Ammunition & Hand Loading > Cartridge and Shotshell reloading
Copper Plating
unfy:
durrrrr. well....
the wire VVVVVV idea is pretty much bust.
if... two .... "metal plates" came together to pinch a row of bullets in their groove... this MIGHT be a simple hanger system. but wouldn't want metal plates due to all the extra plating. two plastic plates or plastic dowels with a copper strand along one side (like a ruler).
it's a thought.
some kind of plastic basket like thing .... run some bare copper wires in it to an external something or another... bullets in there... and rotate.
i'll come up with a prototype simple things for both to test it.
automating the rotation shouldn't be too difficult.... if this works out nicely.
NE Bull:
OK, Ima gonna jump in here for a second;
A work they have a 'vibro plate' I haven't looked closely at it but I believe they drop the pins in a metal basket in a solution of some sort that is constantly vibrating thus moving the objects around and not being plated together. (not my department, I just build what they plate) This is a large quantity at a time thing. Just an idea to throw at you and add to all they ones you already have taking up space in the noggin. ;D If some of the processes were not so proprietary, I'd say come and learn, but they kinda funny 'bout stuff like that.
Also I was on Berry's looking at Christmas deals and read that their bullets are plated and restruck, and after thinking of your picture of the bullet you resized (where it made the sides look smooth), makes me wonder if they strike them not only for diameter, but on the whole of the bullet to ensure proper dimensions all around. That might explain the 'hammered' look of their plating.
unfy:
ne bull:
Yup, vibrating stuff is one route commercial platers go. Circuit boards are in a basket that rocks back and forth, and in general use - large rotating drums are quite common as well. All of these also agitate the solution as they move / etc.
Part of the malfunction of what I'm trying to do is..... getting a setup that is easy to work with, does a decent coat of plating, easy to do en-masse, and lastly is home-friendly.
Soooo... I've been avoiding buying specialty chemicals (re: easier to work with). I've been avoiding the strong acids and strong bases (re: home friendly). And I refuse to touch arsenic and such (durrrr heh).
----
The scaffolding and hanger system gives a 'decent coat', works for varying definitions of 'en-masse'.... but it's failing the 'easy to work with' bit.
A rocking back and forth basket used in circuit board stuffs really isn't going to work out for bullets. They would still need to be individually secured somehow etc.
Big rotating drum - this is the self contained stuffs of the big boys. Out of my league.
Slowly rotating basket - has possibilities now that I've gotten beyond my retardation of thinking I need a metal or titanium basket. A plastic basket with only a handful of wires ran around the inside dimaeters would do nicely. Would require some engineering to rotate the basket while it's in the liquid (does it need to be wholly submerged the entire time ? i doubt it).... and a powerful enough motor (or geared down enough) to rotate it. One hundred 180 grain bullets weigh around 2.5 pounds. Low RPM motors are fairly easy to find online and there might be store solutions as well (how slow do rotisseries or ceiling fans rotate???)
Vibrating plate - also has possibilities. Would I be vibrating the whole tank, or just the basket / plate thing that holds the bullets ? Can I build a non-metal plate with some spread out copper contact points ? How much movement is needed to keep the bullets jossling around ? How much do they need to jossle ? Again, working with around 2.5 pounds. I doubt a trip to Dr. John's to buy their cheapest feminine toy would provide enough vibration....
One of the reasons I'm trying to avoid metal baskets / plates / etc -- is waste of the anode material and other clean up concerns.
I am by no means an expert..... but...
Striking is applying a thin coat of something. Not a physical hammering. It's typically used as a 'glue' between whatever you're base item is and what you're trying to get it to bond to -- particularly if you want stronger bondings or if your base item doesn't like to be plated by your target coat. You can also apply an initial strike of something in order to improve the coat of your final (ie: the strike has affinity for both the base and final coats). *Maybe* you could also do a top coat of some other protective material as a top coat (akin to polyurethane ?).
Given that I've had a good coat of copper on my lead with decent bonding, I don't think an initial strike (of say, nickel) is needed. I believe a nickel strike would still require proper surface preparation (physical abrasion and/or etching). Again, I'm not an expert, but maybe a nickel strike would bond the copper to the lead better ? Completely out of my ass -- I'm not a chemist nor metallurgist :D
I believe the 'hammered' look of Berry's is due to being in a big drum or some other thing where the bullets are constantly tumbling onto each other during the plating process.
unfy:
Hit dollar store for a couple collandars as well as a couple generic baskets.
Lowes was open until 6PM.... picked up a bunch of pvc stuff to build the thing to hold the baskets and such.
Now to actually construct it etc :D
unfy:
*sigh*
this was at 13v radio shack power supply.
tomorrow i'll rough them back up, and attempt it again with just a battery.
edit:
just flakes off. also - the basket is 1/2 or more out of the copper sulfate, dunno if that's causing a problem.
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