04-06-2007, 09:58 PM
Matt's right, it is a brutal go at best. Just finished one in a rather reddish bronze; haven't quite finished the planishing yet, but all in all its pretty much done (No backplate was requested.)
1 mis-hammer strike and you have just given yourself a significant amount of repair work... and there are literally hundreds if not thousands of blows that have to be delivered with precision.
With the current cost of Bronze or brass 18 G or thicker, you simply don't want to risk wrecking it. But the fun isn't over then, remember all of those mini hammer marks from the initial dishing then the raising process? Well they have to all be planished out (Which helps to work harden the medium ), and then the remaining marks have to be ground true. And last but not least comes the polishing and or aging.
These last processes aren't so bad when you do them on a flat or on a conformly curved surface, but a SOB on something with so many muscle-bumps all over it!
Words of wisdom... try it on 18 gauge steel before even considering an arguably semi-precious metal.
1 mis-hammer strike and you have just given yourself a significant amount of repair work... and there are literally hundreds if not thousands of blows that have to be delivered with precision.
With the current cost of Bronze or brass 18 G or thicker, you simply don't want to risk wrecking it. But the fun isn't over then, remember all of those mini hammer marks from the initial dishing then the raising process? Well they have to all be planished out (Which helps to work harden the medium ), and then the remaining marks have to be ground true. And last but not least comes the polishing and or aging.
These last processes aren't so bad when you do them on a flat or on a conformly curved surface, but a SOB on something with so many muscle-bumps all over it!
Words of wisdom... try it on 18 gauge steel before even considering an arguably semi-precious metal.
Q. ARTORIVS CORVINVS
aka: Phillip Vautour
"Rome is but a wilderness of tigers, and tigers must prey."
<a class="postlink" href="http://rubicon.dyndns.org/legioxxi">http://rubicon.dyndns.org/legioxxi
aka: Phillip Vautour
"Rome is but a wilderness of tigers, and tigers must prey."
<a class="postlink" href="http://rubicon.dyndns.org/legioxxi">http://rubicon.dyndns.org/legioxxi
