Pretty Cool / Diving Book

[msbhammer]

This is an email from one of the best divers in the world that I became friends with. In his new book, he mentions me. He performed over 1000 dives on the Andrea Doria. I used a finger print fuming tank to raise the makers mark off some of the Chinaware that was found inside the wreck at 260 ft.

Mike,
* * I was going to surprise you with this in the published book, but I am not certain of the correct name and description. I am writing a section on artifact cleaning. Please review this for me, and make corrections and suggestions for changes:

Mike Bullard originated a novel idea. As a police officer, he had access to a fingerprint fuming chamber at the county crime lab. In the chamber he placed a china saucer from which the gold leaf was gone. When he activated the chamber, the fuming dust accumulated on the pattern of the logo, making the image highly and permanently visible.



Gary Gentile

[msbhammer]

This is an email from one of the best divers in the world that I became friends with. In his new book, he mentions me. He performed over 1000 dives on the Andrea Doria. I used a finger print fuming tank to raise the makers mark off some of the Chinaware that was found inside the wreck at 260 ft.

Mike,
* * I was going to surprise you with this in the published book, but I am not certain of the correct name and description. I am writing a section on artifact cleaning. Please review this for me, and make corrections and suggestions for changes:

Mike Bullard originated a novel idea. As a police officer, he had access to a fingerprint fuming chamber at the county crime lab. In the chamber he placed a china saucer from which the gold leaf was gone. When he activated the chamber, the fuming dust accumulated on the pattern of the logo, making the image highly and permanently visible.



Gary Gentile

[msbhammer]

Picture of one of the plates recovered. Valued at about $500.00. V-20 parts. ;D

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f153/msbhammer/DSC02476.jpg

[msbhammer]

Picture of one of the plates recovered. Valued at about $500.00. V-20 parts. ;D

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f153/msbhammer/DSC02476.jpg

[willy]

Well all right Hammer, way to go bro ;)

[willy]

Well all right Hammer, way to go bro ;)

[parishht]

Good job.

Maybe we can lift some prints off that other V and find out who owns it.

[parishht]

Good job.

Maybe we can lift some prints off that other V and find out who owns it.

[msbhammer]

Thanks Guys. Lisa was pretty happy over the email.
Gary has published books for years. He also dove to just over 400 feet onto the famous Lustania shipwrecks. My book never sold as much as his ever did, but he dives for a living. I just dive for Wood. ;D

[msbhammer]

Thanks Guys. Lisa was pretty happy over the email.
Gary has published books for years. He also dove to just over 400 feet onto the famous Lustania shipwrecks. My book never sold as much as his ever did, but he dives for a living. I just dive for Wood. ;D

[Blue_Runner]

Hammer that is killer cool 8)

My next book:

"Diving the Forbidden Muffs"
By Blue Runner

I know at least Willy will buy it ;D

[Blue_Runner]

Hammer that is killer cool 8)

My next book:

"Diving the Forbidden Muffs"
By Blue Runner

I know at least Willy will buy it ;D

[willy]

Hopefully illustrated Blue. ;)

[willy]

Hopefully illustrated Blue. ;)

[Blue_Runner]

In full Color and even web-enabled surround sound :o

[Blue_Runner]

In full Color and even web-enabled surround sound :o

[willy]

Sound huh :-* that kind of sound ::)

[willy]

Sound huh :-* that kind of sound ::)

[THEFERMANATOR]

Back to diving. Do you dive on tri-mix HAMMER? What do you normally use for gas for diving? My dive SUNDAY left me feelin pretty ill all day MONDAY and I've been considering going to NITROX to help with it.

[THEFERMANATOR]

Back to diving. Do you dive on tri-mix HAMMER? What do you normally use for gas for diving? My dive SUNDAY left me feelin pretty ill all day MONDAY and I've been considering going to NITROX to help with it.

[msbhammer]

Blue, we expect color center fold pics. ;D ;D ;D

Yo Therm, I use to dive on just air, then went to NITROX gas, but back to air. Air is cheaper for fills and the o-rings are cheaper to. I have all my tanks in for service now and I know the bill will be costly. Thats not encluding my regs either. You might have gotten narked on your last dive. I got pretty narked diving on Jakes Wreck. Dive was only 65 ft. But when I hit bottom, I was seeing all these colorfull dots appears. Think I was over breathing my reg. Only other side effects I get from diving is I get WOOD. After I come home from a dive all I want to do is lock the wifey in the bedroom for a few hours. Always figured it was breathing the enriched Nitrox. ???

