Letter 090

Beginning in plating

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Help! I've just bought a small fishing spinner company that has been dormant for the past twenty years. I would like to plate my own spinner blades but don't have the foggiest notion where to begin. Where can I find good information for small beginning operations? Thanks for your time and trouble

Pat Skaggs
Lincoln AR.

Tricky problem since you're not going to know specifically what you want to do, let alone how to do it.

If I were you, I'd probably--

 

1). Get subscriptions to the magazines serving this industry, such as Plating and Surface Finishing [link is to product info at Amazon] and Metal Finishing. Browsing through the pictures, ads, columns, and articles, you'll quickly gain a general feel for what the issues are.

2). Join a professional society focusing on plating, such as the AESF, and attend some meetings.

3). Look through the yellow pages, or our directory here, and consider a jobshop plater who can handle your parts on at least an interim basis. Plating is a process very often done by jobshops rather than in house.

4). If the need is big enough to justify the cost, possibly retain a consultant or consulting engineer experienced in the plating industry to get you started.

Ted Mooney, P.E.  finishing.com Brick, NJ

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