Nickel

[Rik ShawParticipant @rikshaw]

My unusual 50p car boot find today is a bar of strange looking metal 8" x 1" x .5" thick. It was only when I looked at one end I could see it had been stamped "ROLLED NICKEL".

I have never come across this stuff before so the question is……..what do model engineers do with rolled nickel?

[Rik ShawParticipant @rikshaw]

Uses

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Rik,

I hadn't seen the term before; but this might help.

MichaelG.

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

**LINK**

What colour is it?

[Gordon WParticipant @gordonw]

I would hazard a guess that it's nickel plated, eg. " rolled gold".

[Rik ShawParticipant @rikshaw]

Ady – The colour of the bar is odd. It is overall very light matt grey with a hint of green/blue and almost opalescent. Whoever had it before me had hacksawed of a small piece leaving a finish no different to stainless or mild steel. – Rik

[Sub MandrelParticipant @submandrel]

**LINK**

Nickel is corrosion resistant, it sounds like the outside of your bar has tarnished, but the cut face is still fresh.

Neil

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

Don't know anything about it, but might it be an electrode for electoplating? Ian S C

[Rik ShawParticipant @rikshaw]

Ian – the odd tarnishing on the surface of the bar might well have got there from it sitting in a bath of electrolyte. "Rolled Nickel" suggests to me that this is pure nickel and not a nickel alloy. So all in all I reckon you could well be correct with your "plating electrode" suggestion. Thanks for your nickel ode Ian >>

[Malcolm BannisterParticipant @malcolmbannister38996]

Rik…

Pure nickel is ferromagnetic and when tarnished does indeed have that weird colour that you describe.

Ian's probably right in thinking it's an electrode (anode iirc) for nickel plating.

M

[Rik ShawParticipant @rikshaw]

Thanks to Malcom for perpetuating this thread, I feel well plated chaps!

Rik

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