Emblems

[dirtwheelsfl]

Those sure look like a winner!

[FLexpat]

There are 2 parts to this project; the CAD design of the 'replica' emblems and the material/finish of whatever gets produced. Printing in nylon is easy but I’m all about metal.

The 60% 316L 40% Silicon Bronze matrix does pretty well in a very aggressive hot salt brine - no visible rust in a couple of hours. For reference, a piece of 440 stainless in the same brine was rusting in less than 15 minutes. I decided to passivate the emblem in a hot citric acid solution followed by oxidation in hydrogen peroxide but that darkened the finish slightly (probably the bronze in the matrix). It is good, but still not quite what I want, so I'm still working the material and finish side of the project. More to follow...

I am pretty stoked that the design side is working out really well. I did come into possession of an original emblem (kinda beat from corrosion) and was able to make measurements of it to fix little inconsistencies in my earlier versions. I also got to replicate the '27' from a 1968 hull. Not exact but within a few thousandths in most places. I couldn’t find the exact font for any of the letters/numbers other than the MIAMI, FLA, so I had to do the equivalent of hand digitizing for each letter/number. The original emblems were thinner (0.140") - I made the new letters and waves 0.200" thick so they would be stronger and could still be surface polished. Here is an image of how that would have looked with the replicas for the 27.


As far as I can tell, Potter only used decals while Carl used either nylon or zamak emblems. But since I have a 23 and not a 27, I decided to skip the decals and come up with an aftermarket jewelry design for mine and the plethora of other 23s out there.

Right now I am thinking of setting this up as an ala carte thing – people get to order whatever part or parts they want. Like I said earlier, plastic is easy – good metal is gonna take a bit more time. I am still planning on having metal prototypes at the next gathering (Jensen Beach).

Oh yeah – for the rare and coveted 21’s out there I made a design without the ‘MIAMI, FLA.’ block. You will get to drill the other 3 holes yourself on those and I haven’t gotten the numbers for the 21 yet.

[Vezo, Part II]

Nice work Mitch!

[wattaway2]

Please keep me in mind are you doing them in plastic or stainless know

[Old'sCool]

Nice work!!

[FLexpat]

Polished the surface of the pre-prototype I had made and it is really working out well even if it isn't the exact shape for production. I am almost positive it will work out since it survived over 2 hours in a 170F brine without showing surface rust - Ordered a set for my 23 to verify that the metal polishing/cleaning/passivating sequence will work right but I have to wait a couple of weeks for delivery. Got frustrated with work crap so I threw this together...
Now that I have 20, 21, 23, 27 emblem files I guess I need to think about completing the set; 18, 19, 25?.

[kevmen]

Beautiful! Stupid question - is there a particular place those are supposed to be mounted? I have never seen them before.

[FLexpat]

Originally Posted by kevmen

Beautiful! Stupid question - is there a particular place those are supposed to be mounted? I have never seen them before.

This is a minor project that is getting way out of control - I probably need a chaperone or some sort of adult supervision.
The 'SeaCraft' emblem is a copy of the zamak one used in the 60s and early 70s. Most of those have succumbed to corrosion. On the 19 it was mounted on the sides just fwd of the transom - about where the SeaCraft decals were on the later hulls. The '27' emblem is a copy of one that came from a '68 hull and was mounted behind the 'SeaCraft' emblem like I show in the drawings/photos. I am not aware of any other models having that. As far as I know, Carl Moesly only used zamak or nylon emblems and Bill Potter only used decals. While there are only a few of the 21s left, it looks like they had nylon emblems without MIAMI, FLA and just simple numbers 21 riveted to the hull (see Gillies pics of his 21 in this thread). I have seen several old 19s that still have the zamak SeaCraft emblems with MIAMI, FLA on them but nothing with a '19'. If anyone has better info I would love to hear/see it.

After making replicas of the original 'SeaCraft' and '27' emblems, I decided that some of the other hulls deserved jewelry too so I made up the 20, 21, and 23 emblems following the same general profile. That is why I am considering length emblems for the rest of the Moesly and Potter models.

Essentially these are jewelry - put em on the sides, on a console, on a helm, or anyplace that makes sense. I am putting mine where the decals were on the sides. We spend a fortune rebuilding these old gals so I tried to put together proper adornments in case folks want 'em. Actually with the cost of making a few prototypes, buying more tools, and the mess of turning the kitchen into a metal testing and finishing lab, it is high risk if my wife ever figures out the details or comes home from a trip early.

Originally Posted by dirtwheelsfl

I honestly like the raw non-polished version. Nice patina to it!

That is the way they come from the 3D print shop after tumbling/cleaning. I did learn that they need to be cleaned up after they arrive because the fine dust from tumbling has iron (probably from 420SS) that rusts. My new ultrasonic cleaner gets delivered tomorrow and I will be using that with a citric acid bath to clean and passivate mine to prevent surface dust from rusting. I am waffling about polishing the face of the letters/numbers but when I get this set up folks will be able to order them direct from the print service and polish them or not - whatever they like (I don't think they can be ordered with a mirror polish).

[gofastsandman]

Originally Posted by FLexpat

This is a minor project that is getting way out of control - I probably need a chaperone or some sort of adult supervision.
The 'SeaCraft' emblem is a copy of the zamak one used in the 60s and early 70s. Most of those have succumbed to corrosion. On the 19 it was mounted on the sides just fwd of the transom - about where the SeaCraft decals were on the later hulls. The '27' emblem is a copy of one that came from a '68 hull and was mounted behind the 'SeaCraft' emblem like I show in the drawings/photos. I am not aware of any other models having that. As far as I know, Carl Moesly only used zamak or nylon emblems and Bill Potter only used decals. While there are only a few of the 21s left, it looks like they had nylon emblems without MIAMI, FLA and just simple numbers 21 riveted to the hull (see Gillies pics of his 21 in this thread). I have seen several old 19s that still have the zamak SeaCraft emblems with MIAMI, FLA on them but nothing with a '19'. If anyone has better info I would love to hear/see it.

After making replicas of the original 'SeaCraft' and '27' emblems, I decided that some of the other hulls deserved jewelry too so I made up the 20, 21, and 23 emblems following the same general profile. That is why I am considering length emblems for the rest of the Moesly and Potter models.

Essentially these are jewelry - put em on the sides, on a console, on a helm, or anyplace that makes sense. I am putting mine where the decals were on the sides. We spend a fortune rebuilding these old gals so I tried to put together proper adornments in case folks want 'em. Actually with the cost of making a few prototypes, buying more tools, and the mess of turning the kitchen into a metal testing and finishing lab, it is high risk if my wife ever figures out the details or comes home from a trip early.


That is the way they come from the 3D print shop after tumbling/cleaning. I did learn that they need to be cleaned up after they arrive because the fine dust from tumbling has iron (probably from 420SS) that rusts. My new ultrasonic cleaner gets delivered tomorrow and I will be using that with a citric acid bath to clean and passivate mine to prevent surface dust from rusting. I am waffling about polishing the face of the letters/numbers but when I get this set up folks will be able to order them direct from the print service and polish them or not - whatever they like (I don't think they can be ordered with a mirror polish).

A small project that has gotten out of control...

[NoBones]

Originally Posted by kevmen

Beautiful! Stupid question - is there a particular place those are supposed to be mounted? I have never seen them before.

The way they were on my 1968 27 Seamaster when purchased 5 years ago...