[msbhammer]

Blue, we expect color center fold pics. ;D ;D ;D

Yo Therm, I use to dive on just air, then went to NITROX gas, but back to air. Air is cheaper for fills and the o-rings are cheaper to. I have all my tanks in for service now and I know the bill will be costly. Thats not encluding my regs either. You might have gotten narked on your last dive. I got pretty narked diving on Jakes Wreck. Dive was only 65 ft. But when I hit bottom, I was seeing all these colorfull dots appears. Think I was over breathing my reg. Only other side effects I get from diving is I get WOOD. After I come home from a dive all I want to do is lock the wifey in the bedroom for a few hours. Always figured it was breathing the enriched Nitrox. ???

[THEFERMANATOR]

Well I can't say I go through what you do after diving. I just wanted to go to sleep. Shoot, it took her a good 10 minutes to get me to take advantage of her(that's unusual, I swear) that night. My shoulders and middle back were just aching about 3 hours afterwards. But it was the deepest dive I've personally ever made. I've only been to 82 before, 93 was a bit different. I know I wasn't over breathing. My buddy was @500 at the end of the dive and I was @1000, and I went down before him. Cavern diving takes some getting used to though, on the way down we stopped in the sulphur layer and vis sucked. Could barely see my computer with a bright dive light. I did get severely disoriented on my last dive though, my buddy had the light and he dropped down below me so I had no light for most of my descent and the swirling spring flow had me spinnin somethin fierce.

[THEFERMANATOR]

Well I can't say I go through what you do after diving. I just wanted to go to sleep. Shoot, it took her a good 10 minutes to get me to take advantage of her(that's unusual, I swear) that night. My shoulders and middle back were just aching about 3 hours afterwards. But it was the deepest dive I've personally ever made. I've only been to 82 before, 93 was a bit different. I know I wasn't over breathing. My buddy was @500 at the end of the dive and I was @1000, and I went down before him. Cavern diving takes some getting used to though, on the way down we stopped in the sulphur layer and vis sucked. Could barely see my computer with a bright dive light. I did get severely disoriented on my last dive though, my buddy had the light and he dropped down below me so I had no light for most of my descent and the swirling spring flow had me spinnin somethin fierce.

[msbhammer]

Therm, read somewhere maybe three years ago about changing your hang time, normally you do a 3 minute hang time at 15 feet. Read somewhere to start doubling your hang time. If at 100 feet. do a 3 minute hang at 50 ft and then another one at 15ft. Helps cut down on getting the bends. Maybe change your tank set up maybe ?, for the back pain, wet suit might be so small causing shoulder pain. On your computer, did you violate any stops or come up to quick. I've been know to cheat some and my alarm always goes off.

[msbhammer]

Therm, read somewhere maybe three years ago about changing your hang time, normally you do a 3 minute hang time at 15 feet. Read somewhere to start doubling your hang time. If at 100 feet. do a 3 minute hang at 50 ft and then another one at 15ft. Helps cut down on getting the bends. Maybe change your tank set up maybe ?, for the back pain, wet suit might be so small causing shoulder pain. On your computer, did you violate any stops or come up to quick. I've been know to cheat some and my alarm always goes off.

[THEFERMANATOR]

I bumped the red once or twice, but I think the swirling water had it confused because I was pulling myself up the rope tied off to the boat on my ascent. The current swirling around had it bouncing some around 60 foot. I was hanging around 45 foot on my 2nd and 3rd dives, but my first one was a bounce dive(probably what caused my problems). My first time ever being in that kind of enviroment freaked me out a bit(I'll admit it), no light, no bottom, nothing to hang on to other than my safety line, AND NO VIZ! Yeah it got me a bit. I like diving in the blue water with 50+ foot of viz.

[THEFERMANATOR]

I bumped the red once or twice, but I think the swirling water had it confused because I was pulling myself up the rope tied off to the boat on my ascent. The current swirling around had it bouncing some around 60 foot. I was hanging around 45 foot on my 2nd and 3rd dives, but my first one was a bounce dive(probably what caused my problems). My first time ever being in that kind of enviroment freaked me out a bit(I'll admit it), no light, no bottom, nothing to hang on to other than my safety line, AND NO VIZ! Yeah it got me a bit. I like diving in the blue water with 50+ foot of viz.

