Daguerreotype Tools and Equipment
I recently received an e-mail from a fellow dagist asking me about some equipment that I use. I thought that I’d share the information with you folks.
What RPM is the bench grinder that you use? A sculptor friend of mine suggested using a 1750 rpm rather than anything higher? Your thoughts?
I use a 3-Horsepower 3450-RPM buffing machine made by Jet Tools. It’s serious overkill but it’s a very useful tool for wood-finishing, general polishing, sanding, and grinding. I also liked the buffer in part because it has really long spindles so I can easily polish whole plates and larger.
If I were you and you can borrow someone’s for a little while, I’d try polishing on a 1750 RPM to see how it works. There’s no sense in getting a higher speed if you don’t need it. Take a look at Caswell Plating for some good supplies. I use their spiral-sewn cotton wheels.
Various dagists use different compounds for polishing. I use jeweler’s red rouge (red Dialux from Metalliferous) on the sewn wheel and then I finish up with black ferric oxide powder on my hand-buffing board. You can buy that stuff on eBay… it’s also a popular ingredient in incendiary bombs.
I have heard various reports of dagists using white rouge, blue rouge, and even Zam. Whatever you do, don’t mix the different compounds on the same wheel!
Jonathan
