Plating Kit in use by SA Mokin

[spider]

SA, there is no doubt.

You are the Plating Guru.

That is quite good to know, especially what you have said about using too much current. I have received lots back that did appear rough, I just put it down to my poor preparation.

[suspend6]

There is another company in Hoppers Crossing (Victoria) by the name of Caswell. They seem to offer similar gear to the Jane crowd.  Is anybody able to comment on them?

http://www.caswellplating.com.au/

Sus

[Tim]

Caswell are a US company, they are probably the best known for diy plating kits, but because a lot of the chemicals can't be air freighted the availability in Australia is limited. I think the Australian version is a re-seller, they don't carry the full range of the US lot. Their stuff looks to be very good though. Its probably worth having a look on the US site and flicking through their forum which has a lot of tips about diy plating.

http://www.caswellplating.com/electroplating-anodizing.html

Tim

[Smarty]

Hi SA Mokin

A question for you regarding the plating kit, do you know what rating the power supply is?  I have a couple of power supplies kicking around in the shed and was thinking that they may be suitable for plating and save me some pennies instead of buying the jane plating one.

i.e. what voltage and current output is recommended?
what have you found to be the ideal voltage and current output for your good results?

Any technical information would be good.

Thanks in advance might also be useful for other members

[sa mokin]

Hi Smarty

Sure!  The power supply required is not your normal run of the mill power supply - mainly because plating requires you to control the amps - not the volts.  For most home plating a steady current of .8 to 1.2 amps is required.  This is bugger all.  When I took a volt reading it was like 3 volts.  On the Jane Kit website there was a picture of a circuit you could build using light bulbs to control the amps (each lightbulb would reduce the total amps of the circuit) using a 12 volt battery.  This would cost you less than $20.

Having said that for the conveniance and granular control of the amps the power supply gives you I would swear by the purchased power supply.  Once you have it then the plating kits become very reasonable.  I tried looking on eBay, etc to find a second hand one when I discovered it's peculiar functionality of controlling amps.  My original power supply gave up the ghost about 18 months after purchase and Jane Kit replaced it no questions asked.

I hope that answers your question.

[Tim]

Most decent lab power supplies will regulate either amps or volts (you can't control both simultanously). When I looked into it last, you could get pretty much the same one as Jane Kits supply from Jaycar, but it wasn't much cheaper.

Tim

[Smarty]

I will dig out the one that I made years ago, pretty sure it controls amps and volts, but my memory may be a bit foggy.

   Is anything else supplied in the kit that doesn't come with the replenishing kits that I will need?

[sa mokin]

I will dig out the one that I made years ago, pretty sure it controls amps and volts, but my memory may be a bit foggy.

   Is anything else supplied in the kit that doesn't come with the replenishing kits that I will need?

Copper wire to hang the parts - stainless steel wire to hang the anodes - aluminium rods to hand the anodes and parts, wires connecting them to the power supply, thermometer, Jane Clean Kit (rust remover and parts wash) - all of which can be ordered seperately.