You are the metal finish master. I wish I could have discovered your art while still teaching. Metal shop projects always paled next to the wood shop finishes. An amazing restoration Mark.
I know. I used to get frustrated that the metal projects we had on our curriculum would inevitably start rusting from the day the kids took them home. When I first started teaching, about the only finish we had for metal projects was an aluminium liquid paint called Silvafrost. It looked ghastly and cleaning up afterwards was a pain. It was only just after I retired that I got the guys at work to invest in powdercoating. Regards, Mark
There were probably ways of packing the two dies to target specific areas. Unfortunately, the corner of the shop where the hydraulic press lives is quite dark and the curve looked perfect until I took it out in the sun. By then, I had moved everything on the press. It got me really close though. Regards, Mark
Gday Preso, honestly I couldn’t see where the repair had been done at the end, amazing how fast the plating process worked, great job as always, cheers
Wow! It was very thoughtful of you to buy the rag cutter instead of building your own. If everyone had a heart like yours, open source would actually work!
Yes I was sorely tempted to just reverse engineer the one I saw advertised. I actually got about 90% of the modelling done and then I felt guilty. I know how much it costs to have an injection mould tool made and most people who go down that road end up mortgaging their house to pay for the tool. Regards, Mark
@@Preso58 Generally I really agree with that assessment and I sponsor quite a few small makers/entrepreneurs this way. But I do have to say that some products are just a hard sell, $30 really seems a tad much for something that appears like a very simple bit of plastic. It's probably just a mental thing I suppose, at $20 I would probably buy 2, at $30 I would look for alternatives. Not that I have a need for it and it seems a product from New Zealand so shipping to me would be astronomical (I live next to "old" Zeeland, i.e. the Netherlands).
Very interesting video Mark. In my working life I was in the photographic equipment trade for 43 years. We used a similar method to remove dents in camera lens filter mounts. Often with hard wood formers on the outside rim of the lens, and a fibre rod on the inside against the filter mounting thread to tap the rim back into shape. We had a range of formers in different sizes which we made ourselves. This mostly worked out ok and enabled a filter to be screwed in. Every time I sold a lens I recommended buying a filter for this very reason. A damaged filter was easier to remove than a dent! I have a similar rag cutter that’s hand held. It has two blades that are moulded into the plastic grip. The blade is not replaceable, but they only cost about UK£1 each. Loved the wildlife footage. Cheers Nobby
Thanks Nobby. We had an old Pentax SLR camera at a school I worked at. I student dropped it and the focus ring thread got jammed. I took it to a camera repair shop and asked how much it would be to do the repair, expecting something in the range of hundreds of dollars. The repair was done and it only cost about $20. Somewhat surprised, I asked how it could be done so cheaply considering that the complete lens would need to be dismantled. The shop owner showed me a little hardwood chisel shaped tool and said that the focus ring was just cross threaded and all it took was a light tap from a hammer and careful placement of the chisel to make the thread jump back to the correct place. You are correct about a filter. I keep one on my video camera. Weld spatter can ruin a video camera pronto. Regards, Mark
As a one time antiques dealer we used to scrap in a lot of EPNS mainly due to rubbing through issues. That certainly would have rescued a few. Thanks for the video 👍
I did some research on the value of EPNS and it seems that the scrap value is just for the base metal. I remember when the price of silver went through the roof back in 2011 and there was a news story of people lining up to cash in their inherited solid silverware. I nearly wept to see some exquisite heirlooms being crushed and melted down so some family members could get a one off payment which probably got wasted on a holiday or a new TV. Regards, Mark
@@Preso58 that's true money is a fleeting thing but heirlooms are a lasting memory and at least hopefully hold their value. As a dealer such sentiment has little place unfortunately and one must keep the lights on. Most dealers have a retirement collection mind you and I still have mine 😉
You're really brave. I don't think I would have attempted that. I used to brush plate and electroplate in the 90s. Very similar to what you did here but I never attempted any spot repair because they tend to not match very well. The copper applied to the base metal is a copper strike and it does 2 things; Copper sticks really well to base metal as does the electroplated metal stick really well to it and because of this it adds incredible durability to the plate. The plate is less likely to flake off when the base metal has been copper struck. The other thing it does is it affects the appearance of the plate. It really gives silver and gold a real good finish. If no copper strike, the silver and gold will look a lot brighter and may not have that solid silver or solid gold look. One of the things I used to plate for people were coins and everyone always favored the coins that were copper struck over the coins that weren't because of how it made the gold or silver look. If you ever do a repair and remove the copper strike, be sure to re-strike it before plating.
Interestingly, I just recently purchased a product called Ultrastrike. It's a alkaline copper plating solution for steel and other metals but I bought it for another project. You can buy a brush plating copper solution but this was really a cosmetic repair. If the silverware was intended to be used every day it would be worth doing it correctly with the copper strike. Regards, Mark
A strike is particularly important if the substrate is ferrous, the first splash of solution forms a loosely adherent immersion deposit. The strike should only deposit metal when current flows. This also applies to things like zinc based diecastings which which dissolve in acid electrolytes.
Good Show Mate: This was fun. Hope your daughter appreciates what you have done for her. I know daughters of Dads who do things sort of expect this from Dad. I know my daughter sure does. She just expects Dad can fix it. I wouldn't trade her for anything. I am honored she thinks that way. I imagine you feel that way too.
Mark watching you repair the pot took me back to my working teens I worked for UK company Elkington who were well known and respected in fact they help Royal Warrants which for those that may not know means they supplied the Royal their main business was in silverware both hollowware and flatware and in their later years did produce a limited amount of E.P.N.S also moved into stainless steel. To get to my point the silverware was high end and on a Friday afternoon any pieces that were to be scrapped were 'beaten ' by the apprentices with large mallets in order to deter anyone trying to sell it on as a second .Given your delicate repair I reckon there would have been a job there for you.
