Can solder be nickel-plated?

[Lampie519]

DIY glass enclosure:
Getting off topic here

 

[rock soderstrom]

Nice!

Back to topic:

Copper has become really expensive, even with a lot of commitment I will not be able to save any $$ compared to the Chinese "competition".

I think that's clear to everyone, this is about DIY and fun when it works.

 

[Rusan]

Sadly, copper is unbelievably expensive. I recently looked into buying some tubing to fabricate the body for a ribbon mic, and buying a used MXL for a donor body was about the same price, plus a whole lot less work and time.

Metalockpick mentioned silver solder (aka "hard solder"), which is much, much stronger than lead/tin or comparable "soft" solders. I've used it many times for various things and it's awesome. But, it melts at around twice the temperature of soft solders (you really need an oxy-acetylene or oxy-propane torch), is less forgiving to work with, and is crazy expensive. I remember having to buy some with very high silver content for the welding shop I worked at back in the early 90's, and an approximately one-meter long piece was $55 USD. But, for soldering copper tubing, a much cheaper thin diameter solder with 45% silver content (or lower) would be fine.

If using low-temp soft solder, an old knifemaker's trick is to rub a #2 soft-lead pencil on the areas of the base metal that you don't want the solder to stick to. However, if it still gets where you don't want it, you can fabricate a scraping tool by sharpening a thick piece of solid copper wire. The copper is harder than the solder, and can be used to scrape away the excess before sanding and buffing, if necessary. However, I'm not sure the graphite trick would work at the high temps necessitated by silver solder, plus it's too hard to scrape with a copper tool.

A good compromise is the Harris Stay-Brite solder I like to use for knifemaking and general repairs, which can be bought in a kit containing a small coil of solder with a bottle of the appropriate liquid flux. Less than $20 on Amazon, including tax and shipping.

 

[Tubetec]

A plumbers pipe cutting tool is well worth getting if its copper you want to work with
Maybe brass is a better base material , takes any kind of soldering or plating just fine , its a good bit stronger than copper though . both metals unfinished leave a horrible stench on the hands , nothing a quick coat of laquer wont fix though . I wish Id had the chance to finish out my school daze doing woodwork and metalwork , sadly they sent me away to a prep school where the old fashioned trades werent encouraged. What they called education was never much more than brainwashing anyway .

 

[Rusan]

Maybe brass is a better base material , takes any kind of soldering or plating just fine

What I recently priced was actually brass tubing, not pure copper, which was still stoopit expensive. If you don't mind the expense, 360 brass is the easiest of all brass alloys to cut, drill, file, tap, etc, if you can find it. It has a small amount of lead added, which makes it extremely free-cutting. You can actually easily turn it by hand on a wood lathe, and it takes a high polish with minimal effort.

 

[rock soderstrom]

Sadly, copper is unbelievably expensive. I recently looked into buying some tubing to fabricate the body for a ribbon mic, and buying a used MXL for a donor body was about the same price, plus a whole lot less work and time.

I was really surprised about the price. On top of that, you can often only buy it by the bar (2.50m-3m) in the usual DIY stores. Even my neighbouring plumber charged me €13 for the leftover pieces shown. Copper is ther new gold.

If you don't want a special body shape, you can't beat ordering industrially manufactured bodies from China.

I just ordered this one for another project. I could never build that for the money and it wouldn't look nearly as good. Unfortunately.

Metalockpick mentioned silver solder (aka "hard solder"), which is much, much stronger than lead/tin or comparable "soft" solders. I've used it many times for various things and it's awesome. But, it melts at around twice the temperature of soft solders (you really need an oxy-acetylene or oxy-propane torch), is less forgiving to work with, and is crazy expensive. I remember having to buy some with very high silver content for the welding shop I worked at back in the early 90's, and an approximately one-meter long piece was $55 USD. But, for soldering copper tubing, a much cheaper thin diameter solder with 45% silver content (or lower) would be fine.

If using low-temp soft solder, an old knifemaker's trick is to rub a #2 soft-lead pencil on the areas of the base metal that you don't want the solder to stick to. However, if it still gets where you don't want it, you can fabricate a scraping tool by sharpening a thick piece of solid copper wire. The copper is harder than the solder, and can be used to scrape away the excess before sanding and buffing, if necessary. However, I'm not sure the graphite trick would work at the high temps necessitated by silver solder, plus it's too hard to scrape with a copper tool.

A good compromise is the Harris Stay-Brite solder I like to use for knifemaking and general repairs, which can be bought in a kit containing a small coil of solder with a bottle of the appropriate liquid flux. Less than $20 on Amazon, including tax and shipping.

Thank you for all the tricks and solder infos!

Maybe brass is a better base material , takes any kind of soldering or plating just fine , its a good bit stronger than copper though .

brass is interesting, offers some good material properties, unfortunately also quite expensive!
I might try it out for some parts of the mic.

If you don't mind the expense, 360 brass is the easiest of all brass alloys to cut, drill, file, tap, etc, if you can find it. It has a small amount of lead added, which makes it extremely free-cutting. You can actually easily turn it by hand on a wood lathe, and it takes a high polish with minimal effort

Yes, it seems to be very easy to work with!

