Monthly Review

Published by the
American Electroplaters Society

Publication and Editorial Office
3040 Diversey Ave., Chicago

Vol. XIV July, 1927 No. 7

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EDITORIAL

To the membership Greetings: Once again your editor shall have pleasure of editing your Review for 1927-1928, or until next annual meeting at Toronto, Canada.

Our topic this month is the annual meeting, the most important event each year in our society, on account of scope of opportunity it offers to the membership for educational advantages, the privileges of personal contact with your officers and brother members wherein a wider vision of value of your A. E. S. membership will come to us all.

For this reason we believe that our next annual meeting should see more interest from the branch societies, more attendance from the members, more papers, and more and greater exhibits from everybody, in fact a greater co-operation than ever before.

Remember this is our second visit outside of the U. S. to Canada and our Supreme President is a resident of that good country, and we must by demonstration prove to our neighbors and Canadian brothers, both in the society and out, that the American Electro-Platers Society is one of the greatest institutions in the world.

EDITOR

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"PLATING ROOM CONTROL"

By F. T. Taylor of A. P. Munning & Co.

I have just been told that there is a great calamity afoot and that the dinner is much delayed tonight, so I am to talk to you until about eight oclock. But, as a matter of fact, I want to relieve your minds by telling you that I have no such intentions at all, and shall occupy only a few minutes with my remarks.

Last Monday night I was asked to give a little talk to the Springfield Branch of your Society, and they asked me to speak on the subject of "Plating Room Control," and I think that with your permission I will run over some of the points that I made at this meeting at Springfield, on "Plating Room Control."

One of the difficulties that platers encounter, as well as other mortals in all ages, has been with definitions. We hear terms used that are interesting terms, some of them relatively new in the plating industry, such as the pH. There is a word that was not known commonly in 1909. Definitions are important, however, because in all endeavors, until we know rather accurately what we are talking about we are never talking very accurately.

Take such a word as the word ;efficiency" and think of how it has been battered around until it has lost almost all its valuable meaning. Yet this word has the same fundamental meaning in every application. It is "the ratio of what you get out of anything, to what you have to put into it, to get that much out." In addition to being general, such a definition is in simple, understandable, language.

"Control" is defined: "To exercise a direct restraining or governing influence over," and secondary definitions are: "to direct; to regulate; to manage." That definition leads us immediately to another question, which is this: "Why do you want any control in a plating room?" Because you want to make as many as you can of your variables into constants. Then, "What have you to control in the plating room?"

First: Your temper! Probably there isnt any one thing that is more sorely tried in a plating room than is a mans temper. Recollect how sorely you are tried when things go wrong despite care, and without reasons that are instantly apparent.

The next thing that you have to control in the plating room is your imagination. Our imagination often times leads us far afield from the facts, although I want to point out to you that imagination is probably the most useful faculty of the mind to science.
Nothing has ever been achieved at all until it was first imagined. This room was only made possible by virtue of the fact that someone imagined every detail in it, and it has been that use of imagination that has been such a great help to science. So a control of your imagination is an important element in plating room control.

Then, "observation": Control of imagination and control of temper will almost automatically enable you to get a better control over "observation." We all think that we are accurate observers, and yet if anyone of you were to take up astronomical work, you would probably be put through quite a siege of training in just the one element of observation. So observation in the plating room comes very properly under the subject of plating room control.

Then there is another thing. It is becoming increasingly important to control "time," not alone on its effect on continuous production, but what I refer to particularly is this. In the old days when plating was a job that extended over two hours or even an hour, a difference of a minute or two wasnt a very large percentage of the total time, but in platings that run only to five or six minutes a difference of a minute is a matter of twenty (20%) percent of the whole operation, so that control of time is becoming increasingly important with the rapid plating of today and of tomorrow.

Control of "voltage" is of prime importance, because all these modern platings are run at top voltage. Controlled voltage, therefore, of the source of power that you have back of you is an important item in plating room control.

Distances of cathode spaces have their part too, and will probably show up in some of the peculiar phenomena of plating. I call them peculiar because they are out of the ordinary, as for example, some of the results observed in Chromium plating.

The control of "temperature" again can be illustrated by Chromium plating, where the color or lustre of the plate is unquestionably largely influenced by the temperature; and where a good lustre and a reproducible lustre in heavy coatings is desired the control of the temperature is important, and it even has to be an automatic control of temperature.

