Equipment for electroforming

Hey, Orchid folks! I’ve only been following Orchid for a few weeks,
but I want to say I love it! Great bits of info, great
personalities, a lot of fun. Thank you, one and all. The mention of
electroforming prompts this posting. I am very interested in setting
up to do it, and would love to benefit from the experience of others.
I’ve seen a demo, and done some reading, but it isn’t clear to me
what equipment I should get, and from whom. Also, it is my impression
that doing it in copper is relatively safe, with proper ventilation,
but that it is not possible to do silver without cyanide. Is this
correct? I am interested in doing small-to-medium-sized projects–up
to small vessel-sized. I’m very fired up about it after seeing the
results, but really don’t know where to begin.
Thanks for any and all input! --Noel Yovovich

Well, Noel, I don’t know much about electroforming except that you
can make a shape from a non-metallic material and cover certain parts
with a metal. So I suppose this combination of techniques would be
really very interesting, as one area of hand-making spectacles is
making them from the cellulose acetate that a lot of plastic
spectacles are made from. Hard to get hold of, but possible. The stuff
is carvable and heat-formable. Now about what to do when making specs,
you need to go and talk to someone who’s been on one of the
eyewear-making workshops taught by me or Deb Stoner. It’s not simple.

But here’s a thought: take an existing acetate frame and electroform
it!

Go for it! But first I recommend you study it and try to understand
the functions of the bits and pieces. Make little drawings of how they
are before you alter them… that sort of thing. How hard could it be?
This is the way I started. I have a page of general info on
hand-making an acetate frame, if you’d like. I could put it up on my
site.

Let me know how you get on.
Regards
Brian

B r i a n A d a m J e w e l l e r y E y e w e a r
brian@adam.co.nz ph/fx +64 9 817 6816 NEW ZEALAND
http://www.adam.co.nz/ 1 hour ring-making sessions