SEAMING, SQUARE CORNERS.

There is one other method of making a shape that cannot be made by any of the methods previously described, and that is the method used in making the flower jar shown in Fig. 126.

This piece is square, with sharp corners, and it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to make it by any of the previously described methods. So a pattern is developed from a drawing, and laid out on a flat piece of metal; the metal is cut to the pattern, the four sides are bent to the shape of the original drawing, and the corners are soldered together with silver solder. The white silver solder may be seen on the corners of the jar, as the jar was not polished or colored when the photograph was taken.
The details of this method of pattern development are as follows: First, draw an accurate full-size outline of the desired shape, as shown at 3, Fig. 124, and draw the center line A-B. Carefully divide the center line into 1/4" spaces with the pencil dividers, and draw lines clear across the drawing on the 1A” points. Ignore the feet, as they can easily be beaten out when the shape is finished. Starting at the bottom, number the lines-1, 2, 3, etc., as shown in the sketch. Next, draw a new center line C-D, as at 4. With the pencil dividers, carefully measure the distance on sketch 3 from the point where the line 1 intersects the out-line (where the arrow mark is) to the point where line No. 2 inter-sects the outline. Lay this distance off on the new center line C-D, and number the points 1 and 2, respectively. Continue with the remainder of the points, remembering always to measure thif not impossible, to make it by any of the previously described methods. So a pattern is developed from a drawing, and laid out on a flat piece of metal; the metal is cut to the pattern, the four sides are bent to the shape of the original drawing, and the corners are soldered together with silver solder. The white silver solder may be seen on the corners of the jar, as the jar was not polished or colored when the photograph was taken.
The details of this method of pattern development are as follows: First, draw an accurate full-size outline of the desired shape, as shown at 3, Fig. 124, and draw the center line A-B. Carefully divide the center line into 1/4" spaces with the pencil dividers, and draw lines clear across the drawing on the 1A” points. Ignore the feet, as they can easily be beaten out when the shape is finished. Starting at the bottom, number the lines-1, 2, 3, etc., as shown in the sketch. Next, draw a new center line C-D, as at 4. With the pencil dividers, carefully measure the distance on sketch 3 from the point where the line 1 intersects the out-line (where the arrow mark is) to the point where line No. 2 inter-sects the outline. Lay this distance off on the new center line C-D, and number the points 1 and 2, respectively. Continue with the remainder of the points, remembering always to measure the distance on the outside line of sketch No. 3 and to lay it off on the center line C-D of the sketch No. 4, being sure to number them as you lay them off. This work must be done accurately or the vase will not be the shape desired. When the transference of points is completed, there will be on the new center line the same number of points as on the old center line, but they will not be equally spaced. The next step is to place one leg of the dividers at the point where the center line and line No. 1 intersect on the No. 3 sketch, and measure the distance to where the same line intersects the outside line (where the arrow mark is). Lay this distance off on both sides on line No. 1 on the No. 4 sketch. Do the same thing with all the other lines, and the result will be a series of points the same as on the left side of the No. 4 sketch. Connect these points, as on the right side, and you will have a pattern of one side that when bent to shape will be the shape and size of the original sketch. With a piece of transparent tracing paper copy the outline of the pattern of the side, and then lay off a square the size of the bottom of the flower jar and transfer the pattern of the side to each of the four sides of the square bottom, as shown in sketch No. 5, and you will have a completed pattern of the flower jar.
Stick the pattern on to a flat piece of 18-gage copper, or transfer it to the copper with carbon paper, and cut or saw the metal to the same shape as the pattern. Carefully file the edges to the correct shape and also file them to a bevel so that they will fit together at the corners. Bend each side upward and inward until the corners come together, then solder with silver solder the four corners as far as they fit together, then bend each side upward and inward a little more and solder again, continuing this process until the top is reached. Remember to keep the seams clean and free from dirt or grease of any kind ; it is best to cover the entire length of each seam with borax, which will keep it clean, and also protect it from oxidation.
After it has been "pickled" and cleaned, if it is to be left plain it is ready for "planishing." In such a complicated shape it will probably be advisable to fill it with pitch and planish the metal smooth on the pitch after it has become hard. This method of planishing was described in chapter 17.

CHASING.

Repousse and chasing are synonymous terms for the same kind of work and process. Repousse is the French term, and chasing and chased work are the English terms. As the term chasing is that which is in common use in the trade, and in the supply catalogs the tools are designated as chasing tools, it seems best in this book to use that term.
In chapter 14 instructions were given for the most elementary method of chasing —that is, chasing on a piece of soft wood instead of pitch. Chasing is sculpture in metal; it is the fine art of metalworking; it is the making of has reliefs in metal, and it requires training and ability to see and think in three dimensions. Saw-piercing and engraving require only two dimensions, length and breadth; chasing requires the third, thickness.
An explanation of the technical processes of chasing is very simple and is easily understood. The metal with the design drawn  on it  is embedded in chaser's pitch, and the design is outlined with a chisel-like tool called a "tracer." The metal is then removed from the pitch, placed face downward on a piece of soft wood, and the raised parts of the design are beaten up from the back. The metal is then "annealed" and placed back in the pitch. The design is then modeled into shape with the proper tools.
The chasing tools used are made of tool steel 1/8' or 3/16 ” square and 4" long. A well selected set of 50 chasing tools may be bought from a dealer in such tools for $7.50. But it would be just as well for a beginner to buy a straight and a curved tracer, a large and a small planisher, learn to use them, and make the others as he needs them. When making them, after they have been filed to shape, they must be hardened by heating the points red-hot and plunging in cold water. They are then polished bright with emery cloth and tempered by slowly heating them to a dark straw color and again plunging into water. Chasing tools may be roughly divided into four large divisions: tracers, straight and curved, that are used to make lines; planishers, of numerous shapes and sizes, used to beat down the background and for modeling; matts, similar in shape to the planishers, but with matted or grained surfaces which are transferred to the metal when the tools are used; beads, rosettes, and special tools that are not of any great value to the beginner. A box of chaser's tools is shown in Fig. 134.

Chaser's pitch is made of equal parts Burgundy pitch and plaster of Paris melted together. To every 5 pounds of combined pitch and plaster add a piece of tallow the size of an English walnut. Melt the pitch first, and slowly add the plaster, stirring it in as you add it to the pitch.
For large flat pieces the pitch may be poured into a square cake tin, or an ordinary bread tin. For small, fine work it is better to use the round pitch block and ring, shown in Fig. 134. A cheap pitch block can be made from an ordinary pudding pan about 6" or 8" in diameter. The bottom should be beaten out round, so that it will set firmly in the ring and he readily turned and tilted when necessary.
A chaser's ring is a ring that holds the pitch block in position while the piece is being chased. A very satisfactory one may be made by taking a piece of copper 2" wide and about 20" long and riveting or soldering the ends together so as to form a circle. Then wind around this ring strips of cloth until the pitch block fits in snug and tight, as is shown in Fig. 134.

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