Hi! I thought I should toss my hat into this discussion. I'm going to babble on incessantly for a while. Please, never test resin washed, wood laminated or painted pieces by any method! I was at an antique show once, talking with a dealer about a piece. She didn't know what kind of plastic it was, and before I realized what she was doing, she whipped out a tube of simichrome and wiped the top of the bangle. A huge pinky-purple smear came off on her paper towel. Needless to say, I didn't buy the bangle, because she just ruined it.
I defer to the great Saint Karima Parry, who notes that simichrome can often create a false negative. It's great for polishing plastics (and metals!) and fine for quick testing. It's also completely true that 409 can dull the finish of plastics. The 409 issue has been long debated among collectors. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. If you use it, I suggest you use very little, and *always* clean it off immediately with soap and water. It shouldn't leave a mark if done with care. Don't test the front of any piece, always do the back/inside. My museum-y background says, least invasive is always best. Rubbing if it works, then hot water, then simichrome or 409 if you really have to.
So, what the heck is a girl to do? Learn the old fashioned way, and handle lots and lots of plastics. I'm not endorsing that you go broke by buying hundreds of pieces of Bakelite, but if your sole source of buying plastics is the internet it will take a long time to get a sense of that "feel," we collectors are always babbling about. All plastics have varying weights and textures (and occasionally smells), and the only way to learn that is to buy a few and handle many. Go to antique shows and flea markets. Talk to dealers (but don't necessarily trust them!). Compare the Bakelite and Galalith to see how they smell different. Rub your thumb against the Lucite and Bakelite to see how it slips on one and resists against the other. Take a measuring tape and measure the inside openings of bangles (2 1/2" is the number you're looking for on older bangles, although that's not an absolute indicator). Learn the common colors and the colors you will never see in Bakelite, like white. Believe it or not, after a while, you will know most Bakelite on site and feel, and you won't even really want to test anymore.
And, most of all...read! I love talking to people about these things and am up for a convo any day, but the way to protect ourselves is to educate ourselves. I'd like to suggest the following books to you. If you can't buy them, your local library can probably get them for you: 1) Karima Parry's _Bakelite Bangles_ (The Bible for Bakelite collectors. It will teach you much about identifying and collecting Bakelite). 2) Leigh Leshner's _Collecting Art Plastic Jewelry_ (There is the best section on identifying plastics, which she divides into human-made like Lucite and Bakelite, and natural, like horn and tortoise shell. A must-read.) 3) Tortoriello & Lyons' _Plastic Bangles_ (They also have a book called _Bakelite Jewelry: The Art of the Carver_ which is another classic. These two women are the top experts in this area today. Their knowledge in plastics is impressive, and they are just nice people on top of that. I know I'm not supposed to endorse other websites, but you can convo me if you want to know about their shops on another site.) There are other books too. Build a good library, and refer to it often, so you can begin to recognize patterns, colors, hardware. I wish you luck, and a lot of fun! :)
Cheers,
AoP
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They come with a little post mandrel that fits in a drill or drill press. For reaming handles that is all you need. The one in the picture has been modified to sand straight razor blades by removing the short post and replacing with a long aluminum dowel, but you don't need to do that for handles. The medium grit drum shown will be perfect for catalin, but I also cut wet-dry sandpaper and glue it on to the rubber drum with spray rubber cement so I can create any grit sanding drum I want. What you see in the left photo is a piece of 400 grit paper on the rubber. I had just finished sanding rust off of a new straight with that piece, hence the dirt. Simply peel a used one off and glue another on when you need to. With this you can choose from 80 to 2,000 grit. Works like a charm. In the photo I am holding the camera in one hand. In practice I use both hands to hold the brush and work it around in circles. Believe me, this is an order of magnitude more controllable than a dremel, been there, done that. This allows so much more subtle movement and pressure. Set your drill press on a low speed and you are off and running.
Note: If you choose to glue paper on you will probably need to buy a second drum to use the pre made sanding tubes. The residual glue makes it hard to push the tube on and off. But these things are under 5 bucks so owning two doesn't break the bank. I use these for everything from blades to razor scales with the appropriate grit paper. Can't be beat.
You have a drill press, that is a huge advantage, use it. Go to a local hardware or building supply store and look for some rubber sanding mandrels and some sanding drums. Here is what mine looks like now.They come with a little post mandrel that fits in a drill or drill press. For reaming handles that is all you need. The one in the picture has been modified to sand straight razor blades by removing the short post and replacing with a long aluminum dowel, but you don't need to do that for handles. The medium grit drum shown will be perfect for catalin, but I also cut wet-dry sandpaper and glue it on to the rubber drum with spray rubber cement so I can create any grit sanding drum I want. What you see in the left photo is a piece of 400 grit paper on the rubber. I had just finished sanding rust off of a new straight with that piece, hence the dirt. Simply peel a used one off and glue another on when you need to. With this you can choose from 80 to 2,000 grit. Works like a charm. In the photo I am holding the camera in one hand. In practice I use both hands to hold the brush and work it around in circles. Believe me, this is an order of magnitude more controllable than a dremel, been there, done that. This allows so much more subtle movement and pressure. Set your drill press on a low speed and you are off and running.Note: If you choose to glue paper on you will probably need to buy a second drum to use the pre made sanding tubes. The residual glue makes it hard to push the tube on and off. But these things are under 5 bucks so owning two doesn't break the bank. I use these for everything from blades to razor scales with the appropriate grit paper. Can't be beat.
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