Of course, you know that automatic temperature control of solutions is valuable in that you should always have your solutions at constant temperature. The temperature of solutions with no control is not only different in the summer than in the winter, hut is liable to be quite different in the afternoon than in the morning. If you run a solution and learn to adjust your solution at a temperature higher than it would ever normally get to be, you can at least always run with one variable made a constant. Thus automatic temperature regulation comes right in under plating room control. The chemical control of solutions is a matter of course, and it is too familiar a subject to warrant stressing in brief.

Control of initial and final surfaces is something that might come more properly under the subject of polishing or buffing, but nevertheless it has to do with the finished article that your concern is to send out.

Another question on control is the "accuracy" of control. How accurate does it have to be? The formula that I would give you is this: It need not be too accurate. It must not be too inaccurate; and the great secret of it all, is to know how accurately you can and are controlling the various things that you are seeking to control in the plating room. Remember this: The accuracy of any operation is generally determined by the accuracy of the least accurate part of the job. In other words, if you know that you have a probable error of 10 per cent in some part of your process it is very unlikely that your final results will be better in accuracy than 10 per cent, and in addition it is true that there is little use of attempting to get a result to a higher degree of accuracy than the accuracy of the least accurate factor that you have present. Therefore, dont try to weigh out carefully the chemicals and be anything but careful with the measuring of the water that composes the electrolite. All those things are to be done with a degree of accuracy that is generally the same throughout, and nothing is to be done haphazardly.

I want to comment on one thing in connection with the racking of work in Chromium plating. Mr. Porter has stated that the racking was a very important part of the success or failure of the job itself. Consider the anode side of your tank. I think that the general conception of anodes has been that they furnish metal to the solution. It is my opinion that the primary function of an anode is to electrify the solution, and that its secondary function is to supply metal. Chromium solutions, where a lead anode is used, it seems to me lend good proof to such an opinion. The real function of the special rack used by Mr. Porter was to prevent what might be compared with a "throttle valve" in the cathode side of the circuit and thwarting the good electrification that you have on the anode side from the use of ample anode surface.

To state merely the fundamentals of solution content control, what you have to control in your solutions is simply the elements contained in them. I want to point out this: In every solution of any type that I have ever heard of, whether it be an alkaline solution or an acid solution, it is composed of just three classes of elements:

First: A salt of the metal to be plated out.
Second: A conducting salt of some sort or another.
Third: An addition agent.

The second class of elements in every plating solution, namely the conducting salt class, is sometimes a salt of the metal to be plated out, as for example, Nickel Chloride in a nickel solution or it may be a salt which does not contribute to the metal content of the solution, as for example, Sodium Chloride or Ammonium Chloride in a nickel solution.

The third class of element comprises what is probably best known as the buffer class, as for example, Boric Acid in a nickel solution.

In general, as I have seen in eleven years of activity in the plating industry, the drift has been to simple solutions, with a smaller number of different chemicals in the solution, on account of the simplicity of control of simple solutions.

There is still another control that has come to the front, and that is the control of foreign matters, accumulated sludges and the like in solutions; and in this connection you will probably be interested in looking up the patents recently issued to Charles P. Madsen, on nickel plating, to see the limits to which he has gone to eliminate from his nickel solutions things that do not contribute directly to nickel plating. A very small amount of certain impurities in nickel solutions are tremendous in their effects, throwing the whole solution out of balance.

Finally, there is one other thing that ought to be thought about which comes under the heading of control. First, "putting the metal on," second, "taking the metal off." There is going to be more and more control over the amount of metal that can subsequently be taken off in the final color buffing. Little or no care has been taken as to how much you take off in the final buffing, with the result that you never know, and you never know within wide limits, how much metal you actually have left on the base and it is the thickness of the remaining deposit that is useful from a standpoint of metal coating. I thank you very much.

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NOTES ON CHROMIUM PLATING

F. R. Porter, Edison Electric Appliance Company

The following contribution on chromium plating covers the more important parts of our experience, using a solution of the type now generally recommended, on an experimental basis over a period of several months.

Solution Used
The solution used was made up of:
Chromic Acid—CrO₃—16 to 32 oz. per gallon.
Chromium Carbonate—CR₂O (CO₃)₂—1 to 2 oz. per gallon.
Chromium Sulphate—Cr₂ (SO₄)₃—2/5 to 1 oz. per gallon.
This is the solution used by the Bureau of Standards and is the type of solution now generally recommended for chromium plating.

Chemistry
The function of each constituent of the bath is assumed to be as follows:

Chromic Acid—Chromic acid is the main constituent and supplies the chromium ions for deposition. It was probably first use by Buff in 1857 in conjunction with sulphuric acid. Placet and Bonnett also made use of it together with organic acids about 1890. In 1906 LeBlanc reported at a meeting of the American Electrochem. Society results of experiments using chromium sulphate and chromium hydroxide. Bancroft at that time pointed out that the chromic acid bath was the practical one to employ. Since that time chromic acid has been the main constituent of the majority of solutions.