Thanks. I do know what a royal warrant is. I was on a tour of Windsor a few years ago and our guide pointed out a builders van with the Royal Warrant on the door. Evidently, the van belonged to a cabinetmaker who must have been appointed to do renovations in Windsor Castle. I recall seeing a video by Waterford Crystal and they would smash any pieces that had even the slightest defect. They stood by the marketing ideology of never selling "seconds". Regards, Mark
We are very fortunate to be able to live adjacent to a national park. It was only purchased by our local council about 20 years ago and before that it was designated as state forest meaning that it could still be logged at some point. We regularly see wallabies and kangaroos in the park and yesterday we saw a koala. We have walked the track now for about 15 years and that was the first time we had seen a koala. We did actually hear a male a few years ago but we couldn't see it. The males make a grunting sound like a pig when they are looking for a mate. Regards, Mark
Thanks. My son shot the aerial drone footage. I was amazed at how advanced the DJI drones are now. He has the dedicated controller for it and his favourite party trick is taking "dronies" which are family portraits taken from the drone point of view. If you have a big group or family photo to take it's the perfect way to ensure everyone gets in the shot. Regards, Mark
Very cool. Nicely restored too. Extra special thanks for the Caswell information. I have some radio equipment that has electronic parts and connecting copper wires that are plated in silver and I always wondered how I could easily restore those. Now I know!
Thank you Preso, I've been looking for a solution to replating a damaged camera base and brush plating will fit the bill perfectly. Thanks also for all the great content you publish, much appreciate you sharing your skills and knowledge.
You're welcome. Brush plating is very common amongst aircraft technicians for field repairs on aircraft parts. It allows for very localised repairs and often you don't need to fully disassemble parts to make the repairs. Regards, Mark
Hi Preso, that turned really well. I’ll be buying the rag cutter (from the inventor) and that process looks like an excellent addition to my metal finishing. Thanks mate, Stuart. Canberra.
The rag cutter is great and although there are cheap knockoffs around I like the idea of supporting the kiwi that came up with the idea. Being available in recycled plastic is a bonus. Regards. Mark
@@Preso58 Yes they are great fun. Here in the UK If we use a drone less than 250gms you have quite a lot of frlexibility on where you can fly. I took my licence & got a ID No. Mine is a DJI mini 2. Which is 249gms. I think the rules are different in what country you are in. I took mine to Fuerteventura & got some really good video from it. Steve.
Good restoration Mark and that brush plating came out really great. I think I will get one of those rag cutters as I always have to hunt around for a sharp knife to cut them.
I rather enjoy these tutorials on metal finishing. I have a few antiques, that have been in my family for over 120 years that I would like to restore. The first thing on my list is my victrola, needs some metal finishing and woodwork primarily replacing the veneer on the cabinet top followed with a bit of French polish.
Well, the good news is that brush plating is very forgiving and quite easy to do. Same with french polish work as long as you don't need to fully strip the wood back to a bare finish. There are some good premixed french polish revivers that are a mixture of shellac and oils which will remove any surface ground in dirt and dust but also build up a new shiny finish. Regards, Mark
I wish I'd known about this process 30 years ago. You wouldn't know it had been repaired. I might have been able to rescue my grans old silver plate tea set. She polished it to destruction basically, there was copper showing through everywhere. I think it went for scrap with a load of plumbing fittings and the like. That aerial shot, gives some idea of how big your workshop is Mark. We have been trying to move for years now, but when I put in for outline planning for a 1000 sq/ft garage workshop if gets turned down, so we pull out of the purchase.
The thing about my workshop is that I have to share it with two cars! And, my wife gets quite cross if I don't move her Subaru Impreza out of the garage when I do any work in there. I have already incurred her wrath for putting steel particles over the white paint. I got away with it until they began to rust.😯 A very expensive car detail job later taught me a lesson. I don't care about my 13 year old Camry. It can take it's chances. Regards, Mark
@@Preso58 Ha haa, my wife wants to put her Honda Jazz in the garage, but my old Roundhead Colchester Triumph is in the way of the door. Hopefully it will be gone soon, I don't need two Triumph sized lathes.
Well, EPNS is the entry level silverware. I don't think I have ever seen a piece of solid silverware. Evidently a lot of solid silver items were sold and melted down when the spot price of silver went through the roof back in 2011. Regards, Mark
Congratulations on the video, beautiful form of generations that meet, exchange, improve and persist knowledge. Very grateful :O) == Parabéns pelo video, forma bonita de gerações que se encontram, trocam, melhoram e perservam conhecimento. Muito grato
Brilliant as ever Mark. I so much look forward to your videos, it feels like I'm back in school, with the metalwork teacher I admired! I live in central Sydney, so don't get to see any native animals here, so look forward to the ends of your videos. Are you in danger of fire where you are, having bush so close is fantastic for sighting our unique fauna, but I worry you might be at increased danger of fire there? Thnx for your effort Mark.
We do worry about fires. The notion of staying and defending your property is rapidly disappearing. Forced evacuations are becoming more common. Last fire season we explored the idea of fitting fixed sprinkler systems around the house. I think the cost is far outweighed by the peace of mind knowing that you can just start the pump and evacuate. Regards, Mark
When I saw the drone shot of your house the first thing I thought of was the old John Wayne movie Donovan's Reef. The repairs look almost undetectable, and what I am seeing may be because of the lighting.
