Progress Pic Chased/Repousee Frog

[mdengraver]

Progress Pic Chased/Repousee Frog

See pic

 

[papart1]

he's sleeping, taking a break.

 

[mdengraver]

Up all nite, need to restore my lines after planishing

 

[pmace]

I’d like to try chasing. It comes down to not enough hours in the day to do engraving, enameling and chasing. It will be interesting to see this one finished.

 

[Dave London]

Good start keep going,here is my first try frog on a Tsuba

 

[mdengraver]

Progress Pic

 

[mdengraver]

Progress Pic

 

[mdengraver]

Progress Pic

 

[Wiseman501]

Cool repousee work. I might look into that technique once I get a better mastery of my engraving.

Quick question: If I'm already proficient in wax carving and casting, would it still be worth learning this for 3D forms? What are some pros and cons of repousee versus lost wax?

I can see that metal is saved, as carving that thinly is sometimes prohibitive. You can likely make bigger pieces too, since casting large items is limited by your available flask size.

Either way, work in the metal will always need to be involved if one wants the most crisp detail...

 

[mdengraver]

Repousse/ Chasing one of a kind unless you find a way to make molds for casting. It's a lot of fun but if you push the limits of the metal you can go thru it and need to solder repair. The chasing repousee can be learned relatively quick and can be combined with engraving. Allows you to do 3D forms without soldering if your careful. This technique feels like sculpting and moving the metal, develops your eye for detail which will only raise your engraving and design skills to a higher level. It is very satisfying, involved but like meditation as you become one with the process, very exciting!

 

[Wiseman501]

Similar to the lost wax process that I use, in the sense that if I don't make a rubber mold after casting my piece to re-shoot the wax model, it's a one-off design (Unless someone makes a mold of it later). The wax and the plaster negative in the flask are both lost by the end of the casting process.

This can be very heartbreaking when something goes awry in your casting phase, so for anyone who is about to cast a time intensive piece, I suggest making a soft silicon mold of the wax model itself first, just so you don't lose as many hours and your sanity.

Now back on topic of your thread; Are you moving the pitch and the metal at the same time as you chase the design? I've never seen that method before. Not that I've studied intensively, but all I've seen previously was a design cut into wood, stone, metal, etc. and then sheet chased over it. Sort of how the ancient Mayans/Aztecs did it.

 

[mdengraver]

The pitch is somewhat resistant to the hammer blows to support your piece but allows you to move the metal. The pitch moves if you don't allow it to cool properly after you heat it up with a heat gun. So the pitch moves to different degrees.

 

[Takoyaki]

Hi there ,

a Great Book about chasing/repousse ;

"Moving metals"
The art of chasing and repousse
By Adolf Steines.

Mr. Steines is a German Meister of metal forming.
In Germany, his book is sadly long time out of Print, rare and if u find it, really expensive.
But the English version ist easy to get in US & Canada for the regular price. Might be even still in print?!

Greetings,
Tako

 

[Wiseman501]

Okay great. I use pitch sometimes to hold work for stone setting but never thought to use it in this way. Tako, thanks for the book suggestion! Great to meet you. I always enjoy new reading and reference materials!

 

[mdengraver]

Just ordered the book, Thanks!

 

[Dave London]

Another source Sagin Charlestein, has classes and tools for Repousse

 

[mdengraver]

https://www.metalsmithing-tools.com/classes

 

[mdengraver]

https://nancylthamilton.com/techniques/basic-chasing-and-repousse/

 

[mdengraver]

https://www.pinterest.com/soarwave/repousee/

 

[Takoyaki]

Okay great. I use pitch sometimes to hold work for stone setting but never thought to use it in this way. Tako, thanks for the book suggestion! Great to meet you. I always enjoy new reading and reference materials!

Hi there,

pitch for workholding and for chasing/repousse work is different!
pitch for holding Ur setting-/engraving work should be middlehard to hard.
I use mostly the hard German yellow pitch !
Chasing /Repousse needs a middlesoft to soft pitch!
Green/ black pitch is my personal choice! U cam mix also different hard pitch to adjust the hardness/withstand.
Depend on the piece, a leathersandbag, several layers of old carpet, rubber in different hardness or softwood, lead, leather, cardboard are also useful as base for repousse work!

Don't buy fancy hammers & chasing tools until U understand the work process well!
After U know what u need, U ll want make them anyway by ur self!
Get toolsteel, good to harden, (4x4), 5x5, 6x6 ~ 8x8mm, most used ll be about 6~7mm square .
Round ones are cheaper, but not useful as they move in Ur fingers, no control!
Make the chisels by urself! Buy plenty at least 10 -20.
Start with preparing only 3-4 pieces (rest u keep for later), 2 different size straight, a bent line and a wider rectangular shape, rounded corners. Sharp corners will pierce the metal, u want to move it!
When the time comes u need other shapes, u have the experience what shapes u need!
Same than engraving, most advanced engravers have their own graver shapes, grind/sharpen by themselves, not ready made Gravers!

A decent chasing hammer is more difficult, (the grip is different than the one for engraving) has a maschined or forged head, not one made by casting!
But most important is
the handle ....

Very difficult to get a decent hammer for repousse work!

Fancy, xpensive hammers are plenty in the market,
but good ones ...?!
Best is to look for an old one, used! - If U know what to look for!
Or make a handle by ur self, (fruit tree wood is a good material to start with) , buy a hammer head!

Here, some thoughts about a good hammer ;
http://www.alberic.net/Toolbox_Index/Chasing_Hammers/ChasingHammers.html

Enjoy