press dye

[Will Eichler]

Hi all,

I've spent the better part of the afternoon looking around the web for resources on press dying. This is the manner in which many of the general guide markers were colored. I have (somewhere around here) already a great four part series from the Company of Military Historians on these markers.

What I'm after is anyone who can give me guidance either on the process of press dying or where to find that information.

Thanks in advace for the help!

Best regards,

Will

[John E. Tobey]

Re: press dye

Are you looking for the historical methods, or a modern version? I've done it in silk using rubber roofing and marine plywood with good results.

John Tobey

[Will Eichler]

Re: press dye

John,

I'd take a modern method if you have one. I'm also interested in the historical process. I assume the modern method will be easier for short runs where the historic might work better for bigger runs.

I look forward to hearing more.

Best,

Will

[John E. Tobey]

Re: press dye

Will,

The reason I asked is because I don't have a lot on the historical methods. When I did the process, I cut the blocking patterns (called "dams") from rubber roofing and glued them to marine plywood.

The first thing I did was cut out a stencil from tinplate -- I did this to have something to register the dams when I attached them to the plywood. I made two presses, one for the canton and one for the field. The two pieces of each press were registered to one another using dowel rods like regular die-plate shafts.

I did the canton first. I cut out two "L" shaped dams from the rubber roofing to block out the whole field, then cut out two sets of stars. Using the stencil to locate the dams, I glued them to the plywood.

Next, I made a press for the field. I had to do this one twice. The first time, I cut a squarish dam for the canton, and strips for the upper stripes and tried to butt them together. Unfortunately, the red dye ran into the tiny crack formed by the joints, and I got small vertical red lines against the canton. My second attempt included a dam that combined the canton dam with the upper stripes.

The silk and the dye were supplied for the guy I did the flag for. To register the cloth in the press, I tacked it into six holes I measured into each press.

The rest was easy. With the press clamped together over the cloth, (using about twelve deep-throated c-clamps) I dipped the whole thing into a pan of dye. The pan I used was actually an old maple-syrup boiler.

From my limited experience, I can identify at least three "tricks" to this process:

1. Everything has to be registered: dams, press plates, and cloth.
2. The dye will permeate even small joints -- solid dams are a must. Using softer dam material may alleviate this.
3. Use plenty of clamps and thick plates (I used 1" marine plywood: I'd go thicker next time).

John Tobey

[Will Eichler]

Re: press dye

John,

THanks so much. I'll post results back when I get to try this, most likely in a few weeks!

BTW - What dye did you decide to go with for what you were making?

Best,

Will

[John E. Tobey]

Re: press dye

I should have written, "The silk and the dye were supplied by the guy I did the flag for." I don't know what it was, but I know that it worked fast on the silk.

John Tobey

[Will Eichler]

Re: press dye

John,

Thanks for the clarification. This is quite helpful!

Best,

Will