repousse and chasing question

JOEYS CARVED ART · Mar 31, 2015

I am getting ready to give repousse a try and I am getting all my tools made and supplies ready. I was wondering, if I am using thin copper plate such as 26-30 gauge could I use modeling clay as a backing instead of pitch? Would that hold it enough and be stiff enough to get decent results? Any input on this subject will be appreciated. Thank you.
Joey

peteb · Mar 31, 2015

I have made niobium repousse .010 thick on both pitch and thermal lock, both are adequate, thermal lock is useful on a small setup under the microscope.

Eric Olson · Mar 31, 2015

I doubt clay would be stiff enough.

Chujybear · Mar 31, 2015

modelling clay might be stiff enough.. but it won't stick so it will lift the clay away from the areas around your point of impact

Dad of 3 · Mar 31, 2015

Well you will not be able to fine detailing but it will work OK to to learning the tools. You will find fine grain sand will give better results and is easy to check your work as you learn the tools. I've done some large projects this way with results I was happy with.

Marrinan · Mar 31, 2015

I've done both on a piece of kitchen type carpet, very dense thread count and fairly hart rubber foam back. When I was teaching arts and crafts that's what I had students use Fred

JOEYS CARVED ART · Mar 31, 2015

Thanks for all the advice. I purchased some clay today and found out that it does not work that well. I have a thick piece of rubber that does an OK job, but I went ahead and ordered some chasers pitch, that is what I should have done in the first place instead of wasting everybody's time.

Dave London · Mar 31, 2015

Northwest Pitch Works
Get the medium green pitch
Don't buy the black stuff, it sucks and stinks
The red german pitch is not bad

DanM · Mar 31, 2015

Northwest Pitch Works is a "dead" site, no longer active.

monk · Mar 31, 2015

long days ago, i gave this a try. big misteak ! a cast-iron bowl was ok. but the pitch i used was such a mess, i soon turned to kicking my dog.

silverchip · Apr 1, 2015

I have made my own pitch for repousse. It is fairly easy and make what you get what you want!!! 1lb rosin-1lb of cement color of your choice(red is FeO2-basicly rust powder) for resilience add about 1-1/2 tablespoons rendered tallow. This is done outside on a camp stove in an old cast iron pot that you never want for anything else.Melt the rosin and then add the pigment and stir in the tallow. depending how much tallow you add determines the brittleness of the pitch.
I have a friend that does large hollow ware vessels and he does use plasticine clay to chase over with great results.(Randy Stromsoe)check out some of his work on FB or his web page.

Chujybear · Apr 2, 2015

What sort of rosin do you use?
Does it make a difference?
Sounds like fun to make.

mitch · Apr 2, 2015

monk said:
long days ago, i gave this a try. big misteak ! a cast-iron bowl was ok. but the pitch i used was such a mess, i soon turned to kicking my dog.

so did the dog learn to make better pitch than he did on his first try? or did you learn not to leave those sorts of tasks to your dog?

diane b · Apr 7, 2015

I use red german pitch that I get from Allcraft in New York. One trick I learned if you are using pitch: when you want to take your piece out of the pitch, heat an edge of the metal with a heat gun and push the tip of a flat screwdriver under the metal to make an indentation in the pitch. Then put the whole thing in the freezer (or in the snow if it's winter and you have snow). Leave it there for 10 minutes and when you pull it out of the freezer, just put the tip of the screwdriver into the indentation under your metal and your piece will pop out of the pitch without any (or just a tiny bit) pitch sticking to the back. You will still have to anneal the metal to continue working on it, but at least you don't have to burn the smoky, smelly pitch off the back of the metal

repousse and chasing question

JOEYS CARVED ART

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