A Really Bad Day....

[takeslousyphotos]

Erm... If I may just comment on that. Thats how to harden metal. And melt brass. If you heat brass to red hot it on the verge of melting. I have the scars to prove it.Heat the PE gently until its a dull cherry red and let it cool down. That will soften it.

Ian M

Now I' m confused............. Generally the PE is ok just "itty bitty" tiny bits .............. The bits that screwed me up were about 2" long and about 1/16" wide. They were just too soft and could have been doing with hardening some. I understand the getting it too hot and it melting...... and to be honest I think it's just me not being able to cope with the damn stuff.

[takeslousyphotos]

Good stuff Laurie ........ Glad all went well in the end. My missus get's all Ansty when I do the spraying in the kitchen even though I use my spraybooth (big plastic tub from B&Q) and spread a dustsheet on the worktop and one on the floor. Spillages need to be kept very quiet and sorted without her knowing.

Peter

[Guest]

Ha ha Peter great minds got a big plastic box form B & Q for mine.

Laurie

[Guest]

Remembering from my schooldays ......

Case hardening = heat up and cool quickly in liquid to set the molecules stiff

Annealing = heating and letting cool down slowly in air to allow molecules to become malleable

Some research on PE shows that there is some aluminium added to the copper / zinc to make it less subject to corrosion from solvents. This would lower the melting point a tad so go lightly with the heating up.

[Guest]

Yes Colin when I saw the heating up thing something did not anneal but I now remember from school metalurge those statemnts on how to do.

What is PE made of ? I decided steel & chrome. All the PE I have used to date has a real spring & has not needed any amendment. Makes me think that there is a difference in the constituents of Manufacturers end result.

Real spring for the Swordfish stuff had a very ambitious way of travelling around the room. Such good FUN trying to locate it !

Laurie

[Guest]

Yes Colin when I saw the heating up thing something did not anneal but I now remember from school metalurge those statemnts on how to do.What is PE made of ? I decided steel & chrome. All the PE I have used to date has a real spring & has not needed any amendment. Makes me think that there is a difference in the constituents of Manufacturers end result.

Real spring for the Swordfish stuff had a very ambitious way of travelling around the room. Such good FUN trying to locate it !

Laurie

Photo etching can be used to create frets in virtual any metal or alloy.I say virtual as I can't think of any that it can't be used with but I am always open to correction. In modelling terms etches are normal made out of brass,nickel silver or more rarely steel, the choice being a compromise between the easy of use,cost and suitability to purpose.

I stand to be corrected but I think Trimaster used to include nickel silver etches in their kits.

Nickel silver is used extensively in model railways for locomotive kits,particularly the chassis,were strength and rigidity are required,while for appearance and strength steel is occasionally used for the locomotive valve gear.

A bending tool such as a "Hold and Fold" is a great help especially if you handle a lot of photo etch.

Malcolm

[Ian M]

I think that the PE in the Swordfish is a steel alloy. It sure is springy. Just a shame it just don't fit. (on mine one at least).

A good way to find out just how much you can heat the PE you are using, If it needs annealing. Take a part of the waste, hold it over a wet cloth and keep your fingers out of the way. Heat it up and watch the colour. It helps in there is not to much light. It should go a deep red getting brighter the hotter it gets, Soon after it gets to an orange colour it will very quickly go yellow and then melt. The ideal fro Brass PE is the dull red.

You only really need to anneal for rolling and such. If you dont get it in the first try or two, and it hardens up again, just anneal it again.

If you need to set the part after rolling it you can harden it again by heating it and them dropping it into cold water.

Ian M

[Guest]

i'll keep my mouth shut in future.

Martin

[Guest]

No Martin if we all kept our mouths shut this forum would not exist.

The person who has never made a mistake has never lived. Made errors here & they have been put right by others & I & others have learnt.

Thanks Malcolm & Ian for the info on the PE. Still struggling with the PE Ian a rotten boring job on the Swordfish but looking at the finished job it is all worth that foul language.

Laurie

[takeslousyphotos]

I have to agree Laurie ......... I've made a career out of getting things wrong. Thanks to Martin and Ian for ALL your input. I still hate working with PE ........ Heated, Annealed, Soft, Hard as Nails, Melted or other wise............ It's nasty, disappears into the carpet and was probably invented by Satan. Along with Voicemail and Call Centres.

Peter

[Guest]

I used the wrong word not burnished but annealed.

A good trick to straighten wire is clamp one end the other end to a drill and slowly twist until it's straight.

martin