Re: How to get high-gloss, decorative finishes?

If you remember back in the 50's and 60's aluminum with little rows
of parallel circules were cool.

chuck a pencil eraser and hold it on a spot to polish, more it 3/4 of
it's dia and polish the next spot, repeat.

any and every mark you can see with your eyes on unfinished metal
will have 3 friends when you nickel or chrome it.

for die work with inside radiuse, it was a die grinder, soft
sandpaper wheels, or stones or increasing smoothness till it was a
mirror. lapping compound with a stick might go a long way to smooth
parts, or like you said, tool finsh is cool.

If you have a tumbler or vibrator, you can remove a lot of the finish
marks with those too.

Dave







--- In CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@yahoogroups.com, "abbylynx" <abbylynx@y...>
wrote:

> Hi again,
>
> I was wondering if anyone could enlighten me on what methods are
> employed in order to get smooth, glossy finishes on pieces. In
> particular, for ornamental type work. What do "those cool jewelery
> guys" use?
>
> The main problem I have is that end-mills leave trails.
> For flat surfaces, the flycutter does a lovely job, except when
> multiple passes are required, in which case the concentric circular
> patterns interfere with each other to create various interesting
> effects - probably something which if used right could look very

good.

>
> I've seen all kinds of deburring tools, diamond-grid wheels and

other

> such things in various catalogs. What type of tools are generally
> used to polish things up? Or is this best done by hand?
>
> Also, how much does any of this really matter if you end up nickel
> and then chrome plating a part?