Folks,
Is there any person out there who can tell me with authority, or preferably from experience, how this is done?
See that name plate: it is part of an oldish DeWalt radial arm saw that I am sorting out and will have pictures of this proj3ect later.
I would like to know how these name plates are made, with a view to perhaps using the process for my planes.
(Now THAT is a proper radial saw- heavy and able to be adjusted all ways for repeatable dead accuracy…)I have partially disassembled it so I could handle it.
Philip Marcou
Replies
Hi Philip,
How are you proposing to get that thing dead accurate? Conventiental wisdom has it that they're inherently not. Interested because I have an old 12", 3 horse taking up alot of room in the basement shop.
Sorry, I know nothing about how those labels are made, but I think it'll be a challenge to come up with something that doesn't look mass produced and that befits the beauty of your planes.
Tom
Edited 4/11/2008 6:30 am ET by veggiefahmah123
Tom,
I think that conventional wisdom you mention applies to those light weight disasters only-truly those are dangerous crap.
Having stripped and cleaned everything except the motor which runs like a ghost I can see that is has every desirable means there to adjust for and ensure reliable accuracy, plus that heavily ribbed arm, the thick walled column and the rise and fall gear are not going to flex. The only unfortunate thing about the design is that the rollers run in a bed machined directly into the casting of the arm- if those channels are pitted or damaged then it is hard to fix. The rollers themselves are fitted with very nice ball races easy to adjust and clean- I cleaned them with an ultra sound machine-very easy.The Wadkin r/a saw has a much better system -the rollers run on hardened steel rods which are replaceable.
This is typical of machines- you can't really see how the thing works until you have at least stripped and cleaned one....
I intend to post pics of the project soon, but see the name plate- is yours the same model? I suppose I could get a manufacture date from OWWM forum . If you have that model it is a good one to re-furbish-they don't make them like that anymore-at least not for the average diy guy.Set it up with a good table and fence and it is for life.Philip Marcou
Now that right there is a fine tool! I'm jealous.
FWIW, and I don't know for sure, but the way I always *thought* those sort of labels were made is that they were stamped, etched or engraved, depending, then painted or silk screened, and then the high points were ground/sanded/polished off to expose the metal.
If I'm right, do I win a plane? ;-)
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
There are many different techniques for making such things, depending on the material, desired depth of the 3D effect, etc. Here are a couple of vendors to get you started:
http://www.lafrancecorp.com/Products.html
http://www.yeuell.com/processes.html
I'm guessing that stamping or etching would be most appropriate for the look of the DeWalt nameplate.
-Steve
Steve,
Thanks for that: seems like Yeuell might be the very one and photo-anodising may be the way to do. I see that they do decals in quantities of 1 to manymany, which sounds promising.
I will explore further.Philip Marcou
Ah Phillip ole'Chap,
Those plates are made by stamping. I have seen more than a catalog or two showing name plates, with color embossing. Problem may be the cost, depending upon how many tags you are looking for.
I will take a look around (it will be sometime next week as I'm leaving town very shortly) to see if I have a catalog handy. The vendor name & catalog I'm looking for is (IIRC) "Seaton".
By the way, the dovetail gage is just lovely in the hand and registers very nicely on work.
Tony
another variation of stamping would be 'coining', my company had some highly detailed parts coined, it was expensive as I recall. Hope that helps
Steve
For a small run you can do it with etching.
Basically you make an print of the image you want on clear plastic film, which you can design and print out on a computer. The metal for the tag is coated with a chemical film and then exposed to a light source through the negative.
After the exposure, the tag is washed off, removing the film that was exposed to the light through the negative, leaving the film, called a resist, on the metal where you want a raised area. The tag is then immersed in acid for awhile which eats into the unprotected areas.
This is how circuit boards are made and you used to be able to get small kits for doing this if you were an electronics hobbyist making your own circuit boards. Somebody probably still sells the materials, a Google search should turn it up.
John White
Phillip, I searched the US Patent Office and patent number 1528535, the 1st one on the machine plate, was issued March 3, 1925. The last patent number, 2022289, was issued November 26, 1935. That does not tell the age of the machine directly, but does show that it is based on some old patents.
Bruce
Edited 4/11/2008 11:42 am ET by Wingdoctor
Metod,
I agree entirely. Actually I have already had one go at this: (it is called a photo-etch process) when I saw an advert from someone in England. To cut a long story short I waited a long time only to be told that "we can't do the job"- and Lataxe was kind enough to press the guy when a refund was not forthcoming.
I am looking for someone who either does this work or gets it done for his product....
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