I had to check out the trailer of that movie on TH-cam. I don't think I ever watched it but it seems like one long bar fight. It was interesting that it was filmed in Kauai. We visited there back in 2018. It was a beautiful place and I believe it was the location for several Hollywood movies such as South Pacific. Regards, Mark
Very interesting. Nice work. You using your wife’s clothing for a rag,reminds me of when I started wood working. My friend brought me a pair of his wife’s panties and said its the best rags. I was feeling so awkward. He he. Oh and I love nature and your nice big yard. It’s beautiful
Great rescue Presso 👍 The brush plating looks like a nice easy method but sadly beyond my budget. I rember from my time repairing brass/woodwind instruments that most dents etc were easily removed using a simple ball or rod mandrel and a rawhide mallet. Most common damage was flutes bent in the middle cos they get laid in the lap and then get squished when picking up a sheet of music🤦♂🤣
Well, I admire anyone that can repair a musical instrument. I was invited to visit a place that repaired brass and woodwind instruments and it made me appreciate how much skill is involved. They showed us a trumpet that looked good until they shone a light inside the bell and held it up against a dark background. It was riddled with pinholes. Evidently, some musicians have "acid breath" and it can eat away the brass. Regards, Mark
Was very interesting, lots of moving parts. Saxophones are pretty crazy😮 Really enjoyed the technical/mechanical bits snd got pretty good at it but didn't have the skills to test em...and yep, things like "flute juice and trumpet trash" were hazmat nasty 🤣🍻
Absolutely beautiful! You can see a bit of feathering for the area where the dent was. I can't see the dent but I can see where it was sanded. I'd imagine it's mostly because the new silver is so much smoother than the old stuff. I don't know much about silver and precious metals but could it be a different grade of silver maybe? Or would that affect the look sort of like two different batches of the same paint? Also, if you wanted to full in all those nicks and scratches, could you just plate right over it, or would you have to sand or polish it first? I'm not sure the thickness that the plating gives it versus how much is removed by sanding and polishing. Absolutely beautiful though! I wish I had some spare money to try doing this on a cheap antique
The sanded and polished area did look different in texture to the original surface which had a lot of nicks and find scratches. If you wanted to re finish the entire piece and get a mirror finish you would probably need to strip all the original silver off it by reverse plating and then copper plate the entire part. The copper can be quite thick and that allows you to polish the surface with different grits before buffing and finally re-plating with silver. You can build up the silver plate with the brush plating technique but it's probably not going to be consistent thickness. Using a regular electroplating bath and using carefully positioned anodes allows you to get a bit more control over the thickness of the plate. Regards, Mark
Nice little restoration. 👍 I was wondering if that little modified Ball Pein hammer may have done less damage if you used it as a dolly rather than as a hammer. 🤔
I am good at inflicting damage. I could have cried when I first attacked that dent with what I considered to be a "safe" hammer face. It was the start of all my problems. Regards, Mark
Wow, absolutely fascinating video. Learned of brush plating some time ago but have never seen it in real use. Impressive restoration of the tea pot demonstrates your amazing skill set range and knowledge. I'm always impressed with your wide range of skill. I would have called the dent "patina" put it on the shelf as-is. Nice drone photos of your house, but I doubt I'm alone with the cringe thought of painting it. Quite a bit of wildlife, are the ducks native? Bought two rag cutters from your link, discovered what must be a dozen China copies on Amazon.
We recently had the house painted but for the first time we paid a contractor to do it. I am too old to be climbing scaffolding and they were finished within three weeks. The ducks are native black ducks and they seem to be a permanent fixture in the garden now. We also see native wood ducks after the breeding season. It's always a bit sad to see them with 7 or 8 ducklings soon after they fly (or fall down) from the trees and then over the course of a week or so the numbers gradually drop off as they are taken by feral cats and birds of prey. They are lucky if one or two make it to maturity. Regards, Mark
G'day Presso, great stuff as always, mate. I have been watching along for a while now, and it's only just occured to me to ask if I can send you a sticker for your board?
Great video again Mark. How hard wearing would these brush finishes be for things like tools and handles that get touched a bit? Might make a good rust prevention coating
Brush plating is not much different to regular electroplating and the durability really depends on how well you clean and prepare the underlying metal. For complete protection you would need to ensure a good build-up. The Caswell instructions state that you can actually submerge the part in the solution and place the wand in the solution as well and it plates continuously over the entire part. The only difference is that the silver ions are actually in the plating solution and deposit on the part where as with normal plating you would use an anode of pure silver and the electrolyte is used to transfer the metal plate to the part. For steel parts you would use a copper plating solution first and then something like nickel or nickel cobalt. I cannot be sure but I believe that nickel won't deposit directly onto steel. Zinc is good though for direct plating to steel. Regards, Mark
Yes. Capital costs can be a barrier to entry but generally it pays off if you can do a couple of jobs for one's partner that seem to be "free". Regards, Mark
@11:49 that spot is low because the disc (“bottom”) on the inside has been deformed in addition to the outer shell. For the outer shell to become dented inwards, the disc had to also bow upwards or downwards to accommodate. I can see an increased “shadow line“ at that location of the solder seam. I bet if you made a small straight edge that could fit inside you would see a discrepancy in the surface contour of the disc in that region. The next operation should be to make a shoehorn like mandrel that you can put up inside the base and then hammer/press that disc down so it pushes back outwards against the shell. (Really, that probably should have been the first operation, before using the dies to press the outer rim, but unless you had done this exact repair before it’s unlikely foresight. I know I certainly wouldn’t have thought of it). I am still at this timestamp of the video so I would not be surprised at all if you end up at this conclusion on your own.
I really envy those sheet metal workers and car repair guys who know instinctively how the metal has moved and how to coax it back into shape. I was a bit wary about using a lot of leverage or hammer blows in case the seam split. I had never worked with this type of silver ware before so it was a bit of a learning experience for me. I made the decision to avoid hammering as much as possible after seeing what happened when I first tried using a soft mallet and a dolly. Regards, Mark
I did look at the cheap ones on Temu and AliExpress. I really did get about 90% of the reverse engineered version done and then felt guilty. Regards, Mark
You needed to anneal it at around 750C and then use a planishing hammer on a stake dolly - actually, scratch that, it takes a lot of practise to get a rim dent like that out so what you did was the best bet. Don't ever try that with a body dent though, it will not go well, so you will either need to learn how to shrink dents or find someone who knows how to do it.
