Re: Dag Questions Comments

> Phillip Murphy wrote:

>> "Something to keep in mind, the Daguerreotype was perfected in the
>> 1850's;
>> few modern plates have ever matched what was accomplished at that time. "
>>
> Jonathan wrote:
> Do you have a source on this? All you have to do is look at the work
> of Irving Pobboravsky, Jerry Spagnoli, Mike Robinson, John Hurlock,
> Ken Nelson, et. al. to see that the quality is superior or equivalent
> to the 19th century.
"I suppose the best source for your answer would be to ask Irving,
Jerry, Mike, John, Ken &tc, if they feel that they
have matched what the Daguerreotypists achieved in the 1850's. I would
be very interested to hear the
individual answers that you get. I am a great admirer of each of their
work."
>
>> "Having said that, a modern convenience for polishing your plates is to
>> use a random orbit sander. You can sew pieces of padded buckskin to the
>> detachable discs and replace them as needed for different polishing
>> compounds. Have some on hand for rottenstone and others for lampblack
>> or rouge. You'll want a mask and good ventilation. Finish your plates
>> with hand buffing using fine cotton velvet and or brain tanned deerskin."
>>
> Jonathan wrote:
> Have you tried this? I've always been told that you should have fine
> polish lines (if any at all) along one axis only so that the light
> falls evenly on the finished plate.

Absolutely, the idea was first suggested to me by a Daguerreotypist in
New Jersey,
Antonio Romano. I later spoke with Canadian Daguerreotypist Mike
Robinson about
his own technique of using a Makita random orbit sander for polishing
plates. I think
it was Lowes where I bought one.

Of course the idea isn't a new one; there was a patent for using a
rotating pad back in
1855.

http://tinyurl.com/nouzk

Here's a quote from the abstract of the Shive patent:

"The nature of my invention consists in providing a machine for polishing
daguerreotype plates and other like surfaces requiring the finest polish,
adapted to cause either the plate or the polishing pad to move in
constantly changing circles, the one piece against the other, or, in other
words, the one to gyrate or whirl around against the other, so as to
continually
change by circular motions the relative position of every point of contact
between the two surfaces.
In preparing daguerreotype plates for receiving the picture, the more
perfect the
polish the more perfect will be the heliographic effect, and experience has
fully demonstrated that in procuring the polish required on the surface
of the
plate there is no motion that can be given to the pad comparable in its
effects
to a gyrating one; but this motion has heretofore required to be effected by
hand, and is consequently dependent upon the skill or manual dexterity
of the
operator, and is always attended with the expenditure of much time and
labor.
To obviate these objections, and at the same time enable the most
inexperienced
operator to produce the most perfect polish upon the surface of such
plates is
the object effected by the use of my invention. "

Jonathan, you are correct in wanting the very finest buffing lines to
move in
parallel to each other across the length of the plate. Depending on if
the plate is
used for landscape or portrait, you'll want to turn your plate
accordingly in
the final finest light buffing. (This is where the hand buff comes in.)
 One can accomplish this with the softest brain tanned
buckskin that has not been smoked and has the slightest amount of lampblack
in it. It helps if the buff has been "broken in" from use a few times.

The effect is not so much that the viewing light falls evenly on the
finished plate,
as much as the appearance of the fine buff lines is reflected away from the
observer when looking from the appropriate viewing angle to the image.
You might hear this final buffing technique called "laying the grain".

all the best,

Phillip
Received on 08/22/06-05:25:42 AM Z