anodizing aluminum

Ray Cover · Aug 31, 2007

Has anyone had any experience with either of these two home anodizing kits?
I am wanting to get set up to anodize aluminum to make reel seat parts from. On ultralight fly rods and spinning rods weight is an issue and it would solve a lot balancing problems for me if I could use aluminum on those rods rather than titanium.

http://www.caswellplating.com/kits/aluminum.htm
http://www.focuser.com/atm/anodize/anodize.html

Any info or experience you all have had will be helpful.

Thanks,

Ray

JJ Roberts · Aug 31, 2007

Ray..I could vouch for Ron Newman..I see him every 6 mths. at York, PA at the Cabin Fever Show. Ron has a table there, and I have seen samples of his work...it looks good to me. Hope this will help.

Yours truly,
JJ Roberts
Manassas, VA

Swede · Aug 31, 2007

Ray, I've dealt with Caswell many times, and their stuff flat works. Knowledgeable people, and they can help if you have any issues with the setup.

Straight anodizing is very easy. It is getting a good dye job that can be tricky. In other words, if you just want plain old clear anodizing, I'd skip the kit and just put something together with off the shelf components. But if you want to dye, I'd go Caswell all the way, and follow their directions 100%. Like any other finish, prep is critical, and believe it or not, one of the hardest issues is the connection of the wire to the part. You have to use aluminum or titanium wire, and the best way to go is to sput weld the wire to the part to ensure good continuity.

anodizing aluminum

Ray Cover

~ Elite 1000 Member ~

JJ Roberts

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Swede

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