Chromium Carbonate—Chromium carbonate or hydroxide is added to the bath to control the acidity. It forms chromium chromate, a trivalent-hexavalent compound which acts as a buffer to keep the acidity practically constant. Maus was probably the first to discover chromium chromate. He found in 1827 that chromium sulphate or chloride treated with chromic hydroxide in presence of chromium trioxide produced chromium chromate. Franz Salzer, about 1908 pointed out that chromoxid (chromium-chromate) Cr₂O₃ (CrO₃)₃ could be prepared by partial reduction of pure chromic acid electrically or chemically—or by a partial saturation of chromic acid, with chromium hydroxide. He was granted a patent, U. S. No. 900,597—covering a solution containing chromic acid, chromoxid and an electrolyte. This is essentially the composition of the majority of solutions recommended at the present time. LeBlanc was perhaps the first experimenter to use chromic hydroxide for controlling acidity. He reported in 1906 that this compound had been used in the cathode department of his experimental cell to control the acidity with good results.

Chromium Sulphate—Chromium sulphate in the plating bath acts as the "carrier" for the chromium and it is from this compound that the metal is actually deposited. It is supplied with chromium by cathodic reduction of the chromic acid.

Operating Conditions

Temperature—Temperature was found to play an important part in the character of the deposit obtained. A bright deposit could be obtained over a wide temperature range, but the most satisfactory temperature was found to be from 40° to 46°C (110 to 115°F.) At much lower temperatures—32°C (89.6°F.) for example, the deposit while bright was spongy as evidenced by the difficulty in wiping off finger marks and spots.

Current Density—The current density within limits was not found important except on pieces of irregular shape. Parts with plane surfaces were readily plated at from about 70 to 35() amperes per sq. ft. However, on parts of irregular shape in general from 200 to 250 ampere per sq. ft. were required to obtain a continuous deposit. At lower densities no deposit would be obtained on the recessed parts.

Anodes—Both lead and steel anodes were used. Better results were obtained with the steel because they were not so readily attacked and coated with chromium salts. It was found necessary to carefully control the amount of anode surface for good results. Too much surface resulted in gray deposits along the edges of parts. Insufficient anode surface resulted in a non-continuous deposit. Best results were obtained when the anode surface was about one-half to three-fourths the cathode surface.

Composition of Bath—It was found that the quantity of chromic acid in the bath had practically no effect upon the deposit within the limits used (16 oz. to 32 oz. per gal.). Likewise the quantity of carbonate present had little or no effect. The sulphate, however, caused trouble unless carefully controlled. More than 0.4 oz. per gallon resulted in reducing the apparent throwing power.

Racking—Racking was found to be a very important part of the process. The usual racks for nickel and copper plating could not be used. Special racks of heavier construction were necessary and were so made that positive contact with the supported part was assured at all times. For some parts it was found necessary to construct a rack in such a manner that the parts could be rotated while plating.

In connection with the subject of racking, it is of interest to note that more consistent results were obtained by immersing the parts in the bath before making contact rather than having the contact made when the part entered the bath as is the generally accepted procedure. Brass parts of irregular shape have been immersed in the bath for a period of five seconds before making contact and yet a satisfactory bright deposit obtained.

Protective Value

Corrosion—As is generally known, chromium plate when applied on steel does not give as much protection as the same thickness of nickel plate. It apparently is a more porous deposit than nickel and accelerates corrosion of the steel where exposed. The accepted manner for applying chromium to steel where protection against corrosion is desired is to first apply a coating of sufficient thickness of nickel or copper or both and then deposit chromium on this. Recently a sample of chromium plated steel was submitted to our laboratory for test. It withstood the salt spray for approximately 60 hours before showing signs of corrosion. An analysis of the coating showed it to be composed of a buffed layer of nickel plate 0.001" thick upon which a bright chromium deposit of 0.0004" had been deposited.

Oxidation at High Temperatures—Considerable work has been done in our laboratory in attempting to obtain a chromium deposit on steel that would protect it against oxidation when used at temperatures of 1400 to 1500°F. The results have been discouraging as only one deposit has been obtained which stood up for more than 300 hours and the majority failed within 48 hours. The majority of failures occurred by the coating peeling and cracking off due apparently to oxidation of the steel under the coating. This was due no doubt to the porosity of the coating. More satisfactory protective coatings of this sort are obtained by applying the chromium over a deposit of nickel. However, coatings applied in this manner have not proven entirely satisfactory, the best of them having a life only approximately one-fourth that of a calorized coating, for example.

