"Chris" ] wrote in message
news
In article , Spamlet
writes

"Chris" ] wrote in message
]...
In article o.uk, Dave
Liquorice writes
On Thu, 16 Sep 2010 21:06:35 +0100, Chris wrote:

I am still using the ones I bought forty years ago!


That's before they decided that non-biodegradeable plastic was a bad
thing. Most plastic stuff you get these days is bio-degradeable in
anything from a few weeks to a few years, telling what a given items
life will be is impossible unless it mentions UV stabilty.


Good point.
Maybe the best thing would be to make my own from wood.
Any idea what wood to use?


Aluminium


OK - thanks.
Can you write on those in pencil?
And - don't they get the white aluminium "rust" on them?
--
Chris

No: didn't you read my other post below? Pencil and 'lasting', do not
exactly go together. A HH pencil would emboss the Al foil: but nothing like
as well as the tungsten, rolling ball, tip of a fine Bic.

Aluminium is generally passivated by an anodic layer on the surface, and
this only comes off in alkalis. I suppose you might strip it if you were to
put lime, or potash, dressings straight on the label, but I doubt you will
be doing this. I have been making labels for free from unrolled Al drink
cans for years and would not bother with any other method. You 'write' on
the metal by embossing it with an empty biro: a fine Bic being ideal.
Spread the metal on something fairly soft like cardboard - or a cutting
mat - as you write, and your embossing will be as good as from any machine,
and you then cut your label to size with scissors after you have written it.

One thing to look out for, is that some cans are still made of 'tin' and
these go rusty as labels (but the foil is still handy for other uses like
making shims and washers). At first you can pick these from the others with
a magnet, but when you get your eye in you can tell from the pinkish colour
of the Al and the yellowish colour of the 'tin'.

You will find when collecting your beer cans, that they are also very good
for catching slugs...

S