# Creepy crawler



## Grinderman (Oct 28, 2020)

I made this scorpion for my son for Halloween/his birthday. He started life as a piece of 1/2"x1" 1018 along with some 5/16" rod. The pic was my inspiration. He was a lot of fun to make and I think I used every tool in my shop. I wanted to keep it bare steel but of course it would rust right away. I always wanted to try the DIY nickel plating process and this was the perfect opportunity. It's really easy and it came out great.
Happy Halloween!


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## francist (Oct 28, 2020)

Wow, is that ever cool! Nice job there, Grinderman! 

-frank


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## DiscoDan (Oct 28, 2020)

Dang, I thought this was going to be about the 70s toy with the scalding hot metal plates that made the rubbery critters!


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## Grinderman (Oct 28, 2020)

DiscoDan said:


> Dang, I thought this was going to be about the 70s toy with the scalding hot metal plates that made the rubbery critters!


Those were awesome. They wouldn't dare make something that cool these days.


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## vtcnc (Oct 28, 2020)

Grinderman said:


> Those were awesome. They wouldn't dare make something that cool these days.


Wish me luck...I'm off to google "scalding hot metal plates that make rubbery critters"


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## Flyinfool (Oct 28, 2020)

It was called the "Strange Change Machine". They could never sell them today. There were so many cool toys when I was a kid that can not be made today.


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## homebrewed (Oct 28, 2020)

I remember a book I got as a kid, called "The Magic of Chemistry".  Among other things, it had some projects that showed how to make simple fireworks, pyrophoric dust and the like.  I think you'd be arrested for just trying to BUY some of those chemicals now.   When it was originally published in the 60's many of those chemicals could be found in every drugstore.


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## NortonDommi (Oct 28, 2020)

homebrewed said:


> I remember a book I got as a kid, called "The Magic of Chemistry".  Among other things, it had some projects that showed how to make simple fireworks, pyrophoric dust and the like.  I think you'd be arrested for just trying to BUY some of those chemicals now.   When it was originally published in the 60's many of those chemicals could be found in every drugstore.


I had one called '101 Chemistry Experiments for Boys' .  It was confiscated and I think destroyed after someone coated the underside of a real prick of a teacher's desk with a vibration/contact detonated Iodine based explosive. No culprit was ever apprehended but some parents had suspicions and chemistry sets mysteriously disappeared.


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## homebrewed (Oct 28, 2020)

NortonDommi said:


> I had one called '101 Chemistry Experiments for Boys' .  It was confiscated and I think destroyed after someone coated the underside of a real prick of a teacher's desk with a vibration/contact detonated Iodine based explosive. No culprit was ever apprehended but some parents had suspicions and chemistry sets mysteriously disappeared.



I made some of that stuff, too.  It does go "bang" quite easily.  It's chemical name is nitrogen triiodide.  Once during an experiment I inadvertently made a small amount of nitrogen trichloride (I only figured out what it was later).  It was an oily blob on the bottom of a test tube -- for awhile.  Then it exploded.  The test tube was turned into glass dust.  I was wearing glasses at the time, that's probably what saved my eyes from serious injury.  

That was about the end of my high school chemistry experiments.


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## NCjeeper (Oct 28, 2020)

Oh yes. I remember those days going to the corner drug store with my chemistry book and the druggist giving me all sorts of nasty stuff to take home and play with. As a matter of fact those bottles are still on a closet shelf in my bedroom of my child hood house I think.


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## mmcmdl (Oct 28, 2020)

I think you can still get " Creepy Crawler " stuff on Ebay these days . That kept me busy for years back in the 60s . 

Sure can !









						creepy crawlers in Vintage & Antique Toys for sale | eBay
					





					www.ebay.com
				




Beautiful work on the scorpion GM !


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## tjb (Oct 28, 2020)

Grinderman said:


> I made this scorpion for my son for Halloween/his birthday. He started life as a piece of 1/2"x1" 1018 along with some 5/16" rod. The pic was my inspiration. He was a lot of fun to make and I think I used every tool in my shop. I wanted to keep it bare steel but of course it would rust right away. I always wanted to try the DIY nickel plating process and this was the perfect opportunity. It's really easy and it came out great.
> Happy Halloween!
> 
> 
> ...


Awesome.


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## brino (Oct 29, 2020)

@Grinderman 

That is absolutely stunning!

-brino


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## brino (Oct 30, 2020)

@Grinderman 

Do you have any info, or links you can share on the " DIY nickel plating process " ?

Thanks,
-brino


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## tjb (Oct 30, 2020)

brino said:


> @Grinderman
> 
> Do you have any info, or links you can share on the " DIY nickel plating process " ?
> 
> ...


There are several youtube videos on the subject.  I found this one - a good overview and pretty straightforward:






Regards,
Terry


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## Grinderman (Oct 30, 2020)

Lots of good videos on the subject. I can tell you the steps I took but I'm a total rookie at this.
To Make the solution I used a gallon of distilled vinegar, two 1"x 6" nickel electrodes ($10 ea on eBay) and a couple of tablespoons of common salt.
I had an old 9V 300ma wall wart that I used to make the solution. They say the higher the voltage the faster the solution will form. I let mine go for a full day.
I then added one tsp of sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS $10 for 8oz on eBay)
This is suppose to stop the bubbles that form on the part as you plate from sticking and causing spots in the finish.
The better your part looks going in the better it will look coming out. Sand, polish etc to get the look you want. The plating hides nothing.
I cleaned the part with brake cleaner
I mixed up one gallon of distilled water with one quart of muriatic acid and dipped the part for a couple of minutes to clean/etch the surface
Dipped the part in clean distilled water to rinse off acid solution
I kept both of the nickel electrodes in the solution and connected a jumper wire between them along with the positive lead from the wall wart.
I used a 5V 550ma Motorola phone charger for the actual plating process
Connect your part to the negative lead of the charger and dip/hang the part in the solution.
Smaller parts I left in for 15-30 min. The larger scorpion I left in for an hour.
The parts don't come out shiny but look like a nickel.
A quick trip to the buffer however can produce quite a nice finish depending on how nice it looked before being plated.
The plating solutions you can purchase probably would give you a brighter finish but this works for me.
For an investment of about $35, I'm very happy with the outcome.


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## pontiac428 (Oct 30, 2020)

I missed the obvious question- does the scorpion's claw open bottles?


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## homebrewed (Oct 30, 2020)

Beautiful!  You Sir are an artisan.


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## tjb (Oct 30, 2020)

Grinderman said:


> Lots of good videos on the subject. I can tell you the steps I took but I'm a total rookie at this.
> To Make the solution I used a gallon of distilled vinegar, two 1"x 6" nickel electrodes ($10 ea on eBay) and a couple of tablespoons of common salt.
> I had an old 9V 300ma wall wart that I used to make the solution. They say the higher the voltage the faster the solution will form. I let mine go for a full day.
> I then added one tsp of sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS $10 for 8oz on eBay)
> ...


Thanks, G.

That's a great write-up on your approach.  You may get a pick-your-brain question or two from some of us down the road.

Regards


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## Grinderman (Oct 30, 2020)

pontiac428 said:


> I missed the obvious question- does the scorpion's claw open bottles?


Maybe but you don't want to make him mad!


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## middle.road (Oct 30, 2020)

That's Heirloom quality...

I received a detention back in elementary in the '60s for scarring the girls with our 'creations'.
Remember the smell of the 'goo'?


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## Grinderman (Oct 30, 2020)

the girls weren't left out though, they had their EZ bake ovens


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