I know one thing for sure about fixing dents, it's not for the beginner. I really admire those body shop guys that know how to move metal around. On the next project, I had to repair some dents in really thin sheet steel, like paper thin! I probably did it all wrong but I got about 90% of it flat. Regards, Mark
@@Preso58 Well in silversmithing hammer technique was a big thing and I was taught several lessons: Always anneal - you are trying to tease metal into shape by making it move. Never hammer a ring from the inside, it will dent. You need to use a dolly and hammer outside or use a curved punch from the inside into a pitch pot or a hollow anvil. Always use the correct hammer and never lend them to anyone. If they put a mark into your polished hammer you will emboss that mark into your work until you polish it out. I would say you had a good result in the end but you were fighting the metal - it was ringing, so it was springing back. The press was always going to coerce the metal into shape and if your dies had any surface finish that could be embossed, just like a mark on a hammer - all hammers, dies and punches used in decorative metalwork need to be polished to avoid this. As it was, the edges of the dent were stretched and work hardened so you forced the metal back to shape and this could cause a crease, split or crack, or at the very least an internal hard section that could be stressed in future leading to a crack. Where the dent was I suspect you will be OK. I would have spot annealed the dent using a microtorch (hydrogen/oxygen - very hot and very localised, the modern approach is a laser welder, but they are expensive and I don't have one... they weren't available when I was a lad!) and then used a saddle dolly and a planishing hammer from the outside. The solder is unlikely to contain lead because it would eat any silver plating and turn black, so it was at worst repair solder and would stand a relatively high temperature as long you didn't directly heat it; this means you could probably have used a propane torch with a very fine tip, but ideally you would need oxy in order to dump heat into the dent quickly to avoid warming the whole thing up. After that give your dies a really fine polish and press it firmly with your fingers crossed - you may have still needed a bit of polishing and finessing but it would have been done quickly and easily. I admire panel beaters too, steel is a tough material to hammer and I couldn't do it. Aluminium, copper alloys and silver are much easier, all it takes is practise... hour after hour of practise, so if I need to do it in future I hope I still have the knack; I am certainly not going to learn to do it all over again😁
Excellent job as usual but I feel you took some of the history away from the piece, I think the initial reforming was enough but of course it's a matter of opinion. Keep up the good work, I've replated a few silver trays & it's quite time consuming to get a great finish & dealing with a cyanide solution is off putting.
It's always something of a dilemma when it comes to restoration. We have no way of knowing when the teapot was dented. If I had left it as it was it may have corroded in the area where the dent was. It still retains a lot of it's original patina though. Regards, Mark
Just a thought; gunsmiths use many light hammer (2 oz) blows to move metal around. Have to approach this without thinking you are damaging your wife's treasure. Fear is holding you back.
I really admire those artisans that can look at a damaged piece of sheet metal and coax it back into it's correct form with very basic tools. I did actually visit a shop that repaired brass musical instruments. They were working on a tuba that had been in the back of a car which was involved in an accident. Not only is the brass very thin and brittle but it's also bent into convoluted shapes meaning that you need elaborate mandrels and dollies to hammer against. It's a true art form. Regards, Mark
We cannot be sure when it was damaged. My mother in law had been in a nursing home for some time and a lot of her belongings were in storage. If she had been able to tell us how it had been dented we might have considered leaving it as is. She lived in Singapore and Malta as well as moving to Adelaide in Australia and then later to Brisbane. If she had told me that it had been dropped on the steps to Raffles Hotel in Singapore, I would have absolutely left the dent there. Regards, Mark
I love the channel Mark but I do have one bit of constructive criticism for this video. You're sanding like a woodworker when you should be sanding like a silversmith or horologist. It would make a world of difference in your final product.
Hi Mark, I'm commenting at about 14 minutes in. Is the indented material not above the "floor" of the pot. So far, you've successfully straightened the lower portion of the dents, but the bit remaining is part in the floor and part in the wall above the joint. Some form of an internal anvil might be better, convex for the wall, but flat for the floor at the same time. It is difficult to describe, but if you can picture an anvil supporting in two directions at once. Just my thought. Otherwise, use soft solder to fill the depression before replating . Regards from Canada's banana belt. 🤞🇨🇦🍌🥋🇺🇦🕊🇦🇺🐨🪃🫕🏁
Thanks. I am not one of those metal wranglers who can look at a dent and then determine exactly where it needs to be stretched or shrunk and then give it a few taps for a perfect repair. I really admire those guys who do the paintless dent repairs on cars. It's fascinating to watch. My fall-back position was to soft solder over the tiny pits and then plate over it but I pushed on with the sanding and it all came good. Regards, Mark
A good solid hardwood would do the job well. We have some really dense and hard "hardwoods" here in Oz. They behave and machine like steel. Regards, Mark
Thank you for sharing the silver plating. I would never have guessed it would turn out so nice.
This is the FIRST time I have ever seen brush plating work. Leave it to Mark to show us the way. Thanks, Presso
You are the metal finish master. I wish I could have discovered your art while still teaching. Metal shop projects always paled next to the wood shop finishes. An amazing restoration Mark.
I know. I used to get frustrated that the metal projects we had on our curriculum would inevitably start rusting from the day the kids took them home. When I first started teaching, about the only finish we had for metal projects was an aluminium liquid paint called Silvafrost. It looked ghastly and cleaning up afterwards was a pain. It was only just after I retired that I got the guys at work to invest in powdercoating.
Regards,
Mark
A piece of leather on the convex die, targeting specifically the low bit when using the press. But mate, you have done a damned fine job.
There were probably ways of packing the two dies to target specific areas. Unfortunately, the corner of the shop where the hydraulic press lives is quite dark and the curve looked perfect until I took it out in the sun. By then, I had moved everything on the press. It got me really close though.
Regards,
Mark
Gday Preso, honestly I couldn’t see where the repair had been done at the end, amazing how fast the plating process worked, great job as always, cheers
Thanks Matty. Are you taking a break from TH-cam? I have been missing your videos.
Regards,
Mark
@@Preso58 yes mate having a good break away from YT, life in general has changed here now
Wow! It was very thoughtful of you to buy the rag cutter instead of building your own. If everyone had a heart like yours, open source would actually work!
Yes I was sorely tempted to just reverse engineer the one I saw advertised. I actually got about 90% of the modelling done and then I felt guilty. I know how much it costs to have an injection mould tool made and most people who go down that road end up mortgaging their house to pay for the tool.
Regards,
Mark
@@Preso58 Generally I really agree with that assessment and I sponsor quite a few small makers/entrepreneurs this way. But I do have to say that some products are just a hard sell, $30 really seems a tad much for something that appears like a very simple bit of plastic. It's probably just a mental thing I suppose, at $20 I would probably buy 2, at $30 I would look for alternatives.
Not that I have a need for it and it seems a product from New Zealand so shipping to me would be astronomical (I live next to "old" Zeeland, i.e. the Netherlands).
