Where can I buy some plates?

[RonF]

I am ready to start dagging again soon. (I know that after saying that so many times, I am now the boy who cried wolf, but believe me when I say that 2011 has not been kind to me.)

I still plan to make my own plates, but that’s the tedious part. (Archie Bunker had me in mind when he said “patience is a virgin”.) I would like to buy a few plates so I can get started on the fun part.

I know that this is not a new topic, but I couldn’t find the previous post(s) on this. I tried Mike Robinson’s site and I did not see any mention of plates for sale.

Does anyone know where I can buy some plates?

[newone2010]

Hi RonF,

Mike Robinson sells his high quality clad plates,and you can also buy electroplating plates from Casey Waters and Takashi Arai.You can easily get in touch with Mike Robinson here.If you need Casey and Takashi’s email address,just send me an email.

Hope this can help you,

Li

[phuphuphnik]

I have some 4×5 once used plated plates I can send you. I should be able to shoot you three (I have a dozen, and am greedy) That’ll save you some steps if you’d like. They’ll need to be polished and re plated most likely.

PM me if you are interested.

cheers,

chriso

[captivelight]

I would like to buy some plates as well. I’ve called around looking for engravers copper plate and cannot find it anywhere other than a company in NJ that will only sell 2’x6′ sheets, I don’t neeed that much.

Can anyone recommend a place that currently sells copper plates in smaller quanities?

Best, Ben

[dagist]

Ben,

Check out the “Resources” section right here on cdags in the subsection entitled ‘Materials Sources” where you will see companies like McMaster-Carr. I buy my copper from Daniel Smith Art Materials which is considerably less expensive than McMaster-Carr. (Alan, you need to add Daniel Smith to the Materials Sources section.)

Here’s a direct link to Daniel Smith’s page of copper sheets in various sizes, in both mill finish (they call it “Industrial”), and polished on one side. Buy the “Polished Copper Plates” and save yourself a lot of time polishing.

http://www.danielsmith.com/Item–i-G-285-730

Because Daniel Smith cuts down large 4′ x 8′ copper sheets to the sizes shown in their catalog, you can also ask them to cut any custom sizes you may require.

A word of caution regarding plate sizes. Most companies that cut copper plates to-size will have a size-tolerance range that they consider acceptable, usually plus or minus a certain percentage of the specified dimensions. When making daguerreotype plates, we must make sure that the plates will fit inside our plate holders without being too big for the holders, which would render them useless if they don’t fit.

I learned this the hard way (before I owned a metal shear to cut down my own plates), that you must specify a maximum size that the plates must not exceed. If you want 4″x5″ plates, you have to tell them that 4″x5″ is the maximum dimension that can not be exceeded. It’s OK if it’s slightly smaller, but it can’t be slightly bigger, otherwise it might not fit in your plate holder, or your sensitizing boxes, or your mercury chamber, or all three.

Good Luck,

Rob McElroy

Buffalo, NY

[phuphuphnik]

This is where I go:

https://www.graphicchemical.com/shopdisplayproducts.asp?Search=Yes&sppp=25

It is not polished, but polishing copper isn’t too hard, I have my kids do it  😛

I get my Nitric acid there too.

chriso

 

[Andy Stockton]

I have added these two companies to the Resources page. Thanks for the suggestions.

[captivelight]

Rob and Chriso,

Thanks for the links to the suppliers. I will contact them to see if they can get me the sizes that I’m looking for (but not any larger: thanks for the tip).

Ben

[captivelight]

Well Santa brought me some copper plates for Christmas. Since the elfs don’t make plates she got them from Daniel Smith. She was told that they wouldn’t cut the plates to the required size so I have 4×6 plates. Now I have to find someone with a shear and a good accurate ruler to cut them to size. I also got a 6″ variable speed grinder.

Where do I find a good buffing wheel?

