Antique pressure gauge restoration?

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Greg_Lewis
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Antique pressure gauge restoration?

Post by Greg_Lewis »

Hey folks:
I've got an old pressure gauge I want to clean up and use in my shop. As you can see, the case needs complete cleaning and painting. I got the brass bezel off easily and can make a puller for the hand (done that before w. smaller gauges).

The question is: what is the plating on the face? It looks a bit yellow like the old original nickel plating found on antique cars, but I can't be sure. I'd like to get the few goobers of crud off the face without damaging the plating or its patina.

Also, I presume the face is attached to the case by the two screws at the 20 and 185 spots on the dial, NOT to the movement as I"ve found on small gauges. Yes? Because if the face is attached somehow to the movement and not the case, then I don't need to pull the hand in order to get the movement out of the case.

Anyone out there done this before?

THANKS!
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Greg Lewis, Prop.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
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Harlock
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Re: Antique pressure gauge restoration?

Post by Harlock »

When I need gauges calibrated, I go to http://www.grsusa.com/ Gauge Repair Service in Hawthorne. They will probably know how to get it apart. I think you do need a needle puller to separate the face from the bourdon tube mechanism.

The company mainly does aerospace gauge calibration, but when I walked in there the lobby was full of old steam gauges and turns out the owner has the same hobby I had for a while - collecting gauges off of Ebay.
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Greg_Lewis
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Re: Antique pressure gauge restoration?

Post by Greg_Lewis »

Thanks for the info Mike!
Greg Lewis, Prop.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
Craig
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Re: Antique pressure gauge restoration?

Post by Craig »

Somewhere I have an article telling how to replate gauge faces. It's has been forty years since I have seen it. If memory is correct Silver Iodine was used to plate the faces. If you remove the two screws on either side of the inlet fitting you should be able to separate the workings from the case? The following is copied from another forum the post is from 2005;
I just bought my 286 page copy of "The Antique American Steam Gauge" by Barry Lee David and published by Astragal Press. Copyrighted 2003 Web site: http://www.astragalpress.com I bought my copy off of eBay. In it there is a wealth of information on antique gauge restoration, history, and preservation. The gauges used by the Stanley Motor Carriage Company are covered in a 12 page chapter dedicated to them, with Robert E. Wilhelm of Wilmington, Delaware providing the expert assistance in the Stanley gauge chapter. A chart of Ashton gauge serial numbers also directs you to what year your gauge was manufactured. In restoration of gauge faces, their step by step procedures leads you through the restoration process. An improtant message: Never pollish your silver plated gauge face. Use soap and water only. Interesting in that for silver replating gauge faces, E-Z Way, of Burlington, WA, sells a wipe on silver plater that is a 99.98% real silver solution that cleans and recoats the brass surface with silver. If their face restoration all sounds too complicated, then send your gauge faces to "The Dial House", 2287 Buckanan Hwy, Dallas, Georgia, 30132, telephone 404-445-2877
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Greg_Lewis
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Re: Antique pressure gauge restoration?

Post by Greg_Lewis »

Wow! Thank you Craig! Great info. I thought from the color of it that the face might be silver plated. In that case, I'll just wash it with liquid dish soap and leave the goobers on it. I'd hate to spoil the look. As to the mechanism, I can get in there as soon as I make a hand puller, which I hope to get to today. I've been into smaller gauges before, as well as cameras and other delicate mechanisms so I think I can handle this one. It responds to air with a reading that is close to what I expect; haven't compared it to a known good gauge yet.
Greg Lewis, Prop.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
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Greg_Lewis
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Re: Antique pressure gauge restoration?

Post by Greg_Lewis »

Success. Made a little puller, photo below. Needle came right off with nary a complaint. The goobers on the face are into the plating, so they will stay. A check of the serial number reveals it was made in 1916.

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DSCN9143.JPG
Greg Lewis, Prop.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
Craig
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Re: Antique pressure gauge restoration?

Post by Craig »

Greg,
3 U Tube video's; 1. Resilvering a Brass Clock Dial 2.Silvering Stanley Steam Car Gauge Faces, 3. Silver plating by Friction.
Number 1 is the best one. Number 2 shows a different way to apply the silver. Number 3 shows applying the black wax.
Look easy once you have the proper materials.
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Harlock
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Re: Antique pressure gauge restoration?

Post by Harlock »

I second the recommendation for the American Steam Gauge book. I bought it on Ebay.
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LVRR2095
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Re: Antique pressure gauge restoration?

Post by LVRR2095 »

I think the gauge face looks fine and I would leave it alone.
The gauge is 101 years old after all. Showing a little age is a good thing.

Keith
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Atkinson_Railroad
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Re: Antique pressure gauge restoration?

Post by Atkinson_Railroad »

Nice little puller for removing the indicating needle.

My curiosity with this thread lead me to one of my favorite "hang outs" on the web and found this 111 page catalog "G"
published by The Ashcroft Manufacturing Company Sales department in 1920.

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id= ... =1up;seq=7

John
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Greg_Lewis
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Re: Antique pressure gauge restoration?

Post by Greg_Lewis »

Thanks for the additional info, guys. Keith, I'm with you. The defects are small. I've washed it with water and a little Dawn liquid soap and that's all it will get. I'll polish the brass bezel and repaint the case and then it's going on the shop wall so I can monitor my compressor.
Greg Lewis, Prop.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
motorwiz
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Re: Antique pressure gauge restoration?

Post by motorwiz »

Greg, I have an Ashland pressure gauge nearly identical to the one you restored. I would like to remove the bezel to restore the dial. You said you got the brass bezel off easily. Could you explain? It looks as though there are no fasteners and it is just friction fit. Thanks, motorwiz
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