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I’m looking for a company that will re chrome my lock, needle tray, handle ends for my HMV 102 in the UK.

Beckworth Group
Unit 16, Caker Stream Road
Alton
Hampshire
GU34 2QF

Email : [email protected] or [email protected]. Telephone : 01420 80880.

They apparently also have a Facebook page.

Ask for Russell.

They are excellent both at polishing and plating (many metal alternatives) and do not lose parts !

I'm not sure about the HMV machines, but here in the US the shiny metal parts on spring machines are usually/always plated in nickel, not chrome. You'll want to make sure you get the right metal.

drh wrote: Sat Feb 12, 2022 10:44 am I'm not sure about the HMV machines, but here in the US the shiny metal parts on spring machines are usually/always plated in nickel, not chrome. You'll want to make sure you get the right metal.

Nickel was superseded by chrome in about 1930. Late HMV101's and all 102's (except the red leather and gilt versions) are chrome.

Thanks everyone for the advice.

For general reference my industrial books on electroplating show that commercial chrome plating was not available until 1929, it is also a very unpleasant toxic process to manage.

Another thing to note is that chrome is very hard to polish compared with nickel so it it is important that the metal is polished and defect free, commonly the object is plated with dull nickel first as a leveling coat and polished before a coating of chrome.

I expect most will have noticed the yellowish nature of nickel and the bluish nature of chrome.

recordmaker wrote: Sun Feb 13, 2022 7:11 am For general reference my industrial books on electroplating show that commercial chrome plating was not available until 1929, it is also a very unpleasant toxic process to manage.

Another thing to note is that chrome is very hard to polish compared with nickel so it it is important that the metal is polished and defect free, commonly the object is plated with dull nickel first as a leveling coat and polished before a coating of chrome.

I expect most will have noticed the yellowish nature of nickel and the bluish nature of chrome.

Thanks for pointing this out. You beat me to it. I'm always surprised when I ask an online vendor, including some dealers who have been in the business 40 plus years now, whether an item is nickel or chrome, for example, a 5A soundbox. Most don't seem to have a clue and typically try to fob you off with some comment about where it came from so it's probably what you're looking for etc. However, there is an obvious difference between them as you say but the polishing test is another sure way to differentiate. If you use a gentle metal polish on a cloth to shine nickel it will turn the cloth black. Chrome won't and it will not polish up at all.

Also, the pre-chroming process does involve nickel plating as you say. The adhesion of chrome otherwise is less successful I believe. It was an expensive process in part because of this.

epigramophone wrote: Sat Feb 12, 2022 12:50 pm

drh wrote: Sat Feb 12, 2022 10:44 am I'm not sure about the HMV machines, but here in the US the shiny metal parts on spring machines are usually/always plated in nickel, not chrome. You'll want to make sure you get the right metal.

Nickel was superseded by chrome in about 1930. Late HMV101's and all 102's (except the red leather and gilt versions) are chrome.

Interesting! Thanks--I just learned something.

Nickel has a cosmetically softer and warmer finish but does tarnish (especially outdoors) a little more than the brash-looking but harder-wearing chrome. Both processes, properly carried out, should include initial plating with copper (ductile), the thickness of which can be varied to deal with imperfections by repeated plating and polishing---then nickel, then chrome. It is possible to plate onto plastics and other materials (wood) these days but this process requires an initial application of colloidal silver (expensive) to give an electrical key.

Plating is costly for many reasons but the greatest success depends upon the expertise of the polisher.

emgcr wrote: Sun Feb 13, 2022 1:21 pmshould include initial plating with copper [...] then nickel, then chrome.

Correct. This is indeed what a local chroming facility told me once, when I carried to them some parts to be re-finished: chrome goes over a nickel layer.