[msbhammer]

Here's an update from Gary and what will be printed in his new diving book. Cops and diving do go together. ;D

Mike,
You really got me fired up about this process. After receiving your messages, I did some follow up research and expanded the paragraph to two entire sections so I could explain all the processes. This will be published in "The Wreck Diving Handbook," a revised, updated, and expanded version of "Advanced Wreck Diving Guide," which has been out of print for several years. It should be available by August.
Please review what I wrote:

Turning Over a New Leaf

Mike Bullard originated a novel way to revitalize the logo on a china saucer from which the gold leaf was gone. As a police officer, he had access to a fingerprint fuming chamber in his station’s evidence collection room. He lightly dusted the logo stencil with black fingerprint powder. He placed the saucer in the chamber and fumed it with cyanoacrylate: a viscous liquid chemical that vaporizes in air, especially in the presence of heat. The fumes adhered to the logo. Before the sticky vapor dried, he applied another light layer of powder. Voila! The logo appeared, and remained highly and permanently visible.

Not everyone has access to crime lab equipment, but Bullard says that it isn’t necessary. Although private citizens can purchase expensive fingerprint apparatus, or buy a toy fingerprint kit for children, you can assemble the essential components from common household items. In its simplest form, Bullard suggested that a Tupperware container and a tube of Super Glue would suffice. Chalk or charcoal will work in place of fingerprint powder.

If you want to get fancy, you can use a fish bowl, aquarium, or spackling bucket as a fuming chamber. The recommended feature of the container is that it can be made mostly airtight. A fish tank with a lid or whose top can be covered with aluminum foil will contain the fumes and reduce the quantity of vapor that is needed to bond the powder to the logo. A clear glass container has the advantage of making the adhering process observable.

Cyanoacrylate is a generic name for a host of chemicals that contain some form of cyanoacrylate as an active ingredient. These substances are used mainly as adhesives, the most popular of which is sold under the brand name Super Glue. Squeeze a small tube of glue into your makeshift fuming chamber, preferably on a small dish or piece of cardboard so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the container. The glue will begin to vaporize.

The vapor is irritating to the eyes and nose, but is nontoxic at the concentration that is used in fingerprint fuming or logo revitalization. Nonetheless, it is better not to inhale the fumes if possible. Use the chamber outdoors or in a well-ventilated room.

Fingerprint powder is readily available, and the cost is only a few dollars for a one-ounce jar, which furnishes enough powder to revitalize scores of saucers. It is sold in a variety of colors: black, white, bichromatic, fluorescent red, and fluorescent greet. To enhance latent fingerprints, the color of the powder that is chosen is based upon the color, brightness, or darkness of the background. This characteristic may not be important for logo revitalization, although it may add an appealing tint to the finished product.

The ingredients in commercial fingerprint powders are largely proprietary. However, as noted above, you can substitute any of several household commodities for store-bought powders. Chalk and starch are good white powders, while charcoal, graphite, lampblack, and photocopy toner are good black powders. Practically any fine colored powder that has the consistency of talcum will bond to the sticky vapor on the logo.

The powder can be applied with any small brush whose bristles are loose and fine: a wide artists paintbrush, a camera lens brush, a face powder brush, and so on.

Because Super Glue vaporizes faster in the presence of heat, place a dish of hot water in your fuming chamber to accelerate the process. (Detectives use a hotplate to warm water in a dish inside the chamber.)



Restoring Marks

Not to be outdone in the ingenuity department, Bullard has applied crime scene forensics to shipwreck artifacts in another way. Knowing that detectives use chemical reagents to read the serial numbers on guns whose raised numbers had been ground down, he applied ferric chloride and other miscellaneous reagents to a copper artifact on which the embossed lettering was worn down and illegible.

This method elucidates names, part numbers, identification marks, and so on.

Such chemical treatments are neither new nor rare. When I was a kid, I used a special-purpose acid to restore the dates on buffalo nickels.