Very interesting video Mark. In my working life I was in the photographic equipment trade for 43 years. We used a similar method to remove dents in camera lens filter mounts. Often with hard wood formers on the outside rim of the lens, and a fibre rod on the inside against the filter mounting thread to tap the rim back into shape. We had a range of formers in different sizes which we made ourselves. This mostly worked out ok and enabled a filter to be screwed in. Every time I sold a lens I recommended buying a filter for this very reason. A damaged filter was easier to remove than a dent! I have a similar rag cutter that’s hand held. It has two blades that are moulded into the plastic grip. The blade is not replaceable, but they only cost about UK£1 each. Loved the wildlife footage. Cheers Nobby
Thanks Nobby. We had an old Pentax SLR camera at a school I worked at. I student dropped it and the focus ring thread got jammed. I took it to a camera repair shop and asked how much it would be to do the repair, expecting something in the range of hundreds of dollars. The repair was done and it only cost about $20. Somewhat surprised, I asked how it could be done so cheaply considering that the complete lens would need to be dismantled. The shop owner showed me a little hardwood chisel shaped tool and said that the focus ring was just cross threaded and all it took was a light tap from a hammer and careful placement of the chisel to make the thread jump back to the correct place. You are correct about a filter. I keep one on my video camera. Weld spatter can ruin a video camera pronto.
Regards,
Mark
As a one time antiques dealer we used to scrap in a lot of EPNS mainly due to rubbing through issues. That certainly would have rescued a few. Thanks for the video 👍
I did some research on the value of EPNS and it seems that the scrap value is just for the base metal. I remember when the price of silver went through the roof back in 2011 and there was a news story of people lining up to cash in their inherited solid silverware. I nearly wept to see some exquisite heirlooms being crushed and melted down so some family members could get a one off payment which probably got wasted on a holiday or a new TV.
Regards,
Mark
@@Preso58 that's true money is a fleeting thing but heirlooms are a lasting memory and at least hopefully hold their value. As a dealer such sentiment has little place unfortunately and one must keep the lights on. Most dealers have a retirement collection mind you and I still have mine 😉
The finished silver coating looks as good as new. A very detailed episode.
You're really brave. I don't think I would have attempted that. I used to brush plate and electroplate in the 90s. Very similar to what you did here but I never attempted any spot repair because they tend to not match very well. The copper applied to the base metal is a copper strike and it does 2 things; Copper sticks really well to base metal as does the electroplated metal stick really well to it and because of this it adds incredible durability to the plate. The plate is less likely to flake off when the base metal has been copper struck. The other thing it does is it affects the appearance of the plate. It really gives silver and gold a real good finish. If no copper strike, the silver and gold will look a lot brighter and may not have that solid silver or solid gold look. One of the things I used to plate for people were coins and everyone always favored the coins that were copper struck over the coins that weren't because of how it made the gold or silver look. If you ever do a repair and remove the copper strike, be sure to re-strike it before plating.
Interestingly, I just recently purchased a product called Ultrastrike. It's a alkaline copper plating solution for steel and other metals but I bought it for another project. You can buy a brush plating copper solution but this was really a cosmetic repair. If the silverware was intended to be used every day it would be worth doing it correctly with the copper strike.
Regards,
Mark
A strike is particularly important if the substrate is ferrous, the first splash of solution forms a loosely adherent immersion deposit. The strike should only deposit metal when current flows. This also applies to things like zinc based diecastings which which dissolve in acid electrolytes.
Good Show Mate: This was fun. Hope your daughter appreciates what you have done for her. I know daughters of Dads who do things sort of expect this from Dad. I know my daughter sure does. She just expects Dad can fix it. I wouldn't trade her for anything. I am honored she thinks that way. I imagine you feel that way too.
Yes, I agree. Daughter's are amazing. Mine is a nurse. I regard her as a true superhero.
Regards,
Mark
Mark watching you repair the pot took me back to my working teens I worked for UK company Elkington who were well known and respected in fact they help Royal Warrants which for those that may not know means they supplied the Royal their main business was in silverware both hollowware and flatware and in their later years did produce a limited amount of E.P.N.S also moved into stainless steel. To get to my point the silverware was high end and on a Friday afternoon any pieces that were to be scrapped were 'beaten ' by the apprentices with large mallets in order to deter anyone trying to sell it on as a second .Given your delicate repair I reckon there would have been a job there for you.
Thanks. I do know what a royal warrant is. I was on a tour of Windsor a few years ago and our guide pointed out a builders van with the Royal Warrant on the door. Evidently, the van belonged to a cabinetmaker who must have been appointed to do renovations in Windsor Castle. I recall seeing a video by Waterford Crystal and they would smash any pieces that had even the slightest defect. They stood by the marketing ideology of never selling "seconds".
Regards,
Mark
Beautiful restoration Mark 👍
The wildlife closing scenes ( and the music) are ‘soothing’ to say the least.
Regards
Robert
An excellent tutorial, and thanks especially for the end wildlife video. I always enjoy those.
Great restoration Mark! I use Autosol on the exhaust on my bike, it's a wonderful product. Looking forward to the next video :)
Well done. I learned a ton! I have decided that you deserve the title of professor!
All your video work is well done; the topics, video, audio, organization, all of it first rate. Particularly enjoy your plating tutorials!
Thank you. That's good feedback.
Regards,
Mark
Great repair on an heirloom. I love your home and your "neighborhood." Must be a dream to live there. Cheers.
We are very fortunate to be able to live adjacent to a national park. It was only purchased by our local council about 20 years ago and before that it was designated as state forest meaning that it could still be logged at some point. We regularly see wallabies and kangaroos in the park and yesterday we saw a koala. We have walked the track now for about 15 years and that was the first time we had seen a koala. We did actually hear a male a few years ago but we couldn't see it. The males make a grunting sound like a pig when they are looking for a mate.
Regards,
Mark
Your daughter & her offsprings will treasure this teapot forever for 2 reasons ... it belonged to her grandma & her father repaired it ...
Enjoyed…great discussion/mentoring
Thanks Chuck.
Regards,
Mark
Nice work on the silver. You son took some nice video of some amazing property.
Thanks. My son shot the aerial drone footage. I was amazed at how advanced the DJI drones are now. He has the dedicated controller for it and his favourite party trick is taking "dronies" which are family portraits taken from the drone point of view. If you have a big group or family photo to take it's the perfect way to ensure everyone gets in the shot.
Regards,
Mark
That turned out a LOT better than I expected... Very interested in trying that...
Thank you so much for this wonderful information!
Very cool. Nicely restored too. Extra special thanks for the Caswell information. I have some radio equipment that has electronic parts and connecting copper wires that are plated in silver and I always wondered how I could easily restore those. Now I know!