Tarnish—It is quite generally known that chromium plate is not subject to oxidation at atmospheric temperatures (tarnish) under the usual conditions. Where nickel plate quickly tarnishes, chromium plate remains bright indefinitely or at the worst can be easily made bright by wiping with a damp cloth. It is this property above all others that has brought chromium plating to its present status. Automobiles, hardware and manufacturers of plumbing fixtures are becoming interested in chromium plate because of this property.

Cost
The cost of chromium plating will depend upon the class of work being finished and the class of finish. In general it may be said that it will be somewhat higher than for nickel plating, especially so for steel parts where nickel or copper is first applied. It is not yet applicable to barrel plating so that such parts as screws, ferrules, springs, etc., that are nickel finished at low cost in this manner would have to be chrome plated by the more expensive steel tank method. The metal cost for equal thickness is only slightly more while power costs are at least five times more for chromium.
In summing up, it may be said that chromium plating is yet in the development stage; that it requires the attention of a plater of more than average ability if consistent results are to be obtained and that in general, it is more costly than nickel plating.

Q. No. 1. How long can you run those in the electro-light and maintain a bright deposit?
A. No. 1. We have never run the parts long enough to get a dull deposit, but we have never run them particularly to find out how long we could run them. I would say off-hand that they could be run longer than a nickel plate, because a nickel plate in half an hour or so begins to get gray. But I dont know how long they could really be run.

Q. No. 2. How long have those people run them ?
A. No. 2. Those parts (referring to the samples shown) have only been run about two minutes. On a brass part a two minute deposit on an ordinary buffer wont cut it through, using a white line composition.

Q. No. 3. Why does the brass show around the ends?
A. No. 3. Because it didnt deposit. I have a little tube half inch in diameter that we plated at about seventy, and I think that is about as good as any we have seen.

Q. No. 4. I would like to ask whether they were done as a sample or as "production"?
A. No. 4. As experimental work. About a year ago we were of course interested and had work done outside by many companies, and some was satisfactory and some was not; and we went into the experimental end of it to see what we could do toward putting in an experimental plant. But those parts were made for experimental work, and not for production.

Q. No. 5. Have you tried plating on a chromium plate?
A. No. 5. It wont stick on a chromium plate.

Q. No. 6. I would like to ask if an excessive chromium carbonate has any detrimental effect on the chromium plate?
A. No. 6. We found that it had no effect up as far as we have gone, and that was the limitation of about four or five ounces per gallon. We couldnt see that it helped it a particle either way. Two (2) ounces per gallon was as high as we went, but it had no effect.

Q. No. 7. With reference to the character of the deposit, do you find that you get just as good a deposit without the use of the chromium carbonate?
A. No. 7. We used chromium carbonate at the start.

Q. No. 8. What voltage did you use?
A. No. 8. We played around a while with six (6) volts, and got good results so long as there werent too many pieces on the line, but then we raised to nine (9).

Q. No. 9. What experience have you had with screws ?
A. No. 9. We had to rack them and plate them "still-tank" in the regular way.

Q. No. 10. Will they plate in the slot?
A. No. 10. Yes, provided your slot isnt too deep. The screws we experimented with were quite small.

Q. No. 11. In plating screws would you rack them in perforated plates ?
A. No. 11. If doing it in production, I believe I would see that they had as little metal exposed as possible, because you could do it quicker.

Q. No. 12. If you were using a perforated plate to rack screws on, how wide could you use that plate so that all those screws would get a deposit?
A. No. 12. That would depend upon the size of your tank, and the size of your anode. As far as we could find we could fill the tank up pretty well and get a plate on it.

Q. No. 13. If you were going to plate screws in racks you could not place very many because those in the center would get absolutely no deposit. Have you had any experience with that?
A. No. 13. Yes, we did, but we finally worked out a method of racking where we-could use several racks at a time and cover all the parts. Here are some examples: (Shows samples.)

Q. No. 14. The gentleman said that there was one part of that piece that he couldnt plate. Which part was it?
A. No. 14. The center. The distribution of current was so poor that the upper piece plates, the lower would plate, hut the center would not plate.

Q. No. 15. I am speaking of the large piece, the part where the perforations are, down between the top and the outside rim.
A. No. 15. We use only the stationary anode, facing the part.

