Purchasing & Chroming Ariel Nameplate

[Theis]

Here is the deal as it now stands for the Ariel nameplate.

Summarizing the situation so far, Bristol Bronze is producing the bronze nameplate. They have produced six, all of which are sold. They are producing another batch, and I am told it will be two weeks before the next batch is ready.

I have worked with Precision Plating in Chicago on other Ariel parts and he has done a very good job. Off the top of his head he has told me that it will cost about $10.00 each to have the nameplates plated in copper, nickel and finally chrome (as Bristol Bronze recommended). Bristol Bronze (BB) also said that if the chrome plating was a matte finish, it would look like the originals a few weeks after leaving the Pearson factory. The blue paint on the flag will have to be painted on separately.

So here is the plan if you want to have nameplates chromed at this time in this batch (the minimum batch price is $50.00).

1. Order your nameplates RIGHT NOW from BB. The part number is BB4902. BB's phone number is 401-625-5224. That way he will know how many to make in the next batch, and you will not find out too late that you missed this run. They are $55.00 each.

2. Let me know as soon as you order from BB that you plan to send in your plates for plating (that way I know the number of namplates that will be plated, so can get a firm quote. My email is theis@owc.net.

3. I will take four of the nameplates to Precision so they can see them and confirm the price. The plated nameplates will have three coats of plating - copper, nickel and matte chrome. As for the blue flag, at this point, you will have to paint that on yourself.

4. I will get back by email to all those that want plates chromed with the confirmed price.

5. Nameplate delivery. There is a bit of fluidity at this point. When you order from BB, you might want to delay their delivery to you. Ideally, once the price and quantity get squared away, BB should ship directly to Precision. If you want to see them first before chroming, then you should ship to Precision. I'll give you instructions later, but at this point, unless you want to see the bronzed version, ask BB to hold pending delivery instructions.

6. As for payment, hopefully that will be handled by Precision, but instructions there will have to wait until the deal is finalized with Precision .

7. Timing. This is a batch job at this point (I might be able to work something out with Precision so that they can be subsequently done a couple at a time ). I need to know all those that intend to have their nameplates chromed in the next two weeks (by March 8, 2002). That means your order must have been placed with BB and be available from the next batch.

In that period of time, I would hope to have a confirmed price on the plating.

I will wait until BB's next batch is done (about two weeks) - and perhaps a week longer - and then it is GO for those that have nameplates at Precision.

IMPORTANT: This is a voluntary effort. There is nothing in this for me other than helping others. I'll do the best I can, but I am not taking on any responsibility for anything. I will do the best I can but any loss, goof ups, complaints, whatever is at your own risk. I am not the BB/Precision complaint department.

[Theis]

It is finalized. Here is the deal.

The cost is $10.00 each ($20.00 per set) plus $6.50 for return shipping. Turnaround time will be about a week from when all the plates are received. They will be triple plated, copper, nickel, and satin chrome.

Here are the directions:

Send your plates to Precision Finishing, Inc., 6678-82 Northwest Highway, Chicago, IL 60631. I would suggest that you have the plates shipped directly from Bristol Bronze. but you can send them yourself. My plan is to wait one week after Bristol Bronze finishes the next batch, and then tell Precision to go ahead. If your plates are not there then, sorry (let me know and I'll slow it down a day or two, but not much). The box containing the nameplates should be identified "ARIEL" on the front.

With your shipment, include a check for the proper amount ($26.00 for a set). If you are having Bristol Bronze send the plates directly, sent Precision a check by mail.

Please keep me posted when you have sent your plates to Bristol Bronze. I will be following up (although, in my experience, these guys don't need follow up. They are pretty good). My email is theis@owc.net.

[Theis]

I asked Bristol Bronze and Precision about the best way to have the flag painted blue. Bristol Bronze's comments I thought I would share.

Peter

Thanks for the e-mail and for your kind words about our work. Your logo was
made by "Investment Casting" which is the type of casting that we use for about
90% of our fittings. It is more expensive but gives much better results.


The original logos from Pearson were painted with a marine enamel paint. There
were done by hand. I recommend that you pick a good marine enamel or a more
modern epoxy paint and use a small artist brush to do the paint yourself. Due
to the chrome finish you may need to apply two coats for complete coverage but
it should work fine. A good marine paint should hold up in the sun for many
years.


Roger W.
Bristol Bronze
401-625-5224

[ebb]

VC Theis, sir,
When I order from BB, I am ordering two plates at $55 each? I haven't found the thread back to where I think I recall that these plates are of the Pearson name in a sort of script, right? They were mounted on the coaming. Where? On the outside you'ld require two, but on the inside -like the serial number plate - one would be sufficient?

At fifty five bucks plus shipping, plus chroming, is one plate the way to go? BB is very expensive - but is the only show in town (actually the whole hemisphere.) It's just that when I call and Winiarsky himself is on the phone I want to appear to know what I'm talking about! Thanks, Ebb

[Bill]

Here is the information you will need if you want to purchase a set of logo plates for your Ariel:

Bristol Bronze
PO Box 101
Tiverton, RI 02878
BB4902 Ariel Logo Plate $55.00 ea
2@$55 = $110.00
S&H = 11.00

Total = $121.00

On Line Ordering with a credit card is available at: http://www.bristolbronze.com/order_form.htm

[Theis]

These are the two plates that are mounted on the forward end of the outside of the coaming.