Nicely done Mark!
Thank you Preso, I've been looking for a solution to replating a damaged camera base and brush plating will fit the bill perfectly. Thanks also for all the great content you publish, much appreciate you sharing your skills and knowledge.
You're welcome. Brush plating is very common amongst aircraft technicians for field repairs on aircraft parts. It allows for very localised repairs and often you don't need to fully disassemble parts to make the repairs.
Regards,
Mark
Always something new to learn. Your work processes fit my home workshop well. Thank you.
Great job. What a beautiful home you have.
Turned out great Mark. Love this series. Would love to see more. Cheers.
That came out great. You wife will be very happy.
Hi Preso, that turned really well. I’ll be buying the rag cutter (from the inventor) and that process looks like an excellent addition to my metal finishing. Thanks mate, Stuart. Canberra.
The rag cutter is great and although there are cheap knockoffs around I like the idea of supporting the kiwi that came up with the idea. Being available in recycled plastic is a bonus.
Regards.
Mark
Fantastic result Mark. I have a drone & yes the video from them is stunning. Love you location. Looks like a heavenly place.
Steve.
Thanks Steve. After watching my son fly his DJI around it has encouraged me to look into it.
Regards,
Mark
@@Preso58 Yes they are great fun. Here in the UK If we use a drone less than 250gms you have quite a lot of frlexibility on where you can fly. I took my licence & got a ID No. Mine is a DJI mini 2. Which is 249gms. I think the rules are different in what country you are in. I took mine to Fuerteventura & got some really good video from it.
Steve.
Good restoration Mark and that brush plating came out really great. I think I will get one of those rag cutters as I always have to hunt around for a sharp knife to cut them.
Me too. I hate doing it and always worry about cutting myself. And, the rag cutter is a Kiwi invention!
Regards,
Mark
Probably a good thing to allow a little bit of the story of objects to stay intact..
Yes, there is still a lot of patina and wear and tear evident on all the pieces.
Regards,
Mark
I rather enjoy these tutorials on metal finishing. I have a few antiques, that have been in my family for over 120 years that I would like to restore. The first thing on my list is my victrola, needs some metal finishing and woodwork primarily replacing the veneer on the cabinet top followed with a bit of French polish.
Well, the good news is that brush plating is very forgiving and quite easy to do. Same with french polish work as long as you don't need to fully strip the wood back to a bare finish. There are some good premixed french polish revivers that are a mixture of shellac and oils which will remove any surface ground in dirt and dust but also build up a new shiny finish.
Regards,
Mark
Thank you for an interesting video!
Great video. Gorgeous results. ❤
Thanks Mark
Excellent job again and a beautiful home!!
I wish I'd known about this process 30 years ago. You wouldn't know it had been repaired. I might have been able to rescue my grans old silver plate tea set. She polished it to destruction basically, there was copper showing through everywhere. I think it went for scrap with a load of plumbing fittings and the like.
That aerial shot, gives some idea of how big your workshop is Mark. We have been trying to move for years now, but when I put in for outline planning for a 1000 sq/ft garage workshop if gets turned down, so we pull out of the purchase.
The thing about my workshop is that I have to share it with two cars! And, my wife gets quite cross if I don't move her Subaru Impreza out of the garage when I do any work in there. I have already incurred her wrath for putting steel particles over the white paint. I got away with it until they began to rust.😯 A very expensive car detail job later taught me a lesson. I don't care about my 13 year old Camry. It can take it's chances.
Regards,
Mark
@@Preso58 Ha haa, my wife wants to put her Honda Jazz in the garage, but my old Roundhead Colchester Triumph is in the way of the door. Hopefully it will be gone soon, I don't need two Triumph sized lathes.
Hi from the uk, i will never own a silver teapot, but I really enjoyed watching the process :-)
Well, EPNS is the entry level silverware. I don't think I have ever seen a piece of solid silverware. Evidently a lot of solid silver items were sold and melted down when the spot price of silver went through the roof back in 2011.
Regards,
Mark
amazing transformation. thanks for sharing your talents
Fantastic job Mark!
Congratulations on the video, beautiful form of generations that meet, exchange, improve and persist knowledge. Very grateful :O)
==
Parabéns pelo video, forma bonita de gerações que se encontram, trocam, melhoram e perservam conhecimento. Muito grato
Brilliant as ever Mark. I so much look forward to your videos, it feels like I'm back in school, with the metalwork teacher I admired! I live in central Sydney, so don't get to see any native animals here, so look forward to the ends of your videos. Are you in danger of fire where you are, having bush so close is fantastic for sighting our unique fauna, but I worry you might be at increased danger of fire there? Thnx for your effort Mark.
We do worry about fires. The notion of staying and defending your property is rapidly disappearing. Forced evacuations are becoming more common. Last fire season we explored the idea of fitting fixed sprinkler systems around the house. I think the cost is far outweighed by the peace of mind knowing that you can just start the pump and evacuate.
Regards,
Mark
When I saw the drone shot of your house the first thing I thought of was the old John Wayne movie Donovan's Reef.
The repairs look almost undetectable, and what I am seeing may be because of the lighting.
I had to check out the trailer of that movie on TH-cam. I don't think I ever watched it but it seems like one long bar fight. It was interesting that it was filmed in Kauai. We visited there back in 2018. It was a beautiful place and I believe it was the location for several Hollywood movies such as South Pacific.
Regards,
Mark
@Preso58 i think YT has it available for free just with ads on it. I highly enjoyed it myself the last time I watched it.
nice repair mark !
cheers
ben.
For most people it's a theepot. For you it's a piece of history, so it's well worth the effort.
PS; I think you live in the Garden of Eden :)
Thanks Michel. We have a room for you if you ever visit.
Regards,
Mark
Very nice restoration! Where are the crumpets for the tea?
I love the drone shots. Looks like an awesome place to live and who doesn't love a Kookaburra?
Absolutely, we saw a koala yesterday morning. It was a super cute juvenile too.
Regards,
Mark
Great work
Very interesting. Nice work.
You using your wife’s clothing for a rag,reminds me of when I started wood working. My friend brought me a pair of his wife’s panties and said its the best rags. I was feeling so awkward. He he.