Q. No. 16. Are those parts buffed?
A. No. 16. They are not buffed.
A. No. 16. By speaker: We can get a plate at the top at a slant, and then by turning it we could plate it. I cannot explain why it wouldnt plate by lowering it, but it wouldnt.
No. 16. I think I can answer that question the-gentleman as ked. We find that if we invert it and just turn it upside down and use the bottom of the tank as an anode you will get a deposit all over.

Q. No. 17. Do you have an anode on the bottom of the tank ?
A. No. 17. We use the steel tank, and the tank is the anode.

Remark No. 18. Chromium plating is interesting to every plater in the United States. But it seems to me before we can go very far the situation as far as patents are concerned must be brought to better understanding of what is a "chromium patent."

We know that it doesnt make any difference what solution you use, that the Sargeant solution is still the basic solution, even though we add boric acid to produce bright, white, lustrous coatings of chromium.

Now then, what are we going to do about it? We know that we can plate with that solution, and I can tell you that within a hundred miles of Chicago they are plating thousands of parts in a chromium solution and getting results. They are getting results because they have the "solution." A good deal of the solution problem of chromium plating is to get an anode that will reduce to a certain extent and control the free acid that flows in your solution. You can plate with anodes if you have the "solution" correct. It makes no difference whether 16 oz. or 34 oz. of chromic acid are used. You can plate with 16 oz. solutions just as good as you can with a 34 oz. solution. I was in a plant just recently where they were plating several hundred locomotive headlight reflectors, and they were using a solution of 20 oz. of chromic acid, 1.4 oz. of chromic sulphate, and 1.5 oz. Of boric acid.

Chromium, plating is still in its infancy, but we have got to clarify the atmosphere before we can make it successful, because we know that big interests are trying to control "chromium" as they did "Cadmium" plating. If we all stand together we can make chromium plating what it is and what it should be in the commercial industry.

Remark No. 19. I had the pleasure of watching an operation under Mr. Porters supervision, and I noticed in plating one of those large discs that one came out with the gray streaks around it, and I found out that the fellow put that on where the cathode rod wasnt clean, and it didnt get as much "juice" as it ought to.

Q. No. 20. You might take a piece out of a chromium solution perfect and may want to introduce it into the bath again and expect to take it out covered evenly, but instead of that you have blotches all over it. What is the reason for that?
A. No. 20. I dont know.

Q. No. 21. The speaker stated that a small anode surface was more advantageously used than a larger anode surface?
A. No. 21. What we were driving at was to get a solution and a process that we could apply to our own particular product, that would be inexpensive, and with the Bureau of Standards solution we found that unless-the anode surface was controlled the parts came out with gray deposits on the edges.

Q. No. 22. You would say that an excess anode surface would cause that ?
A. No. 22. Yes, that is what we found.

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"CORROSION OF SILVER DEPOSITS"

Read at Chicago Branch, January, 1927. An Educational Meeting by H. A. Gilbertson

From time to time corroded silver deposited surfaces have come under my observation. This corrosion I am speaking of will be found on silverplated surfaces that have been in use.

This corrosion is of two kinds, and is caused in different ways. One is found on silver deposits over non-ferrous metals such as, copper, brass, nickel silver and other base metal mixtures. This corrosion is usually caused by substances of a corrosive nature that come in contact with silverplated surfaces. This corrosion appears in the form of deep pits or holes that penetrate through the silver deposit and into the base metal—usually these pits will have a black center, sometimes a black circle. Sometimes these pits are so deep they penetrate clear through the base metal itself.

The other form of corrosion is found on silverplated surfaces over steel and iron. This form of corrosion is usually of a rusting nature of the metal underneath the deposit. In this case the deposit itself is in no way corroded except that as this corrosion goes on it undermines the deposit so that the deposit collapses for want of support or a foundation.

We will first take up the corrosion of the silver coating over non-ferrous metals. After careful study of the subject I am of the opinion that this corrosion has nothing to do with the electroplated film, neither the methods handled in producing such films, nor the thickness of the deposits have anything to do with this corrosion. The causes of this corrosion cannot be attributed to any of the organic acids in the food we eat, for silver is the best protection we have against these organic acids—with no exception. From such observations as I have seen and heard of, I believe the chief causes of this form of corrosion is caused by corrosive agents that get into the pores of the metallic surfaces upon which the deposit is on. Thus is started the corrosion that finely takes on the form of a metallic salt formation. It seems that where such pieces are left in damp places that such formations are quite quickly formed and produce the deepest pits. In investigating the causes of this form of corrosion I have come to the conclusion that common salt is the chief cause of such corrosion.

