Repousse

[china]

Hi all,

I am about to attempt a very small repousse project what do exponents use these days in regard to pitch, is pitch still the best or is there a more up to date alternative

Bob

[ps_bond]

Pros and cons. Bitumen sticks well, but is a pig to clean up. There's various rosin-based ones that don't stick quite as well, but clean up is much easier and it doesn't stink as badly; I've got both black & red pitch from Karl Fischer.

Then there's matsu yani if you want to go the DIY route - Ford Hallam's recipe is:

1 Kg finely ground fire clay or Plaster of Paris
750 grams of Pine Rosin
50 ml of vegetable oil
1 teaspoon of charcoal powder.

Gently fully melt the rosin, then add the filler, finish with the oil & charcoal - stir until the colour is even.

[enigma]

Im a big fan of repousse, there is a course with a great Italian guy at the Jewellery Studio in the UK but Ive not been able to make it yet.
Where do you get your tools from if I may butt in please?

[ps_bond]

Made them :)
I must add "make some for sale" back onto my to-do list - all the stock is cut to length, I just need to shape them.

[enigma]

I thought you might say that lol
Yes please make some!

[china]

I may try the home brew, I intend to make the tools that will be the easy part, making it turn out the way I want may be a another story.
Peter do use a carbon steel and harden them

[Dennis]

When I did this, the main chasing tools were made from 6.5mm square tool steel, ground to chisel shapes, with the edges rounded or sloping, and smoothed to give a neat line without cutting into the sheet. They were about 75mm long.

There is no need to harden them really, because the action is quite gentle, but it is good to have a real chasing hammer, which are well balanced and broad, so that they do not miss the tool while you are concentrating on the working end.

For the repoussé, we made do with doming punches. To hold the pitch we were given a shallow home made wooden tray, which dispensed with some of the more pricey paraphernalia.

As Peter has said, the conventional pitch is a pain, because as an amateur you want to inspect what you have done quite frequently, and you can only clean it up with a solvent, or a large torch to burn it away.

You will have noted that for small items, James Miller uses a lead block. Dennis.

[ps_bond]

Likewise - O1 in 1/4" square section, silver steel (similar to W1/drill rod) in round section, brass square and Delrin rods are in my kit. Wooden dowels are also handy for the repousse phase. If I can harden it, I generally do.

Not sure what carbon steels are generally available down under.

[CJ57]

I seem to remember at ECA that we used meths to clean the pitch off or am I mis remembering after 40 years?

I got mine from this guy as an other option, sorry Peter:) https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/159753726/free-shipping-hand-made-chasing-and?ref=related-1

[china]

I have plenty of 01 key stock in 6mm so that should do nicely, pitch prices are a bit scary, plus I like the idea of a timber tray, I like to make whatever I can
I was going to make a rolling mill but as a one off it was economically not viable

[Goldsmith]

As Dennis mentioned earlier, I used lead blocks for some metal shaping when I am making flower and leaf shapes, see;http://www.cooksongold.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4802

I also use pitch sometimes when making deeper items. After using a gentle heat to remove any pitch from the article after chasing it, I will leave it to soak in a jar of Polyclens paint brush cleaner and this will remove most of the pitch residues.

James

[china]

Maybe I will give lead a go I have about 50 kilos of it, and I'm not going with a deep design

[Goldsmith]

This was all shaped up on my lead block. The photo shows my design, the copper patterns I made to get an idea of the shapes required and the final gold flower.

9663

James

[china]

If those shapes can be produced on lead then I should be fine, I just need to borrow some of your many years experience, I can see myself producing a fair bit of scrap copper, during the
process.

[enigma]

I made a simple leaf on a lead block as per James' instructions and it worked out really well.
It depends how tricky the shapes you want are I guess, this is making me want to get the block out and play again though!

[china]

Ok I'll come clean I am making or attempting to make a Justitia (Lady Justice) pendant/ Broach for a friend of mine who is a Justice Of the Peace. I decided to make the dress separately to give it more of a 3d look the sword and scales are pretty straight forward so we will see how I go

[enigma]

Sounds fab! I hope you share pics with us when its done :)

[china]

If it works I will post the pics if not I will just go and hide in a corner some where