Oh and I love nature and your nice big yard. It’s beautiful
I know. I was given a bag full of my Mother in Law's old undies. Superior cotton I believe.
Regards,
Mark
@@Preso58 he he. I suppose. Not sure about using underwear. I do love old socks.
Nice work, with that much rubbing it is a wonder you did not end up with a Genie!
I did end up with blisters though.
Regards,
Mark
Great rescue Presso 👍 The brush plating looks like a nice easy method but sadly beyond my budget. I rember from my time repairing brass/woodwind instruments that most dents etc were easily removed using a simple ball or rod mandrel and a rawhide mallet. Most common damage was flutes bent in the middle cos they get laid in the lap and then get squished when picking up a sheet of music🤦♂🤣
Well, I admire anyone that can repair a musical instrument. I was invited to visit a place that repaired brass and woodwind instruments and it made me appreciate how much skill is involved. They showed us a trumpet that looked good until they shone a light inside the bell and held it up against a dark background. It was riddled with pinholes. Evidently, some musicians have "acid breath" and it can eat away the brass.
Regards,
Mark
Was very interesting, lots of moving parts. Saxophones are pretty crazy😮 Really enjoyed the technical/mechanical bits snd got pretty good at it but didn't have the skills to test em...and yep, things like "flute juice and trumpet trash" were hazmat nasty 🤣🍻
Most under subscribed channel on youtube
Thanks for that. I appreciate the feedback.
Regards,
Mark
Absolutely beautiful! You can see a bit of feathering for the area where the dent was. I can't see the dent but I can see where it was sanded. I'd imagine it's mostly because the new silver is so much smoother than the old stuff. I don't know much about silver and precious metals but could it be a different grade of silver maybe? Or would that affect the look sort of like two different batches of the same paint? Also, if you wanted to full in all those nicks and scratches, could you just plate right over it, or would you have to sand or polish it first? I'm not sure the thickness that the plating gives it versus how much is removed by sanding and polishing. Absolutely beautiful though! I wish I had some spare money to try doing this on a cheap antique
The sanded and polished area did look different in texture to the original surface which had a lot of nicks and find scratches. If you wanted to re finish the entire piece and get a mirror finish you would probably need to strip all the original silver off it by reverse plating and then copper plate the entire part. The copper can be quite thick and that allows you to polish the surface with different grits before buffing and finally re-plating with silver. You can build up the silver plate with the brush plating technique but it's probably not going to be consistent thickness. Using a regular electroplating bath and using carefully positioned anodes allows you to get a bit more control over the thickness of the plate.
Regards,
Mark
Nice little restoration. 👍 I was wondering if that little modified Ball Pein hammer may have done less damage if you used it as a dolly rather than as a hammer. 🤔
I am good at inflicting damage. I could have cried when I first attacked that dent with what I considered to be a "safe" hammer face. It was the start of all my problems.
Regards,
Mark
@@Preso58 You're not on your Pat Malone there.
Good job Mark it came up well. 👍👍👍👍👍👍
Wow, absolutely fascinating video. Learned of brush plating some time ago but have never seen it in real use. Impressive restoration of the tea pot demonstrates your amazing skill set range and knowledge. I'm always impressed with your wide range of skill. I would have called the dent "patina" put it on the shelf as-is. Nice drone photos of your house, but I doubt I'm alone with the cringe thought of painting it. Quite a bit of wildlife, are the ducks native? Bought two rag cutters from your link, discovered what must be a dozen China copies on Amazon.
We recently had the house painted but for the first time we paid a contractor to do it. I am too old to be climbing scaffolding and they were finished within three weeks. The ducks are native black ducks and they seem to be a permanent fixture in the garden now. We also see native wood ducks after the breeding season. It's always a bit sad to see them with 7 or 8 ducklings soon after they fly (or fall down) from the trees and then over the course of a week or so the numbers gradually drop off as they are taken by feral cats and birds of prey. They are lucky if one or two make it to maturity.
Regards,
Mark
Nice work.
G'day Presso, great stuff as always, mate. I have been watching along for a while now, and it's only just occured to me to ask if I can send you a sticker for your board?
Sure. I am always up for a sticker swap. You can email me at mark.presling@gmail.com and we can exchange addresses.
Regards,
Mark
Great video again Mark. How hard wearing would these brush finishes be for things like tools and handles that get touched a bit? Might make a good rust prevention coating
Brush plating is not much different to regular electroplating and the durability really depends on how well you clean and prepare the underlying metal. For complete protection you would need to ensure a good build-up. The Caswell instructions state that you can actually submerge the part in the solution and place the wand in the solution as well and it plates continuously over the entire part. The only difference is that the silver ions are actually in the plating solution and deposit on the part where as with normal plating you would use an anode of pure silver and the electrolyte is used to transfer the metal plate to the part. For steel parts you would use a copper plating solution first and then something like nickel or nickel cobalt. I cannot be sure but I believe that nickel won't deposit directly onto steel. Zinc is good though for direct plating to steel.
Regards,
Mark
Quite the Castle you have! Really enjoy the plating series, but the start up expense denies my ability to participate 😢
Yes. Capital costs can be a barrier to entry but generally it pays off if you can do a couple of jobs for one's partner that seem to be "free".
Regards,
Mark
@11:49 that spot is low because the disc (“bottom”) on the inside has been deformed in addition to the outer shell. For the outer shell to become dented inwards, the disc had to also bow upwards or downwards to accommodate. I can see an increased “shadow line“ at that location of the solder seam. I bet if you made a small straight edge that could fit inside you would see a discrepancy in the surface contour of the disc in that region. The next operation should be to make a shoehorn like mandrel that you can put up inside the base and then hammer/press that disc down so it pushes back outwards against the shell. (Really, that probably should have been the first operation, before using the dies to press the outer rim, but unless you had done this exact repair before it’s unlikely foresight. I know I certainly wouldn’t have thought of it). I am still at this timestamp of the video so I would not be surprised at all if you end up at this conclusion on your own.
I really envy those sheet metal workers and car repair guys who know instinctively how the metal has moved and how to coax it back into shape. I was a bit wary about using a lot of leverage or hammer blows in case the seam split. I had never worked with this type of silver ware before so it was a bit of a learning experience for me. I made the decision to avoid hammering as much as possible after seeing what happened when I first tried using a soft mallet and a dolly.