Silverplated surfaces are not the only surfaces that are attacked by corrosion; solid Sterling silver is similarly attacked. It is common to see pieces of sterling that are covered with verdigree formations, that they are perceptibly green in color. It certainly does seem strange that Sterling silver, which has only three-quarters of one per cent of copper, should take on such a formation. In thinking over this condition I cant help but think that this corrosion is primarily due to the copper film brought out on the surface of the Sterling silver by the soldering process. This film is usually removed by a dilute acid after the soldering work has been completed. This process removed the copper film on the surface of the metal and leaves practically a pure silver coating on the surface. I have here a photograph of a hammered Sterling silver tray that was so badly corroded that to remove this corrosion we had to remove so much metal that the hammer marks were nearly all eliminated.

Now for the other kind of corrosion that we find on the Ferrous metals that are coated with silver. This corrosion is of an internal nature. Most all of you have seen silverplated knives that are corroded and even blistered. This blistering is caused by leaving such knives in a wet condition, and the wet condition of the blade is liable to set up a rusting action, or in other words, the combining of oxygen with the iron or steel to form iron oxide. Thus this oxide of iron is formed in pin-holes on the edges of knives—both on the back as well as the cutting edge. These pin-holes in the deposit expose the metal underneath and then starts this action and shortly if left this way we have an accumulation of iron oxide underneath the silver deposit that raises the silver or separates the silver from the steel blade—thus producing the blisters.

I often see cases where this corrosion has gone on so long that where such corrosion had started, it had eaten clear through the blade underneath the silver deposit, that when you would press such a spot with your fingernail the- steel would crumble like so much putty. In investigating some of the bad cases, I have found that this was caused by goods that had been left in damp places, for instance, in such places as bank vaults, especially those of concrete construction. Here we have no other corrosive action outside of the moist atmosphere of the concrete vaults.

In conclusion will say that even when metals are plated one hundred per cent perfect we still will have corrosion and rusting. In storing away plated goods of steel or iron see that they are dry and properly protected from water vapor, and when storing away your silverplated or sterling silver see that the salt cellars are empty, so that there will be no salt spilled over such silver while being stored.

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Report of the joint committees on prize award on papers and exhibits to determine the winner of the Founders Gold Medal, reported that Mr. C. E. Van Deran of Dayton Branch was the winner.
(Signed) WM. BLUM, PHILIP UHL, Chairmen.

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Report of the prize awards committee for the best papers for the year was as follows:
First Prize—A. K. Graham, Philadelphia Branch.
Second Prize—W. R. J. Kennedy, Hartford-Com1ecticut Valley B ranch.
Third Prize—F. Nordman, Cincinnati Branch.
(Signed) DR. WM. BLUM, Chairman.

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Report of the prize awards for best exhibits was as follows:
First Prize—C. E. Van Deran, Dayton Branch.
Second Prize—E. G. Lovering, Detroit Branch.
Third Prize—I. A. Gardner, New York Branch.
(Signed) PHILIP UHL, Chairman.

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BRIDGEPORT BRANCH
Meeting opened at 8:15. The roll call of officers was read. Three officers were absent. Minutes of last meeting were read and approved. We regret the loss of one of our members, Mr. Constock. The Flower Committee sent flowers. The librarian was instructed to drape the Charter. Secretary was instructed to send a letter of sympathy to Mrs. Constock.

A motion was made and seconded that we would take up at the next meeting, when and where we would hold our annual outing. The librarian was instructed to buy a couple of brooms, so we could give the floor a clean sweep. The treasurers report was accepted as read. Meeting adjourned at 9:30.
WILLIAM EHRENCRONA, Secretary.

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DAYTON BRANCH
Following is a report of July 9th meeting:
Regular monthly meeting was held at the Y. M. C. A. President Hohman called the meeting to order and after regular business was taken care of the committees were called for reports. Mr. Fraine reported the proceedings of the convention in a very clever way, and was followed by Mr. Harter, Mr. Hohman and others. Next in order was a dinner and theater party to be given in honor of Van Deran at the Y. W. C. A. at 6 oclock, the 3rd Saturday of August. Dayton Branch is very proud to secure the 1st and 2nd prize at the convention by Mr. Van Deran. Also, Dayton Branch was well represented, having 11 out of 24 members present, which we believe is also a record.
Meeting adjourned at a late hour. R. G. SUMAN.

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CHICAGO BRANCH
Regular monthly meeting of Chicago Branch held July 9, 1927 at Atlantic Hotel.
Meeting was called to order with President Meyers presiding.

The attendance was very good, as the members were anxious to hear the report of their delegates from the convention.
After the regular routine of business the electing of Mr. Elburn L. Fish to active membership and the application of Mr. Peter Gugine was referred to an investigating committee. The president turned the meeting over to the librarian.