I thought about using just one, and that is a possibility. Just put one plate on the dockside. But really, it should have two (I figures I'd get them while they are available). I can tell you that they are really well done, and not a rough casting. There is a lot of detail. They actually look "delicate".

I really don't fault him for his price. I think the price both he and Precision charge are quite reasonable and fair, for what they are doing. If they were producing two for every Ariel (800 nameplates) as Pearson did, that would be a different matter. Even then, I'll bet that Pearson paid as much in real dollars, or close to the amount as BB is charging now.

Don't go out for dinner and wine tomorrow. Get the second plate instead.

[ebb]

Absolutely. Being a lazy bachelor, I can easily make it up by cutting my deli trips back.

So I phoned and ordered two. Roger W., being one of the world's foremost raconteurs(sp?) kept me busy trying to get words and uhhums in edgewise for more than a half an hour. Go off on excursions into his shop looking for castings or models of stanchion bases I was asking him about - in the middle of repeating my visa numbers to him.

He's doing castings for an Alden schooner right now that instead of the traditional star on the end of the booms they're lion's heads out of manganese b. Which are difficult to polish to the mirror finish required.
Like $400 just for the buffing! ($120 didn't seem too much!) Carbon fiber spars that will be painted by an arteest to look like spruce or ash, they haven't decided. There was a giant yacht, the Athena, at the St Francis a while back that had a new carbon fiber boom - and this boat had varnish Everywhere. They flew over a guy from Italy who painted it so you couldn't tell. Even down to some plugs that had weeps coming out of them, amazing!

I think he said the fiberglass schooner, Lion's Whelp, will be at an upcoming boat show on the east coast, loaded with huge highly finished castings, and so will B.B. - one of the most active booths. Wish I was over t'other side.

Interesting thing: Winiarski said that he had cast a 'stem strap' for a Triton owner here on the west coast, who was very happy with it. He used the heavy duty pattern of the stemhead fitting I sent him which has the upright attachment flange twice the thickness of the original. He said the guy had sent him his with all the holes badly elongated and in bad shape. In manganese b those holes will never distort, 'I guarantee it.'

I'm in the third casting group. Going to leave mine plain, tho.

Thanks to you Theis for getting this to happen!

[Theis]

He is quite a raconteur. An interesting guy.

I knew things were expensive in the Bay area, but I didn't realize that a couple deli sandwiches could cost $55.00. Wow! Impressive show!

As for those spars, obviously Roger has you thinking. Are you thinking about replacing your spars with carbon fiber ones, and then fly in a young lady from someexotic place to paint them so they look like old aluminum? She can probably even put in the old plugged holes where screws used to be, and the chaff marks where the halyards banged against the mast. Neat!

[ebb]

Now, I would never ask a young lady to paint plugs where screws used to be, no I wouldn't. Panting drools on her fabric samples, That would be very exotic. Maybe decadent. Ahoy my little trompe loeil!

Was wondering how high off the deck on a 100' mast you'ld stop the faux graining? Only your rigger will know for sure.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for giving a painter a job of work. Been thinking about painting my mast to look like carbon fiber.

[Theis]

I think it would look neat painting it to look like a 3X6 piece of construction pine. That would attract more attention than those Pearson Ariel Nameplates.

[Theis]

For those of you that have new nameplates, I have a suggestion. My two plates were not in line in a left right plane. The bottom of the word "Ariel" was not in line with the top of the bar "by Pearson". There was a slight arc, the center of the plates being down, the ends being up. This is very slight but very noticeable when mounted. I don't know if this happened in the casting process, in the plating process, or because I didn't take adequate care of them. But the arc appears the same in both plates.

When you mount them, a very slight bend brings the bottom of the "Ariel" into a straight line with the "by Pearson". The difference, when mounted, is very noticeable. Nothing cracked in bending them ever so slightly and gently.

[ebb]

One of my plates is pretty straight, The other has that bend you speak of. Wouldn't surprise me that the guy who did the buffing bent the piece at the 'e' in Ariel, which is a scant 1/8" across and less in thickness.

Now I wouldn't want to break this jewelry by trying to straten it out, don't know how brittle the 'bronze' is. Maybe you don't want to bend this stuff too much, especially since it has already been bent.

The plate being out of line like that bugs me too, I wonder if Winiarski should be contacted? If one could get him to replace the broken name plate , if that happened in straightening it, he would be agreeing that there is a problem, albeit a minor one.

[Theis]

Good idea. Can you contact Roger or do you want me to? I did bend mine back without any difficulty or apparent strain. But then, the dangers may be there. The metal is quite malleable, I would assume - not brittle as was the original plate.

[Hull376]

I think its tough to cast these plates because they are so thin and with the script writing and all. I had the original first two (heck, these were all made from #376--- ) that Roger did, and both had a slight bend, one more than the other. I did bend back the one that was a little more deformed, and it didn't break. But beware, if you were to bend it a little too much, then try to straighten it back, you'd probably risk breading it at the connection of the A to the R. I worked in a foundry in College, and the bending is due to warping during the cooling process, not the buffing process. Very very hard not to have some on a delicate casting like these are. Don't give Roger too hard a time--- to get no warping, he'd have to scrap 50 percent of what he's pouring! And then these would cost even more!

[ebb]

good points, Prof Hull. Seems too minor to bother the great man with. Will probably mention it when 338 has other business with BB again.

I'll try straightening my crooked one on a hot summer day.