Regards,
Mark
Rag cutters are also on Timu for $8.00 no with a pair of free gloves , good idea tho really hard cutting up rags
I did look at the cheap ones on Temu and AliExpress. I really did get about 90% of the reverse engineered version done and then felt guilty.
Regards,
Mark
A bit of Johnny Tremain silversmithing
My dad used to say EPNS means "Expensive Present. Not Silver" :D
That's a good one!
Regards,
Mark
Mark, how many liter is your ultrasonic? Thanks
I am not sure. I am guessing it's about 4 litres but if I were buying another one I would get one with a built in heater.
Regards,
Mark
@@Preso58 Thanks
You needed to anneal it at around 750C and then use a planishing hammer on a stake dolly - actually, scratch that, it takes a lot of practise to get a rim dent like that out so what you did was the best bet. Don't ever try that with a body dent though, it will not go well, so you will either need to learn how to shrink dents or find someone who knows how to do it.
I know one thing for sure about fixing dents, it's not for the beginner. I really admire those body shop guys that know how to move metal around. On the next project, I had to repair some dents in really thin sheet steel, like paper thin!
I probably did it all wrong but I got about 90% of it flat.
Regards,
Mark
@@Preso58 Well in silversmithing hammer technique was a big thing and I was taught several lessons:
Always anneal - you are trying to tease metal into shape by making it move.
Never hammer a ring from the inside, it will dent. You need to use a dolly and hammer outside or use a curved punch from the inside into a pitch pot or a hollow anvil.
Always use the correct hammer and never lend them to anyone. If they put a mark into your polished hammer you will emboss that mark into your work until you polish it out.
I would say you had a good result in the end but you were fighting the metal - it was ringing, so it was springing back. The press was always going to coerce the metal into shape and if your dies had any surface finish that could be embossed, just like a mark on a hammer - all hammers, dies and punches used in decorative metalwork need to be polished to avoid this. As it was, the edges of the dent were stretched and work hardened so you forced the metal back to shape and this could cause a crease, split or crack, or at the very least an internal hard section that could be stressed in future leading to a crack. Where the dent was I suspect you will be OK.
I would have spot annealed the dent using a microtorch (hydrogen/oxygen - very hot and very localised, the modern approach is a laser welder, but they are expensive and I don't have one... they weren't available when I was a lad!) and then used a saddle dolly and a planishing hammer from the outside. The solder is unlikely to contain lead because it would eat any silver plating and turn black, so it was at worst repair solder and would stand a relatively high temperature as long you didn't directly heat it; this means you could probably have used a propane torch with a very fine tip, but ideally you would need oxy in order to dump heat into the dent quickly to avoid warming the whole thing up. After that give your dies a really fine polish and press it firmly with your fingers crossed - you may have still needed a bit of polishing and finessing but it would have been done quickly and easily.
I admire panel beaters too, steel is a tough material to hammer and I couldn't do it. Aluminium, copper alloys and silver are much easier, all it takes is practise... hour after hour of practise, so if I need to do it in future I hope I still have the knack; I am certainly not going to learn to do it all over again😁
Excellent job as usual but I feel you took some of the history away from the piece, I think the initial reforming was enough but of course it's a matter of opinion. Keep up the good work, I've replated a few silver trays & it's quite time consuming to get a great finish & dealing with a cyanide solution is off putting.
It's always something of a dilemma when it comes to restoration. We have no way of knowing when the teapot was dented. If I had left it as it was it may have corroded in the area where the dent was. It still retains a lot of it's original patina though.
Regards,
Mark
For most of its history it didn’t have a dent so all good historically. Lovely job Mark.
Excellent work your a man of many talents 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Just a thought; gunsmiths use many light hammer (2 oz) blows to move metal around. Have to approach this without thinking you are damaging your wife's treasure. Fear is holding you back.
I really admire those artisans that can look at a damaged piece of sheet metal and coax it back into it's correct form with very basic tools. I did actually visit a shop that repaired brass musical instruments. They were working on a tuba that had been in the back of a car which was involved in an accident. Not only is the brass very thin and brittle but it's also bent into convoluted shapes meaning that you need elaborate mandrels and dollies to hammer against. It's a true art form.
Regards,
Mark
Short and Stout
You schould leave it as it is in memorial 😢
We cannot be sure when it was damaged. My mother in law had been in a nursing home for some time and a lot of her belongings were in storage. If she had been able to tell us how it had been dented we might have considered leaving it as is. She lived in Singapore and Malta as well as moving to Adelaide in Australia and then later to Brisbane. If she had told me that it had been dropped on the steps to Raffles Hotel in Singapore, I would have absolutely left the dent there.
Regards,
Mark
I love the channel Mark but I do have one bit of constructive criticism for this video. You're sanding like a woodworker when you should be sanding like a silversmith or horologist. It would make a world of difference in your final product.
Thanks. I guess that the old "sand with the grain" woodworking mentality is hard to unlearn.
Regards,
Mark
@@Preso58 Kind of like getting a baseball player to change his swing for golf. I had a hard time with that one.
Hi Mark, I'm commenting at about 14 minutes in. Is the indented material not above the "floor" of the pot. So far, you've successfully straightened the lower portion of the dents, but the bit remaining is part in the floor and part in the wall above the joint. Some form of an internal anvil might be better, convex for the wall, but flat for the floor at the same time. It is difficult to describe, but if you can picture an anvil supporting in two directions at once. Just my thought. Otherwise, use soft solder to fill the depression before replating .
Regards from Canada's banana belt.
🤞🇨🇦🍌🥋🇺🇦🕊🇦🇺🐨🪃🫕🏁
Thanks. I am not one of those metal wranglers who can look at a dent and then determine exactly where it needs to be stretched or shrunk and then give it a few taps for a perfect repair. I really admire those guys who do the paintless dent repairs on cars. It's fascinating to watch. My fall-back position was to soft solder over the tiny pits and then plate over it but I pushed on with the sanding and it all came good.
Regards,
Mark
Not to brag but I came up with the same idea except I thought of using hard wood dies.🇺🇸
A good solid hardwood would do the job well. We have some really dense and hard "hardwoods" here in Oz. They behave and machine like steel.
Regards,
Mark