 

[rock soderstrom]

LOL. Look at that, it looks like the mic of Captain Nemo! It is copper plated aluminum.
https://www.thomann.de/de/scope_lab...GHXtaxsKRSn7bi8db4e090hlhGf5CycYaAiPwEALw_wcB

 

[JLandFill]

I also want more of a matte look, not so chrome like. I'll do some tests, see what works best and how it looks in real life.

A plating will “match” the surface it’s plated onto. Shiny copper = shiny nickel. Prepare the surface by blasting or fine sandpaper. EPI makes some acid “aging” solutions that will go from subtle to extreme. Easily you could take a shinier metal and make it as matte as you’d like.

 

[Tubetec]

A trip to a recycling centre might be a good idea Rock ,
theres a vast amount of copper pipe comes out when domestic water heating systems are upgraded
you might be able to ask them to save you lenghts of tube which would otherwise be melted down ,
The scrap price is bound to be very much more favourable ,

One of these is well worth finding at the tool store ,
It gives beautifully accurate cuts with no burr on the outside edge ,
I have one in the tool box the last 15 years or so , me ould reliable I call her ,

 

[rock soderstrom]

A trip to a recycling centre might be a good idea Rock ,
theres a vast amount of copper pipe comes out when domestic water heating systems are upgraded
you might be able to ask them to save you lenghts of tube which would otherwise be melted down ,
The scrap price is bound to be very much more favourable ,

Good idea, unfortunately the disposal system is handled strangely in my new home area. I miss the junkyard in my old home, there you could find such gems.

One of these is well worth finding at the tool store ,
It gives beautifully accurate cuts with no burr on the outside edge ,
I have one in the tool box the last 15 years or so , me ould reliable I call her ,

I know this tool, very handy and produces really good results!

 

[rock soderstrom]

Here is a not quite serious side project, the Nemo KK12!



With this copper tube system you can really quickly make a basic body for a microphone.



The microphone head is pluggable and can be quickly converted into a stereo microphone with a T-adapter.



Now I still need a good idea for the production of the grille mesh.

PS: still waiting for the nickel...

 

[dmp]

I made a microphone out of brass railing material. Soldered the same was as plumbing, propane torch and plumbing solder. I think this was 2" with a end cap on the bottom.
It is not cheap for materials - I am always on the lookout for discarded or used materials like this but I NEVER see it. Ordered this online.
Plating on this would be cool - interested to try it on a future mic build.
I was going for a distinctive homemade DIY look. Why do DIY if it looks cheap and generic?
The grill is made from a brass screen stock. I would probably recommend a few layers and a finer mesh vs this, as it picks up a little more hum and doesn't provide as much capsule protection as you might want.

 

[rock soderstrom]

I made a microphone out of brass railing material. Soldered the same was as plumbing, propane torch and plumbing solder. I think this was 2" with a end cap on the bottom.
It is not cheap for materials - I am always on the lookout for discarded or used materials like this but I NEVER see it. Ordered this online.
Plating on this would be cool - interested to try it on a future mic build.
I was going for a distinctive homemade DIY look. Why do DIY if it looks cheap and generic?

Your microphone has character, no doubt about it.

The days when you could find a few leftover pieces of copper and brass tubing in the dumpster at any construction site are definitely over. The high prices for metals force high safety measures, not only on construction sites. Cable and metal theft are a kind of national sport here, some criminals remove signal and power cables from the rail network while it is in operation!

The grill is made from a brass screen stock. I would probably recommend a few layers and a finer mesh vs this, as it picks up a little more hum and doesn't provide as much capsule protection as you might want.

Thanks, I'll have to experiment with that a bit more. Let's see how good it gets.

 

[Tubetec]

A spent round casing of the appropriate size would make a very cool SDC mic ,
Theres bound to be a flea market or army surplus warehouse around nearby Rocky ,
I might give my local guy a shout this afternoon see if he has any lying around ,

14.5 or 20mm look very suitable ,
Fits the Royer Country-boy style tube mic with the ammo box psu perfectly ,

 

[rock soderstrom]

Ha ha, yes that would fit well with the early Dave Royer PSUs! Here in Germany these things are not so easy to get, we have quite restrictive gun laws and for a microphone you need a decent caliber. This also increases the risk of an unexpected encounter with a SWAT team.

Such mics certainly sell well in the heavy metal scene.

 

[gyraf]

The very-first G7 was cut from a shell for a 50mm grenade..

 

[rock soderstrom]

The very-first G7 was cut from a shell for a 50mm grenade..

LOL, great! Swords to plowshares äähmm or grenades to microphones! Real pacifism

We have a Bundeswehr barracks where I live. I'll ask them if they have a few 50mm grenades for me.

 

[13engrsapper]

A spent round casing of the appropriate size would make a very cool SDC mic ,
Theres bound to be a flea market or army surplus warehouse around nearby Rocky ,
I might give my local guy a shout this afternoon see if he has any lying around ,

14.5 or 20mm look very suitable ,
Fits the Royer Country-boy style tube mic with the ammo box psu perfectly ,







View attachment 108613

Ammunition re-loading supplies have skyrocketed in price too. So spent brass is not nearly as affordable as one might think.

 

[rock soderstrom]

Here are a few impressions from my first attempt at nickel plating.

 

[rock soderstrom]

First I made my own nickel acetate.


this is really fun, alchemy for beginners, the green of the acetate is great in reality.