Chicago Branch had the pleasure of having its only woman honorary member present, who also acted as librarian, Mrs. Dr. E. Z. Gailey, of Seattle, Washington.

Chicago Branch had a visitor—Dr. Becker.

The following questions were found in the question box:
Question—Is sodium sulphate a useful ingredient in nickel solution for plating die castings, and in what amount can it be used per gallon? Answer—It was suggested that up to 24 ounces per gallon can be used.

Question—What causes silver to spot out in white spots, the work is nickel plated, then silver plated and color buffed? Answer—Caused by porous metal; it was suggested to let work age about ten days before coloring buffing. The white spots were thought to be soda crystals.

Question—Why is it that a brass solution that will plate a beautiful yellow on stamped steel or bessemer rod will plate red on cast iron? Answer—Nickel plate first. Do not pickle; use more metal in solution for cast iron.

Question—What amount of Rochelle Salts could be used to clean bronze anodes? Answer—Would not recommend it for bronze solution.

Question—What is the action of sodium perborate in a nickel bath Watts solution whose P. H. is 52 ? Answer—To relieve pitting.

Question—What is good lubricant to use for ball burnishing stainless steel ? Answer—Same lubricant as for cold rolled steel; if metal turns dark add a little sodium cyanide. Also suggested to use more soap and to watch linings in barrel.

Question—What can be used for throwing power in nickel solution in plating die castings? Am using the following solution: Water, 1 gal.; sulphate of nickel, 12 oz.; sal. ammoniac, 2 oz.; nickel chloride, 1 oz.; boric acid, 1 oz.; sodium sulphate, 12 oz.; cadmium chloride, 1/32 oz. I use 6 volts and about 25 amperes per square foot. Answer—Use more sodium sulphate, up to 24 oz. per gal.; do not use too high current; use more double salts; strike in brass or copper solution.

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NEWARK BRANCH
Regular meeting of Newark Branch was held on Friday, June 17th, 24 members being present. Our newly-elected President, Chas. H. Bohler, occupied the chair.

Mr. Chas. B. Lee, one member living in Chattanooga, Tenn., desires to transfer his membership to Cincinnati Branch and the matter was ordered to take the usual formalities.

Membership amendment sponsored by this Branch was answered by Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New York and Bridgeport Branches, the former two branches for the change, while the latter two were against any such change.

Mr. Glickenhaus, our librarian, assumed charge of the discussion topic, "Addition Agents to Nickel Solutions," and read an excellent paper on the early nickel solution formulas and the various addition agents, as he claimed they should be so called, such as the sulphates, chlorides and organic substances, also mentioning an article which appeared in the "Scientific American" either in 1882, 1883 or 1884 (being not quite sure of the year), on `Nickel Plating."

Mr. Alfred Vaughan gave a talk on his method of nickel plating die castings and exhibited an excellent specimen of his work.

Mr. George J. Wagner, our Vice President, spoke upon his method of nickel plating articles which are of brass and having an aluminum part attached thereto. He uses sodium sulphate in the nickel electrolyte. ROYAL F. CLARK, Sec.-Treas.

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Although Friday, July 15, was an exceedingly hot night, President Chas. H. Bohler opened the meeting with 17 members present, intending to close early on account of the excessive heat, but it was 11:20 P. M. before adjournment was asked for. This was due to the fact that Mr. Geo. Hogaboom was present and gave a fine talk on the deposition of Chromium, also on heat treated nickel anodes, promising to give Newark Branch an illustrated lecture on nickel anodes at an open meeting in the near future.

Mr. Hogaboom also spoke on the testing of nickel plated iron and steel with sensitized paper, to ascertain if the nickel has been cut through or has an insufficient deposit of nickel which would accelerate corrosion. A piece of the sensitized paper was put upon the corrugated handle or bow of a shear blade which had been nickel plated for two hours, eight years ago. In three minutes a photograph of the corrugations which had been cut through or worn through exposing the iron which in turn gave a blue color on the paper. Brass articles, nickel plated, which may have been cut through will turn the paper brown.

A wrist watch bracelet which had been green gold plated was tested and showed a few spots which had not taken the gold, thus exposing the base metal which in turn made itself known on the sensitized paper.

When asked some questions on nickel anodes and solutions, Mr. Hogaboom went deep into the matter and brought out some exceedingly interesting and instructive points.

Those members who did not brave the heat of the night to attend this meeting surely missed the most interesting and instructive meeting that Newark Branch has had in several years.

