VENETIAN IRON, REPOUSSÉ, PIERCED BRASS AND PEWTER WORK
Venetian Bent Iron Work
A very pretty and most useful kind of ornamental iron work came into
vogue in Venice, Italy, a long time ago, and as it is easy to do and
you need only a few tools and inexpensive materials to do it with, you
ought to try your hand at it.
Venetian iron work consists of bending thin, narrow strips of wrought
iron into scrolls and other shapes and then fixing them together with
little iron clamps called _binders_.
In this way objects such as egg boilers, candlestick _sconces_,
lanterns and brackets to hang them on, photograph frames and helpful
and artistic creations without end can be made.
=The Tools You Must Have.=--You will need very few tools for making
Venetian iron work and these are (1) a pair of flat nose 5 inch
pliers;[26] (2) a pair of round nose 5 inch pliers; (3) a box-wood
four-fold, 2-foot rule; (4) a vise; (5) a pair of tinner’s snips and
(6) a small riveting hammer, all of which are shown in Fig. 27.
[26] This means that the pliers are 5 inches long.
=The Materials You Need.=--The work is made of ¹⁄₃₂ inch thick soft
iron strips and this can be bought[27] in four different widths, namely
¹⁄₈, ³⁄₁₆, ¹⁄₄, and ³⁄₈ inch.
[27] Complete manual training outfits for Venetian bent iron work can
be bought of Hammacher, Schlemmer and Co., Fourth Avenue and 13th
St., New York.
In general it is the best practice to use the ³⁄₁₆ and ¹⁄₄ inch wide
strips for all designs except the smallest and largest. The strip iron
comes in coils of 50 feet and the prices range from 16 cents to 25
cents a coil.
[Illustration:
_BINDERS_
_COIL OF WROUGHT IRON STRIP_
_LEAD WIRE FOR MEASURING_
FIG. 30. MATERIALS YOU NEED FOR VENETIAN IRON WORK]
Then you will need a package of _binders_--these are merely bits of
strip iron cut off and bent as shown in Fig. 30, they come in four
widths and cost about 10 cents a hundred. Also get a couple of 3 foot
pieces of lead wire for with these you can quickly form the scrolls
and circles you intend to make of iron, then straighten them out and
accurately measure off the length of iron you need. They cost 5 cents
a strip.
=What to Do First.=--_Making a Simple Design._--The first thing to do
after you get your tools and materials together is to draw on a sheet
of paper the object you are to make of bent iron.
=How to Make a Toaster.=--This is a good piece of work to start with
because it is formed chiefly of straight lines. Draw a plan of it as
shown in Fig. 31, full size and then measure the frame and the inside
strips--you will observe that there are two of the latter--and find out
exactly how long each strip should be.
Now measure and cut off three strips of iron and allow an extra inch
for lapping the long strip that forms the frame. This done mark off the
points where the strips are to be bent and use your flat nose pliers to
bend the sharp corners and your round nose pliers to bend the curved
parts of the frame.
Lap the ends of the strip forming the frame on the side ¹⁄₂ an inch,
fasten the joint by putting a binder on it with your pliers and a light
tap with your hammer will tighten it up.
Now if you will look again at Fig. 31, you will see that one end of the
right inside strip projects up and beyond the rest of it and this end
sets in the handle of the frame and strengthens it; put a binder on
each place where it is shown in the drawing including the handle. Fix
in the left inside bent strip with binders and put the binders on so
that the rough ends will be inside, file down the rough places, rub
the toaster all over with a piece of fine emery cloth until it is nice
and smooth, rub it with some sweet oil, polish it off with a soft cloth
and then present it to Pietro or Hilda or Wo Nang Fong or whoever it is
that presides over the kitchen.
[Illustration: FIG. 31. A USEFUL BENT IRON TOASTER]
=How to Make an Egg Boiler.=--Having made the toaster you are ready to
try your hand at something a little harder and a good design for your
next piece of work is an egg boiler.
The picture may look a little complicated but as a matter of fact there
is very little to it. There are only three parts to the egg boiler and
these are (a) the egg holders; (b) the legs, and (c) the handle. Each
of the four egg holders is formed of a ring or strip of iron just
large enough so that an egg will slip through it; lap the ends and put
on a binder to hold the joint tight.
