How To Topic

[elShoggotho]

How to mask wires for small projects:

1. Buy round shoelaces, sturdy variant. Should be the round woven kind.
2. Cut off the ends.
3. Normally there's a single thread in there. That one needs to go. Pull it out with a suitable tool.
4. Put some kind of pen or pencil through the opening, the mesh needs to be widened.
5. Tie the wire to a small nail or the like, needs to fit through the widened shoelace.
6. Put it in directly behind the pencil. You could also pin it directly to the end.
7. Pull everything through.

If everything goes well, you've just put your wiring into a makeshift fabric sleeve.

[Warwolt]

Pin this one, please?

[Sir Nikolas of Vendigroth]

Ah, interesting. I shall procure a 9V battery.

[CD]

oh question, probably stupid but that seems to be my middle name lately.
anyway, when doing the salt water etching, does the crocodile clip that goes on the metal have to make contact with the metal or can it go onto the covering, also, if it does go directly onto the metal, how do you stop that area from etching?

[JingleJoe]

oh question, probably stupid but that seems to be my middle name lately.
anyway, when doing the salt water etching, does the crocodile clip that goes on the metal have to make contact with the metal or can it go onto the covering, also, if it does go directly onto the metal, how do you stop that area from etching?

It must connect directly to the metal to be etched- I have only etched sheet metal and when cutting I leave a long thin peice to connect the clip to, or connect it to a corner held out of the water, or to a part you can remove later.

Experiment, maybe it doesn't etch right by the croco clip because the galvanic current is traveling mainly through the metal being etched, or maybe you could tape up the clip- painting it would get paint between the clip and the metal and cause insulation which is bad in this case.




Also: Woo! My thread was necromanced

[Lady Crystalmir]

Here are two links on how to knit spats, they are very similar but I found them both useful.  Link One Link Two
Neither are my own idea, but much thanks to their respective owners.

[Zwack]

oh question, probably stupid but that seems to be my middle name lately.
anyway, when doing the salt water etching, does the crocodile clip that goes on the metal have to make contact with the metal or can it go onto the covering, also, if it does go directly onto the metal, how do you stop that area from etching?

It must connect directly to the metal to be etched- I have only etched sheet metal and when cutting I leave a long thin peice to connect the clip to, or connect it to a corner held out of the water, or to a part you can remove later.

Experiment, maybe it doesn't etch right by the croco clip because the galvanic current is traveling mainly through the metal being etched, or maybe you could tape up the clip- painting it would get paint between the clip and the metal and cause insulation which is bad in this case.

Alternately if the connection is on the rear side of the piece being etched then the current will flow between the anode and the cathode on the other side. 

Forgive the simple ascii art but...

Code Select Expand


 
     | |
+----| |----+
|    | |    |
|           |
+--- PSU ---+



Where the two vertical plates are the anode and cathode (I can't remember which one is your etching piece off the top) and the PSU is your power supply...  In this case current will flow between the two pieces but will flow from the front of one to the front of the other so attaching the wires to the back should work without causing issues.

And this thread should be pinned.

Z.

[Alain Raethorne]

This thread is quite useful, and I too recommend that it be pinned.

[Gwendolyn]

Does it matter what kind of metal you are trying to etch?

Also - huzzah for spat knitting patterns!

[Dr cornelius quack]

I found some bamboo placemats at the pound shop. They strip down to make good in-scale timber boards for model building purposes.

Like this:

http://flickr.com/photos/25319679@N05/2561697934/in/set-72157604394283978/

Dr. Q.

[JingleJoe]

Does it matter what kind of metal you are trying to etch?

Also - huzzah for spat knitting patterns!

electro-etching should work on all metals but it just takes some longer than others

[Zwack]

Partly bouncing this useful thread...

I have some collected photos of the construction of some leather holsters with some tooling on them...

Unfortunately I didn't take many photos of the process of tooling itself so it jumps from initial swivel knife cuts to finished holster, none with bits of the beveling done...

Would people be interested in me posting the ones I have along with a simple decoration section?  Or is that a waste of my time?

Z.

[Mercy]

Just thought I'd throw this in here, as an alternative for those of us who've so far proved downright incompetent at utilizing actual metal;

How to Make Foam Armor

[Ironman]

If anyone needs advice on metal working, ie armour or blacksmithing  give me a shout,  ive got bits in 3 museums and a castle.

[Jakoby T Simmeon]

Bumping this so I can find it more easily :p

These are some seriously wonderful links. This should be pinned.

[Ambie]

Any chance them near-godlike moderators could pin this thread to the tops of the board?

Seems most useful.

[Dr.Anton Wigglesworth]

how to age brass,a handy chart  text color is the patina achieved by the method







how to  glue this  to that
http://www.thistothat.com/

[Outa_Spaceman]

Good news...
This thread is now sticky...

OSM

[Miimno]

Good news...
This thread is now sticky...

OSM

Ew!  Can I get a handi-wipe?

Someone...?

[Hydrargyrum]

Speaking of sticky, since there was once a thread on this topic:
How to stick X to Y

[Der Tinkermann]

That link needs some TLC .........and has already been posted 

[JingleJoe]

Good news...
This thread is now sticky...

OSM

Wow thanks Just to let you know, I allways check every new post and add new things all the time

[Hydrargyrum]

That link needs some TLC .........and has already been posted 

Ah, so it has... Will replace with something useful when I find it. =/

[Outa_Spaceman]

How to make a steam engine without a lathe...
http://www.royuk.co.uk/steam_engines.htm#First%20Steam%20Engine
I've been following this design for about 4 months and hope to complete it sometime next year...

[JingleJoe]

That has to be the ultimate how-to, Mr. Spaceman