[msbhammer]

Here's an update from Gary and what will be printed in his new diving book. Cops and diving do go together. ;D

Mike,
You really got me fired up about this process. After receiving your messages, I did some follow up research and expanded the paragraph to two entire sections so I could explain all the processes. This will be published in "The Wreck Diving Handbook," a revised, updated, and expanded version of "Advanced Wreck Diving Guide," which has been out of print for several years. It should be available by August.
Please review what I wrote:

Turning Over a New Leaf

Mike Bullard originated a novel way to revitalize the logo on a china saucer from which the gold leaf was gone. As a police officer, he had access to a fingerprint fuming chamber in his station’s evidence collection room. He lightly dusted the logo stencil with black fingerprint powder. He placed the saucer in the chamber and fumed it with cyanoacrylate: a viscous liquid chemical that vaporizes in air, especially in the presence of heat. The fumes adhered to the logo. Before the sticky vapor dried, he applied another light layer of powder. Voila! The logo appeared, and remained highly and permanently visible.

Not everyone has access to crime lab equipment, but Bullard says that it isn’t necessary. Although private citizens can purchase expensive fingerprint apparatus, or buy a toy fingerprint kit for children, you can assemble the essential components from common household items. In its simplest form, Bullard suggested that a Tupperware container and a tube of Super Glue would suffice. Chalk or charcoal will work in place of fingerprint powder.

If you want to get fancy, you can use a fish bowl, aquarium, or spackling bucket as a fuming chamber. The recommended feature of the container is that it can be made mostly airtight. A fish tank with a lid or whose top can be covered with aluminum foil will contain the fumes and reduce the quantity of vapor that is needed to bond the powder to the logo. A clear glass container has the advantage of making the adhering process observable.

Cyanoacrylate is a generic name for a host of chemicals that contain some form of cyanoacrylate as an active ingredient. These substances are used mainly as adhesives, the most popular of which is sold under the brand name Super Glue. Squeeze a small tube of glue into your makeshift fuming chamber, preferably on a small dish or piece of cardboard so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the container. The glue will begin to vaporize.

The vapor is irritating to the eyes and nose, but is nontoxic at the concentration that is used in fingerprint fuming or logo revitalization. Nonetheless, it is better not to inhale the fumes if possible. Use the chamber outdoors or in a well-ventilated room.

Fingerprint powder is readily available, and the cost is only a few dollars for a one-ounce jar, which furnishes enough powder to revitalize scores of saucers. It is sold in a variety of colors: black, white, bichromatic, fluorescent red, and fluorescent greet. To enhance latent fingerprints, the color of the powder that is chosen is based upon the color, brightness, or darkness of the background. This characteristic may not be important for logo revitalization, although it may add an appealing tint to the finished product.

The ingredients in commercial fingerprint powders are largely proprietary. However, as noted above, you can substitute any of several household commodities for store-bought powders. Chalk and starch are good white powders, while charcoal, graphite, lampblack, and photocopy toner are good black powders. Practically any fine colored powder that has the consistency of talcum will bond to the sticky vapor on the logo.

The powder can be applied with any small brush whose bristles are loose and fine: a wide artists paintbrush, a camera lens brush, a face powder brush, and so on.

Because Super Glue vaporizes faster in the presence of heat, place a dish of hot water in your fuming chamber to accelerate the process. (Detectives use a hotplate to warm water in a dish inside the chamber.)



Restoring Marks

Not to be outdone in the ingenuity department, Bullard has applied crime scene forensics to shipwreck artifacts in another way. Knowing that detectives use chemical reagents to read the serial numbers on guns whose raised numbers had been ground down, he applied ferric chloride and other miscellaneous reagents to a copper artifact on which the embossed lettering was worn down and illegible.

This method elucidates names, part numbers, identification marks, and so on.

Such chemical treatments are neither new nor rare. When I was a kid, I used a special-purpose acid to restore the dates on buffalo nickels.

[phatdaddy]

ferm. i think hammers right on about the hang time. i always feel better after a dive if i stop halfway for 3 or 4 minutes, then 3/4 for 5 minutes and then a 10 ft for as long as i can with air left. most of our diving up here is at least 70 ft and when lobstering usually 95 to 110. gotta remember navy tables are based 20 to 23 year old divers in top physical shape.

hammer have you read the "Shadow Divers"?

