Question: How do you make a pistol cylinder print?

Jerry Spaulding · Nov 5, 2009

Hello,
I want to start work on a revolver cylinder. I put down some paper towels on a hard surface with a clean sheet of printer paper over the top and rolled the cylinder into the paper with a 2x4. It embossed the cylinder nicely and now I have something to outline with a pencil, blow up and work on my design. What I did will work and I'm sure I reinvented someone's wheel but it got me wondering how many other and better ways are there? I'd sure appreciate some advice from the pro's.
Your friend
JL Spaulding

Tira · Nov 5, 2009

Hi Jerry, I've never tried to get the shape/dimensions of a cylinder, but I get the shapes of odd objects many times by a smoke print. Assuming that a small amount of heat and soot won't hurt the object I run it through a smokey flame. Some people use an oil lamp for this. I use a beeswax candle because I have a ton of them and they seem to work for me. Once you have the object covered in an even think coat of soot then gently press some packaging tape around the cylinder and lift off. Presto, you will have the exact shape of the object if you haven't crimped the tape. Then press the tape on a nice sheet of clean white paper and you are good to go. I usually scan this image into illustrator and start manipulating the outline from there.

Jim Sackett · Nov 5, 2009

At the trophy house we would dampen a file card, put it over what we wanted to copy and burnish the card. This would emboss the card. After it dried we rubbed the embossing with black lithographing ink.

Positioned the card on the whited up item we wanted to engrave, hand rubbed the back of it and walla we had a nice layout on the new piece. Just draw in guide lines and touch up with pencil. We could get two or three copies without re-inking.

Jim Sackett

rhenrichs · Nov 5, 2009

Hi Jerry,
Here's a oldy that I don't think a lot of engravers know about. It comes from the stone ages of drafting when every thing was hand drawn. It is a sticky back plastic applique film made by Chartpack. Cat No. DAFR8. To use it just seperate the film from the clear plastic backing and attach it to the surface you want to copy. With a sharp drafting pencil trace what ever you want to copy, when done, lift the film off the surface that was just traced and put it back on the clear plastic backer. If you did a good job of tracing you have a good copy to use however you want to. I use to use this material for a transfer medium back in the 1970's however now I just use the material for pattern making. I buy the material at a drafting and art supply store

Roger

nomentalgiant · Nov 6, 2009

That's some good advice from Tira! Another trick you can try in lieu of taking a smoke print, is by using a dry erase marker. Color the piece black, then lift the ink from the surface with a piece of packing tape. Stick the tape on a piece of white paper and you've got your outline.

I've used both methods. I find the marker works just as well as a smoke print when getting the initial outline of a piece, and the clean up can be done with a wipe of your thumb. Oily soot takes just a bit longer to get rid of. However, when making a smoke transfer, the marker doesn't work at all (for me at least.) Also when taking the final smoke print of the finished piece, I think soot gives a nicer, more even look to keep as a record. So my kerosene lamp still has a place on my bench.

FANCYGUN · Nov 6, 2009

You don't even have to nake a print of the whole cylinder.just do one or two chambers and let the computer add the rest to complete it.

Jerry Spaulding · Nov 6, 2009

Tira, Jim, Roger, James and Marty. Thank you all for the great advice. The ease of the dry erase and the ability of wet paper to emboss and dry into a device for printing - It will all get used at some point. Roger - I still use paraffin film for acid etching - some things from the stone age are OK.
Thanks again
Jerry

monk · Nov 7, 2009

a 50-50 mix of vaseline & beeswax. bring to a melt. add powdered tempera paint of suitable color, and stir thoroughly. let it freeze. put a thin coat all over cyilinder. roll cylinder on suitable paper. you'll get a fair likeness that way. also very useful as a transfer wax.

John B. · Nov 7, 2009

Hi Jerry.
I would like to hear a little more about the use of paraffin film in the acid etching process.
From it's name I suppose it's used as a mask or resist???
If so, how is it applied and how are some areas exposed to the acid?
Where can it be bought?
Hope you don't mind all my questions but it sounds very interesting.
Thank you in advance for any information.

Jerry Spaulding · Nov 8, 2009

Hello Monk and John. Thanks for the recipe Monk.
John - The film is call Parafilm "M" laboratory film made by American Can Company of Greenwich, CT. It comes in a roll with a backing paper. I believe the main use was to seal up sample bottles before they are shipped out to a lab. To apply it to a flat surface boil the metal. This cleans it and gets it to 200+ degrees. Dry with a towel and the remaining water flashes off quickly. Take the backing paper off the amount you need and start on one end of the metal. As soon as the beginning of the film hits the metal it melts and capillary action wants to pull more of it to the metal. There is a learning curve to laying it on so that no air bubbles get caught but its not to tough. You now have a good resist over the whole piece. You can now use an exacto knife, scapel etc. and cut away the parts you want to etch. They peel out clean and leave nothing behind. A note of caution - When I started expermenting with this film I made up a fresh (and very strong) batch of aqua regia and it bit pretty hard which created lots of heat. Heat puts the film on and yup you guessed it.

glendikes · Nov 10, 2009

John B. and Others,
Parafilm is available from "Lab Safety Supply" www.LSS.com/labsupplies.
9BE-2246 is the part number for a roll 4"X125' for $23.10. The catalog describes it as:

Parafilm Close
Quickly seals test tubes, flasks and culture media work.
Specifications: Self-sealing thermoplastic Parafilm molds to any shape. 5-mil thick.Acid-resistant and moistureproof, and gas permeable.

Qty Item # Product Sell Pack Price
2246 Parafilm 4"W x 125'L 1 EA 1-11 $23.10 12+$22.20

3411 Parafilm 4"W x 250'L 1 RL 1-11 $41.80 12+$39.90

Best Regards,
Glen Dikes

John B. · Nov 10, 2009

Thank you for that, Glen.
It may be very useful.
Best regards.

monk · Nov 13, 2009

jerry: i didn't like the odor of the sheep tallow mixed with my orriginal beeswax formula. so i started fiddlin with vaseline & it worked.

Question: How do you make a pistol cylinder print?

Jerry Spaulding

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