Silver or Gold?
I sent an email yesterday to a silversmith in the city to ask about getting 5-4″x5″ copper plates coated to 12 microns on one side with pure silver and then having them polished to a “black polish”. I picked this firm off the web because it was a small family concern. I like to support small businesses, and for some strange reason I persist in thinking they may be somewhat less expensive.
They sent back a price range and said that to set a more specific price they would have to inspect the plates in question. Their email was pretty short, so they didn’t say why specifically. From what I have read so far I would assume so they could see how smooth the plates were to start with. I gather that the polishing is pretty labor intensive, so the amount of polishing materially affects the price.
Their quote was $50 to $95 dollars per plate. I wasn’t exactly floored, since I had seen someone mention buying quarter plates (I think) for $40 each from another daguerreotypist. Nevertheless, once again it strikes home that these are not your double prints from the drugstore. It also gives me more incentive to gather the equipment to “do-it-myself”. Overall I think the cost will really force me to slow down and take more thoughtful (and hopefully better) photographs.
The better news is that my copy of The Daguerreotype: Nineteenth-Century Technology and Modern Science 
Daguerreotype Process | andy | May 27, 2008
$50-95 per plate is too expensive for 4×5″ plating of half a mil. Now I would willingly pay $40-50 for a 4×5″ plate that has been polished prior to plating!
The only way that you can get a highly reflective “black” polish on a silver plate is to make sure that the underlying copper substrate is first polished to a mirror finish. This is an arduous process that I loathe.
J
The email response from the company was fairly terse, but I think the price range had to do with their need to assess the quality of the initial polish on the copper. They seemed to know what “black polish” meant. I have done a little metal restoration before, so I have some sense of how tedious polishing to a high degree of perfection can be.
I haven’t seen any discussion of attempts to automate the process – but I didn’t know if this is just because I am so new to the field. I have wondered if vibratory polishers would work for instance. I also saw some engravings of antique polishing equipment that looked more production oriented.
Earlier today I was reading through the membership database of the Daguerreian Society and noticed a daguerreotypist from Buffalo who said he had “devised a new plate polishing method “. On my list of “things to do” is an email to him to see if his method is proprietary or not. It may deal with perfection rather than speeding up the process however.
Endless amounts of things to investigate! Right now I am working on a lens board for the 8×10 camera I bought – between Hospice calls from patients, as I am on duty tonight.
Lens board, eh? I JUST made one of those! I bought that wide angle lens and discovered when it came in that I would need a recessed lens board.
Fortunately I recently bought a CNC machine and I was able to draw it up and cut it out in short order. Having the right tools sure helps! I’ve never had a more successful experience in the workshop before.
I have a vibratory polisher that I use for my brass mats. I don’t think that you’ll want to use that because A) it would take FOREVER and B) it wouldn’t give you the viewing lines that you need.
The best results come from when the polishing lines are laid down perpendicularly to the viewing of the plate. The idea is that the light from above will go down with the lines as opposed to crossing them.
I think that we should talk to some amateur telescope makers for advice although Mike Robinson did build a bitchin’ replica of a 19th century polishing apparatus. Check Google Patent search.
J
Thanks for the reference to the Google patents search. I had used that before, but had never made the mental connection to search for OLD ideas. Duh! Looking up “daguerreotype” turned up what will undoubtedly be many hours of enjoyable reading.
I also appreciate your info about vibratory polishing. It is great when a little bit of information from an experienced person saves me from going off down a useless and potentially expensive pathway.
This site I suppose will be dedicated to seeing if it is possible to become a daguerreotypist on the cheap! Your CNC milling machine sounds wonderful, but until I get a couple of kids through college it will be a bit out of reach. I am looking into bay area shops that will do milling and machining on a cost-per-item basis. I figure that will be closer to my price range.
Your comments and ideas are very much appreciated.
Andy you don’t know how lucky you are! You need to read up on Tech Shop which just so happens to be in your neighborhood!
http://techshop.ws/headquarters.html
I tried vibratory polishing a plate the other day and it looks… mat. I used sand and it’s efficient at getting out the deeper scratches. I’d imagine that throwing it up on the red-rouge wheel will get it to a nice finish now.
The only problem is that I can’t fit a 4×5″ plate in my polisher so that method would be limited to quarter plates and smaller.
Thanks very much for the reference to techshop. I had never heard of it and it turns out that it’s is only thirty minutes drive from my house. Imagine a millionaire’s workshop. Now imagine that he is your friend and tells you that you can “drop by and use the shop any time”.
Now – wake up. :) The millionaire’s shop part is real, but you do have to pay to play. Still the cost is small compared to the hundreds of thousands of dollars that you would pay to even begin to replicate their tool inventory. Basic one-day use is currently $30. Monthly membership is $125. There is also an annual membership of $1200 for the serious hobbyist/inventor. That’s only a little over $3 per day.
I will make a report when I get a chance to check it out. I was planning a trip this saturday to San Jose for a photography show anyway, so I will try to add a little side trip on the excursion.
Tech Shop is opening a franchise in Durham about 30 minutes from my house. I’m debating about becoming a member but I think that I’ll stick with the daily membership as I see the need to go.