[phatdaddy]

ferm. i think hammers right on about the hang time. i always feel better after a dive if i stop halfway for 3 or 4 minutes, then 3/4 for 5 minutes and then a 10 ft for as long as i can with air left. most of our diving up here is at least 70 ft and when lobstering usually 95 to 110. gotta remember navy tables are based 20 to 23 year old divers in top physical shape.

hammer have you read the "Shadow Divers"?

[msbhammer]

Yo Phats. Yes I did read Shadow DIvers. I know John and Richie. Never dove with them, but met them. They dove on the Surface Interval out of Delaware that I dove off of and they did some diving off of Cape May last summer. The book was great, but not exactly true in some parts. It caused some problems up here in the
diving community. But they really had no control over what the writer wrote. The U-852 was not sunk by its own torpedo that many have thought. New naval records recently found, show that the sub was sunk by a U.S. Destroyer and a U.S. Coast Guard cutter. As far as the amount of diving deaths, thats true. As do alot of divers have, including myself, you get the "China Fever" in attempting to go a little deeper, stay down a little longer in trying to get that artifact. Thats the Title of my new book, "China Fever". I get some real wood when I recover an old artifact that has been sitting on the bottom of the ocean inside a wreck for over 150 years. ;D

[msbhammer]

Yo Phats. Yes I did read Shadow DIvers. I know John and Richie. Never dove with them, but met them. They dove on the Surface Interval out of Delaware that I dove off of and they did some diving off of Cape May last summer. The book was great, but not exactly true in some parts. It caused some problems up here in the
diving community. But they really had no control over what the writer wrote. The U-852 was not sunk by its own torpedo that many have thought. New naval records recently found, show that the sub was sunk by a U.S. Destroyer and a U.S. Coast Guard cutter. As far as the amount of diving deaths, thats true. As do alot of divers have, including myself, you get the "China Fever" in attempting to go a little deeper, stay down a little longer in trying to get that artifact. Thats the Title of my new book, "China Fever". I get some real wood when I recover an old artifact that has been sitting on the bottom of the ocean inside a wreck for over 150 years. ;D

[msbhammer]

Here's a few pictures of my "China Fever obsession"
Chinaware recovered from the China Wreck that went down in 1889 between Cape May and Lewes.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f153/msbhammer/DSC02487.jpg

Broken china shards from the Severn that sunk off the Lewes beach after a Nor-east struck in 1774.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f153/msbhammer/DSC02488.jpg

Two portholes from two seperate wrecks. One on the left is from a steel cargo ship nicknamed the flour wreck.
Its cargo was flour. Sunk in 1918. The smaller porthole is also from 1918 that came off the Nina, that was a torpedo supply ship/tug boat. All hands went down on the Nina.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f153/msbhammer/DSC02486.jpg

[msbhammer]

Here's a few pictures of my "China Fever obsession"
Chinaware recovered from the China Wreck that went down in 1889 between Cape May and Lewes.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f153/msbhammer/DSC02487.jpg

Broken china shards from the Severn that sunk off the Lewes beach after a Nor-east struck in 1774.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f153/msbhammer/DSC02488.jpg

Two portholes from two seperate wrecks. One on the left is from a steel cargo ship nicknamed the flour wreck.
Its cargo was flour. Sunk in 1918. The smaller porthole is also from 1918 that came off the Nina, that was a torpedo supply ship/tug boat. All hands went down on the Nina.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f153/msbhammer/DSC02486.jpg

[msbhammer]

Willy is gonna have to tie me up in the cuddy and beat me good with Chum's new V20 pole in order for me not to get wet this summer. *;D

[msbhammer]

Willy is gonna have to tie me up in the cuddy and beat me good with Chum's new V20 pole in order for me not to get wet this summer. *;D

[phatdaddy]

most of the stuff around here is much more recent than that. we do have a freighter that was sunk during wwII by german sub called the Empire Mica. mmost of the portholes are gone and it is picked over . it is in 115 ' of water. you are right though you always say i'm gonna hang on the top of the wreck, next thing you know, your knees are in the mud...

[phatdaddy]

most of the stuff around here is much more recent than that. we do have a freighter that was sunk during wwII by german sub called the Empire Mica. mmost of the portholes are gone and it is picked over . it is in 115 ' of water. you are right though you always say i'm gonna hang on the top of the wreck, next thing you know, your knees are in the mud...