What I don’t know
I started to write this post with a complaint about how little free time I’ve had lately, but quickly realized that wasn’t much of an exciting lead in. Instead I am grappling with the fact that I am going to have to write more about what I don’t know about daguerreotypes than what I do know if I am going to keep this blog alive.
Most of the stuff I have been doing lately either isn’t directly related to the process – electrical work on Castle Daguerre for instance – or it consists of me reading endlessly about polishing, plating, materials safety, vent hoods, lens construction, camera building, as well as old daguerreian sources — all without coming to any particularly solid conclusions. It is tough to write short pithy blog entries about three or four hours spent absorbing material, when the outcome was that I felt somewhat more confused than when I started.
Thus the need to write about what I don’t know. I figure that approach is going to be at least somewhat useful for anyone who reads this blog later as an adjunct to their own knowledge search.
What I mostly don’t know about today is polishing and plating. One of my personality traits is that I like to study something in depth and then pick the “best” method before I actually start doing anything. That stands me in good stead in a lot of places, but when it comes to preparing daguerreotype plates there doesn’t seem to be a best – or perhaps there are multiple possible bests. Bad news for a guy like me. The difficulty is compunded by the fact that I don’t want to spend any money on false starts,
So instead of picking a lane I have been reading everything from antique daguerreian texts to current scientific research on the physics of polishing surfaces. It is a BIG topic. My latest read was about a process called electron beam polishing which led me to the Sodick PIKA Finish 32A a nifty little gadget that probably costs about as much as a new car. That’s just a guess of course since the manufacturer didn’t even respond to my polite inquiry about price. If you have a lot of money you might check it out. It looks like you could prepare a perfect plate in just a few minutes. :)
Not very helpful info really – unless you just like to daydream. In the meantime I am still trying to decide between pure hand methods vs machine assisted. Directional hand or wheel polishing vs random orbital vs rotating lapidary wheels. I am trying to decide between water based compounds, oil based compounds, mix your own, or proprietary compounds. I am finding unbelievably elaborate sets of steps and some that are simple to a fault. It’s not that I lack information or even concrete suggestions, I just seem to be lacking any clear path to a choice.
So for those of you who have already passed this quandary – my admiration beams in your direction. I praise your superior abilities or at least your “get in there and muck about” attitude. For those still seeking the way – good luck. In the meantime I keep reading and doing other “preparatory work” while I search.
p.s. – Interior wiring on Castle Daguerre is finished. I bought the materials today to hook it up to the house and have plans to take a couple of weeks off soon to do that and hopefully build a fume hood… stay tuned.
Daguerreotype Process | andy | September 14, 2008
castle, daguerreotype process, fume hood, lost in space, Plate preparation, Plates, polishing
Hey Andy, Theory is one thing but the more you know the less you know. Practical experience on the other hand is something to really make observation and inference over. Don’t fear the false start as this is the first decision juncture of many, all will need first hand experience. Jumping in and getting your hands dirty can be rewarding as Jon experienced lately. A low cost start is to use velvet and rouge and get the visual experience of differing degrees of polish. When you shoot a plate you really get to see what the varying degrees of polish does. Hope this helps.
Hi Alan-
I can see the wisdom in your words. Better a simple start that at least gets me started than endless circles around mounds of information. I still have a few more weeks preparing my workspace to think about things, but I will try your suggestion.
Of course that doesn’t keep me from wondering about details – even in as simple a suggestion as you make. :) Why velvet for instance? It is kind of expensive. Is it just because it is traditional or is there something unique about it? Have you ever tried microfiber cloth as a substitute?
And as for rouge – bar form, powder, oil suspension or water suspension? Is there a favored brand or supplier?
I guess I just naturally gravitate toward the details. :) I suppose it will stand me in good stead someday in the future when I write a how-to book for daguerreotypists.
In any case thanks for the reminder about KISS and getting my hands dirty. It is likely the push I need right now.
Andy, I’m now a big fan of the ‘get your hands dirty’ method. Reading all the manuals (new and old) led me to the conclusion that the polish had to be absolutely perfect before you even had an image. The experience I had with my unfortunate looking dag gave me great hope and inspiration. I polished it so poorly I thought it a foregone conclusion that I’d get no image. But I was wrong and the best part is that it can only get better (hopefully) :)
Inspired by you, I polished my dag with a microfiber cloth (pec pad). I used tripoli then rouge in bar from. If you’re going to try to do it by hand I might suggest not using a bar. It’s very difficult to get much, if any, compound from the bar onto the cloth.
After telling my dad I was polishing by hand he gave me a long lecture saying how much easier it is just to do it with a buffing wheel. He then proceeded to polish a half a dozen random pieces of metal laying around his shop. I’m glad I started with a hand polish but I’m also going move to a buffing wheel in a few weeks.
I’ll keep you posted about what I’m doing for a polish and I’m looking forward to seeing more from Castle Daguerre!
Jon – the detail of your reply is so helpful – as is your encouragement to jump in. I realized as I read your description that I already have all the “ingredients” to try it myself. I do have the tripoli and rouge in bar form, maybe I can grind or grate some compound off or dissolve it in oil or something. This weekend I am on duty with my second job, but maybe by next weekend I can jump in. I guess I’d better finish getting my camera ready and rig up some kind of a plate holder…
I say velvet (100% cotton) as its a historical starting point but trying different materials will give you hard evidence to judge from. I haven’t tried micro fibre cloths so I don’t know about their results. Powdered rouge in a pounce bag is easy to apply in small amounts – see http://www.flickr.com/photos/dreblog/1464945013/in/set-72157603885775946/ . I bought my rouge from a jewelry supplies seller on ebay.
Btw, I’ve gotta wonder what a dag with an electron gun polish would look like, that was a cool find on your part.
I have a axiom I’d like to adhere to, I think it would be the secret of success -” a dag a day” – shoot a plate every day, many will not be keepers but It would be come second nature..
Also I don’t have anything against buffing wheels but you have to know what over buffing looks like. With the machines its easy to over do it, so you need to know which direction you heading in when you establish your hand eye co-ordination in the operation of the machine.
“A Dag a Day” would be amazing. Perhaps making a dag would become like brushing your teeth ;)
Someone must have an electron gun polisher who’s willing to pop a couple plates in there. You’d think the company would at least respond to you… unless it’s so expensive that ‘if you have to ask, you can’t afford it’.