[jgmotamedi]

There are at least two routes you can go for a buffing machine; You can purchase a buffing machine ready to go from a jeweler supply, or buy a bench grinder from a tool store and adapt it yourself. Buffing machines tend to be expensive. I once used a Baldor buffing machine and was very impressed with its power and quality of build, however it cost nearly $500. Nearly 4x the total price of my 6″ Dewalt bench grinder plus parts.

You can get a 6″ bench grinder at a tool store. I am sure that a chain like Home Depot or Lowes would have one, as would a locally-owned store. Of course they can also be ordered online. You will need .5 hp or more, and if I recall correctly about 3200rpm. My advice is to buy a name brand. No-name brands do not always live up to their advertized power. You can probably also find a decent used one locally, perhaps on Craigslist, or a used tool store. If you buy a bench grinder you will also need spindles, which can be purchased at a jeweler’s supply, such as Rio Grande. The idea is that you have to pull the grinding wheel and casings off the grinder, leaving it with only the shafts, then you attach spindles.

If you are doing this inside, consider purchasing or making a filter box. Buffing is very messy.

One other thing to consider is buffing speed. My local silversmith told me that I should be using an 1800rpm machine, not 3200rpm, for buffing. To get this low speed you pretty much have to buy a buffing machine, as bench grinders are not made at that speed. I am not sure what a slower speed buff would offer me, so perhaps someone else who knows more about silver can comment.

[Andy Stockton]

Hi Rob/Dagist – I was re-reading this thread (since the forums have been kind of slow during the holidays) and I saw your mention of having acquired your own metal shear. I have been looking into getting one as well and wonder if you would be willing to share any information on yours? Likes/Dislikes/Words of wisdom or warning?

Thanks.

[dagist]

Andy,

 

My metal shear is a foot-operated industrial unit that is built like a tank by a company called Niagara, and can cut up to a 36″ wide piece of US 16-gauge mild steel, according to the descriptive name plate attached to it. The unit itself weighs 700 hundred pounds and is probably 50+ years old. I bought it used for $200.00 from a company that upgraded to a larger hydraulic powered unit. The unit I bought had been used every single day for cutting aluminum duct work for heating systems and it still works perfectly for all my daguerreian needs. The 3′-wide unit is actually quite small compared to most industrial metal shears which are often 10 or 12 feet wide and can weigh well over a ton.

 

The heavy 18-gauge copper I use for my daguerreotype plates (the type sold by Daniel Smith) requires me to jump on the shear’s treadle (foot-bar) with all my weight in order to cut through the thick copper. That’s not a fault or problem, that’s just the way it works. The harder or thicker the metal, the more force you need to apply to the treadle-bar. These days, most shears are powered hydraulically, not manually.

 

I have attached a photo I found online showing the same shear I own.

 

I can’t say that I know what other types of metal shears would do the job equally as well for a daguerreotypist, but I have been very happy with my shear. It cuts super accurately and once you have it perfectly square, you never have to adjust it again.

 

One thing that you must be careful of – is the hold-down bars that all shears have, which hold your work piece from moving or shifting when the piece is sheared. Because the hold-down bars have a tendency to leave a mark on the delicate copper or silver surface, you must figure out a way to hold your copper (or slivered copper) plate in-place without using the hold-down bars. I do it all the time, so yes, it can be done.

 

I hope that helped.

 

Cheers,

Rob McElroy

Buffalo, NY

 

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[Andy Stockton]

Rob – an impressive piece of equipment and a most helpful response – Thank you! I am glad to hear that you are able to achieve cuts without creating marking at the edges. That was one of my main concerns about using a shear.

[jgmotamedi]

That is one impressive machine… On the smaller side, Di Acro makes very nice 24″ guillotine shear. It still weighs a lot, but may be worth looking into. If I had space I would certainly be looking for a used one on eBay and Craigslist. Instead, I made friends with a local printmaking co-op and use their machine. Before that I used a small guillotine at a local art college.

[Author]

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