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This may be the dumbest question yet. Can copper be electroplated with nickel silver? (Tom Kurtis) Many makers like Montague nickel plated over brass. Nickel silver itself is a form of brass with a high rationale. (Doug Easton) Oops got away from me. The short answer is you can nickel plate over copper. Nickel silver is a copper nickel zinc alloy. I don't think you can plate with it but the looks of nickel plated copper are nice. High quality electronics use nickel plated copper wires. (Doug Easton)
I have a ferrule set that I got a little too aggressive with while fitting the males and one of the tips for tis rod now has a click at the ferrule when I cast it. I was thinking of trying one of the Caswell Plating “Plug-n-Plate” kits. Do any of you have any experience with this system? Also, I assume I will be plating with nickel, is this what I should use to plate onto nickel silver? Here’s the link if you would like to have a look. (Steve Donaldson) I purchased a Caswell plating system. It works. The results were acceptable to me and I was pleased to say "I did that myself." There are some things I wish I had known before I started. It takes practice to get good results. There are several steps you need to follow meticulously. You have to develop a feel for how long it takes to plate sufficient thickness. The chemicals loose effectiveness both with use and with age. Small variations in voltage yield very different results. There is some art to the science. You will have a small ethical dilemma over what to do with the hazardous waste. For me, it required more time and money than it was worth. (Phil Crangi)
Now that Dave LeClair has retired, anyone else that can plate over-lapped ferrules? After Tim Abbot’s demo at Roscoe, I ordered the Caswell Plug N’ Plate Nickel Kit from www.caswellplating.com. Cost with shipping to Maine was about $44. Have restored a few ferrules with the kit since receiving it. Not much to it, a small power supply and the Nickel solution and some electrodes but works well and takes less than 5 minutes of plating time. Important to heat the solution in the microwave and warm the ferrule in hot water before plating. Plating seems harder than the original NS and takes some time to lap to proper fit again. If you want, you can drive up to the shop and try mine. (Tom Whittle) I have the kit and have tried twice without getting positive results. All I get is a smutty deposit the rubs off very easily. What am I doing wrong? Could you give me an idea of the extent of heating the solution and the ferrules? Solution heating in the microwave: for how long and at which power level and heating the ferrules under very hot water? (Alex Vardanis) I had similar problems at first, either smutty deposits like you or plating that could be peeled off with fingernail. Then I read the “Technical Tips” on page 5 of the Caswell instructions. I use my Micro Temp IR stream thermometer to check the water and solution temps out of the microwave, less than 1 minute for the volumes I use. I plated ferrules on the rod by hanging the ferrule into a container of water that was 140 degrees out of the microwave while getting the solution ready. Heat solution to 140 degrees or so out of microwave, switch the rod to hang into the solution, hook up electrodes and plate for 4 to 5 minutes. I also stir the solution while plating. (Tom Whittle) You can also make a female compression tool from a small tube cutter. Just remove the cutting wheel and make a brass roller. Works a real treat! Of course, you will have to lap the "good" tip ferrule. (Tom Lucas) We have a local commercial electroplating company (micro-business) who are happy to do it for about $10-15 and they do a great job. I am sure that you will have a similar enterprise over there. (Peter McKean)
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