The secretary regrets that this meeting was not broadcast via radio directly to every member of the A. E. S. only, on a special wavelength. We venture to say that 70 of our 76 members (6 members living out of New Jersey) would surely come out to our meetings hereafter. Adjourned at 11:20 P. M. ROYAL F. CLARK, Sec.-Treas.

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Newark Branch held its educational meeting on Friday, July 1st, with 14 members present, Chas. H. Bohler presiding. Routine of business was soon finished and our librarian, Mr. Glickenhaus, called on Mr. Max Metch to give us a talk on Chromium plating. During his talk Mr. Metch stated that he prefers to make Chromium Sulphate, Chromium Chloride and Chromium Fluoride from the Bichromate of Soda Salts when making a Chromium Plating Bath. Chromium cyanide added to a silver solution prevents the silver deposit from tarnishing.

Mr. Metch stated that cast iron and steel articles can be given a coating of Chromium by immersing in a solution composed of 3 oz. chromic acid and 1 oz. of Bichromate of Soda, dissolved in 1 qt. of hot water. Articles must be thoroughly cleaned before dipping, and the articles will keep their bright surface for from 6 months to 1 year.

Chromium carbonate can be added to a brass solution instead of zinc. An article by Mr. Max Metch of Newark Branch will be found elsewhere in the July or August Review on "Electrodeposition of Chromium from a Cold Electrolyte." Meeting adjourned at 10:15 P. M.
ROYAL F. CLARK, Sec.-Treas.

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Electrodeposition of Chromium at Normal Temperature

By Max Metch (Newark Branch)

Chromium can be electroplated at room temperature in a chloride solution, without previously cleaning the work if so desired. The solution should show a reading of 40° on a Baume hydrometer and 5 or 6 volts can be used.

To make the solution, proceed as follows, carefully noting directions regarding the addition of sugar as it will be dangerous to add all the sugar at once:

To 2 Ibs. of Bichromate of Soda add 1/2 gal. of water, 1 1/2 gals. of Hydrochloric acid. When dissolved, dip a piece of white paper in the solution. If the paper turns an olive green color, the solution is O. K.; if it turns yellow, add more hydrochloric acid until a piece of white paper turns olive green in color. Then add 7 ounces of Boracic acid crystals. Also add in very small amounts, with constant stirring, granulated sugar until 1 lb. has been added. Proceed cautiously when adding the sugar, as there is "danger ahead" if the entire pound of sugar is added at one time. Add water to make about 5 gals.

Articles can be wired in the regular way and be nickel plated for 3 minutes in a hot nickel solution if desired. If plated direct with Chromium, the articles do not have to be cleaned.

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NEW YORK BRANCH
The June meetings of New York Branch, A. E. S., were held in World Building on June 10th and 24th, respectively. Both were fairly well attended.

The new officers were installed on June 10th by our retiring secretary-treasurer.

A rising vote of thanks was tendered to him for his past services. Mr. John Sterling gave all his time to benefit our branch and surely deserves all credit due him from the branch.

It only shows them that are neglectful of their duties that at all times, to succeed, we must all be on the job. Now, fellow-members of the branch, will you not help the officers you have chosen for the year progress by attendance at meetings; without you they can do nothing, but with you they can improve this branch to 100 per cent.

Refreshments were served after the installation.

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The new officers were all present on June 24th, meeting was opened at 8:15 oclock by President MacStoker. When we came to good and welfare, Mr. E. Schor asked a question about two dynamos that he was using in his place of employment. Mr. William Voss answered this question by an illustration on the blackboard. He certainly showed we have a capable electrician in our branch, as he gave a very satisfactory answer to Mr. Schor and at the same time gave other members the satisfaction of listening to something they should know.
Meeting closed at 11.45.

Yours respectfully, MR. THOMAS A. GARDNER, Recording-Secretary, 60 Park Ave., P. O. Box 44, Rutherford, N. J.

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DETROIT BRANCH
Meeting of the Detroit Branch, A.E.S., held July 8th, with a good attendance.

The meeting was presided over by Mr. Kutzen, our ex-secretary, in the absence of the president and vice-president.

Some of the members gave details of the convention, but a full report from the delegates will be given at the next meeting.

The question was asked whether there was any difference in the finish when steel burnishes were used instead of agate on gold and silver plate. Answer, there was no difference. A lengthy discussion of gold and silver plating followed, especially in the plating of band; instruments. Discussion on chrome plating took up a good part of the evening.

Question was asked, does nickel alloy with chromium electrolytically. Answer was, depending on the condition of solution, such as concentration of metals in solution, etc.

Meeting adjourned at 11 p.m.
C. MASCOLA, Secretary.

 

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