There are many old hobbyist books which cover nickel plating.  T J
Lindsay Publishing specializes in "Lost Technology" books and other
obscure information.  They have a few titles on plating.  I have several
books myself and can suggest titles or make copies of what I think are
the best.

I have wanted to try nickel plating myself but haven't so far.  It does
not look like it should be too difficult or dangerous, certainly not like
hard chrome plating.  It should be possible to get a few nickel
electrodes from a local plating company, otherwise they seem to be
available in huge quantities only.  Otherwise the chemicals and
equipment should be pretty easy to scrounge together.

I have put together several different test suction sources and suggest
that the cheapest and easiest, when an original pump is not available, is
a converted vacuum motor.  Electrolux is one of the best and quietest and
they are very easy to find as junk for little money.  They need to be
installed in a sound quieting enclosure and provided with a speed control
and a bleed.  A high wattage incandescent light dimmer will vary the
speed of the universal motor.

*Important*: These motors are "air-over cooled," that is, they cool
themselves in the air stream they are moving.  If the speed is too slow
or the air supply is closed off, they will overheat and fail, possibly
catastrophically.  Make sure that there is always sufficient air flowing
over the motor that the exhaust air is not too warm.

It is possible to get a reliable source of fixed vacuum with a fixed
minimum bleed (to prevent motor burnout) and an adjustable one for vacuum
level control.  The faster the motor speed, the more noise, so you have
to strike a compromise between sound baffling, remote locating etc.

Spencer Chase

 [ "The Orchestrion Rebuilder's Manual" by Craig Brougher has some good
 [ designs for a testing pump. -- Robbie