How to restore data plates

R

rficalora

H-M Supporter - Silver Member
H-M Supporter - Silver Member
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Dec 23, 2020
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This isn't hugely important, but since I'm taking my lathe apart & cleaning it up, I'm going to repaint the castings as I go. What, if anything can be done to improve the data plates so they're easier to read?
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On the embossed plates I usually paint them and then use very fine sand paper to remove the paint from the high points. Works reasonably well.
 
Not sure if you are a member of the Garage Journal forum, but there is a guy there that reproduces all sorts of one-off machinery labels. He goes by the name mattblast. He is now also doing embossed metal plates.

Vintage Grinder Sticker Reproduction

A beat up old sticker on a newly restored grinder makes it look bad. Many restorations require that the label be removed (and destroyed in the process) to repaint. When I restore a grinder I go all out - sandblast, paint, new bearings, replace cord, replace rubber feet, etc. I want my old...
www.garagejournal.com www.garagejournal.com
 
I met Tom Utley several years ago when he attended a scraping class I taught at Keith Rucker's of VintageMachinery.org. Tom would help Keith make his plates on his machines he was restoring. He did it as a hobby at first and now made it a business. He is a really great and honest guy. :)
 
If you really want to get into it, you can silkscreen like your original, or mask-and-etch for the embossed effect using decal stencils, brush-on mask, circuit trace mask, or photo masks. I've even seen a semi-functional demo using an iron to transfer toner from a printed graphic to a copper plate as an electro-etch mask. I've done it with tape (hard to get sharp edges) and by scraping through candle wax (not recommended), but the point is it works and there are several approaches to doing it. Given the choice, photo mask is by far the best, but requires developer, fixer, and a UV source. Circuit trace etching is probably the next best.
 
Thought I'd give an update on this. I did reach out to Tom who was both friendly and helpful. If I'd had a lathe that he'd done before, the cost would have been reasonable ($85). But, since he would have had to re-create the artwork, the total was going to be more like $296 all in. That was too much for me to do on this $1,500 lathe. But, it turned out I was helping a friend when I learned his wife was a graphic designer. She did the artwork for me & another friend, who I'm helping replace the motor he burned up in his car, has a printing shop & when he heard what I was trying to do, he offered to make the plate using the artwork my friend's wife did! I now have a new plate (plus a few spares). They're vinyl print over aluminum sheet so they may not hold up as well as embossed, but should be fine for my hobby use, especially with the spares.

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