What's the white thing?

[PJ]

Paddy Keenan's old Crowley set has a strange looking mainstock. It looks white. Does anyone know what it's made of? Plastic? Ivory? Painted wood?

[benhall.1]

Looks like brass to me.

[Mr.Gumby]

Formica. Yes, seriously.

[PJ]

Formica. Yes, seriously.

Strange to think Crowley used such a material.

Do you know if it is solid formica or just a formica coating over wood (or chipboard - joke)?

[Mr.Gumby]

Formica was modern, the material of the future at some point in time. I assume it was only a surface covering.

[rorybbellows]

Chances are its the same stuff used on this Crowley set and if it is I doubt its formica . The decorations are quite deeply set into the stock and also formica is very brittle and could not be bent around a small radius as in a stock . Maybe its some kind of plastic or maybe ivory.


RORY

[andymay]

I'm not sure,

But i suspect if you left a peeled turnip in the sun long enough it might look a bit like that.

A

[Ted]

Paddy's stock had thin plastic glued over it which had an off-white, "mother of toilet seat" look. Some Formica may have a similar look but, as pointed out, it is too rigid to be bent around a stock.

[Tony]

Formica is a name brand of PLASTIC LAMINATE.
Typically, it's fabricated from cross grained layers of paper & resin fused together to give it stability.
There is a post-form laminate where the layers of paper run in the same (grain) direction making it more flexible. It's slightly thinner than the standard grade. Post-form grade can be heat formed to wrap cylinders of 12" diameter with no problem and commonly used to wrap 3/4" thick cabinet doors with 180 degree wrap using specialized machinery.

Follow this link for a photo example:
http://www.cabinetmakerfdm.com/3478.html



Interesting story... I was working at a company who produced post-formed door panels. For some unknown reason, they were developing stress cracks on the curved edges. It was a serious problem with warranty costs replacing defective doors. The factory manager called in the experts to service the machine but they couldn't find anything wrong. The problem persisted. The experts returned. On the second visit, they stayed longer... long enough to where lunch break was approaching. One of the workers from another department came over to the machine and twisted some of the heat lamps away from the feed line and over to his aluminum foil wrapped sandwich he had taken from his lunch box!



Ted, I've seen imitation Mother of Pearl in sheets. Possibly this can also be heat formed.
Follow the link here:

http://www.constantines.com/motherofpea ... heets.aspx

[Mr.Gumby]

I doubt its formica

The way I remember it, it looked an awful lot like formica but I'll happily settle any other sort of plastic/laminate

[Fergmaun]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWeImfHzibw&feature=plcp

I have seen the old Crowley set up closed once before Paddy got the his Dave Williams set.

I did not ask Paddy about it. It looked to me as white plastic on the mainstock.

Cheers

Ferg

[rorybbellows]

Who's to know ? Maybe it was a white sticker with all his favorite tunes written on it.

RORY

[kenr]

It was a thin sheet of celluloid plastic (not the stuff old films were made of) with "Crowley" marked in gold embossed stamps at top and bottom. It was pretty heavily marked with fag burns as well.

When Dave Williams renovated the set he replaced the celluloid with a new and equally blingy piece of Italian celluloid provided by a well known and well respected accordion repairer and tuner.

Ken

[Hans-Joerg]

Mother Of Toilet Seat