solder is higher in acid but silver (jewlers) does not bridge gaps.
*Heated refers to glowing hot.
*as opposed to ferrous metals.
(page 2)
ETCHING (with acid)
Etching solution can be hard and expensive to find. Luckily it is simple to make if one is careful. 2 parts Muriatic acid can be added to 1 part Hydrogen Peroxide (common drugstore 3% is fine)
WARNING- Mixing is a hazardous process (if done wrong)!!!
WARNING- add acid to peroxide, not the reverse.
(WARNING- have baking soda handy for mishaps)
Ventilation is important.
Eye protection and gloves, rubber (or) vinyl.
Tags: brass, copper, diy, etching, Phineas, steamunk, von Hedwig
9:41 am
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10:39 am
Good Day, Evening or Afternoon, it is so hard to tell any more what time of day it is in the Laboratory with the war shutters sealed:
Having done some work in the past with brass and copper, I can concur with the work-hardening aspects of brass. DO be aware however that over-working the material may result in fractured or completely broken parts. Re-anneal as needed.
I have spent some time fabricating brass cloak pins (fibulae) for Ren Faire sale, and to give away to friends..indeed, one such gift was repaid in the form of a MOST tender kiss by Ms. Bo….ahh, I do believe that I gained the better half of the trade! The memory remains….I digress…
I agree, copper rivets can readily be made of copper wire…select and experiment with scraps frequently discarded by electricians. You may be surprised to find a wide range of diameters available.
Don’t forget that some larger aluminum wire may be had for the asking, especially if the wire is used to lead the main power into the building. It likewise is non-sparking, and being lighter than copper may be of more benefit on the Airship.
May I suggest a small block or very thick sheet of steel, drilled to the appropriate diameter to barely pass the wire bit in question….with the wire bit in place, peen the head of the rivet to the appropriate shape, then push out from the back and place in the appropriate object to be fastened.
A simple small countersinking of the hole(s) in the steel block/plate will permit flat-headed rivets, similar to the rivets used in leather work, and still available in some better-equipped hardware stores; the burrs (washers) used with said rivets are likewise still available.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any other questions regarding older technologies, I do tend to keep my hand in.
For example, on reading my copy of ‘Trautwine’s Field Engineer’s Manual’, they do a discourse on the “recently completed Brooklyn Bridge”. Fascinating!
TTFN,
Sgt. Mustache
9:27 am
Hi! I was surfing and found your blog post… nice! I love your blog.
Cheers! Sandra. R.