[Illustration: FIG. 32. HOW MAKE AN EGG BOILER]
Mark, cut off and bend the ends of two strips over ¹⁄₂ an inch, for the
half ovals on which the egg rests and then bend the strips to fit the
shape of the egg. This done, loop the ends of each half oval over the
ring and press them down hard with your pliers to hold them in place.
The way an egg holder is made is shown at A in Fig. 32.
Each leg is a short strip bent over and pressed on to the top of the
ring. It is made rigid by putting a binder on it and to one of the half
ovals as shown at B. To make the handle take a piece of lead wire and
bend it to fit the outline shown at C; then straighten it out and cut
off a strip of iron of the same length. Bend the ends of it over ¹⁄₂ an
inch and shape it up with your round nose pliers.
Now join the four rings together with binders and loop and press the
ends of the handle on to the rings that are furthest apart as shown at
B. File, rub up and polish the egg boiler and give it to the _chef_
with your compliments.
=How to Make a Venetian Plate Holder.=--To make this plate holder you
will have to add a hand drill, a ¹⁄₈ inch twist drill, and a center
punch--which are described in Chapter III--to your list of tools.
[Illustration: FIG. 33. AN ARTISTIC VENETIAN PLATE HOLDER]
The plate holder is of more simple construction than the egg boiler but
as you have emerged from the kitchen into the dining room you will
have to do a very fine job. It consists of four legs as shown in Fig.
33, riveted to a ring.
Draw the design on paper full size and this will depend on the diameter
of the plate it is to hold. Find the length of the legs with your lead
wire and measure and cut off the strips of iron accordingly. Likewise
find the length of iron strips it will take for the ring and allow 1
inch or over for the lap joint.
[Illustration: FIG. 34. A SCONCE FOR A CANDLE]
Now drill ¹⁄₈ inch holes in each strip you intend to use for the legs,
half way between the top and bottom of it and drill four holes in the
ring at equi-distant points. Bend the strips into the artistic curves
shown, using, of course, your round nose pliers to do it with, and bend
the ring over a round form--a broomstick will do, but a larger form
will work better.
Finally rivet the legs to the ring and see to it that you make a good
job of it; slip the top of the legs into place over the plate and you
will have a piece of Venetian iron work you can be proud of.
You can design and make pretty bent iron stands for vases in a manner
very like that used for the plate holder; card racks, photograph
frames, lamp shades, etc., can be made in the same manner; and as you
become more adept at the work you can point and shape up the iron by
heating it in an alcohol lamp, or a Bunsen burner and hammering it.
When you can do this you will be able to make a _sconce_, that is, an
ornamental _mural_[28] bracket for holding a candle as shown in Fig. 34.
[28] Mural means anything that is supported by or has to do with a
wall.
Further you can twist and weave the iron strips for the sides and doors
of boxes and book-cases and either line them with silk or put stained
glass back of them. In fact the most beautiful things imaginable can be
wrought from bent iron strips especially when rivets are used to put
the work together.
_A Dead Black Finish for Iron Work._--Get 25 cents’ worth of _japan
gold size_ and 10 cents’ worth of _pure drop black ground in
turpentine_ and mix them together.
If it is too thick thin it with turpentine and put it on with a soft
brush. When dry it will be dead black and neither air nor moisture will
spoil it.
Doing Repoussé Work
_Repoussé_ (pronounced re-poo′-say) is a French word and means to form
in relief, and _repoussage_ (pronounced re-poo′-sazh) is the word you
want to use when you mean the process of producing designs in relief on
sheet metal by hammering it on the back.
=Tools Needed for Repoussé Work.=--Very few tools are needed for this
kind of work but it is important to use the right kind.
The _repoussé hammer_ is a jeweler’s hammer which has one end, or face
of it flat and the other rounded like a peining hammer; it is shown in
Fig. 35.
[Illustration: FIG. 35. HOW TO HOLD A REPOUSSÉ HAMMER]
Then a number of blunt chisels and markers called _repoussé tools_
as shown at B, Fig. 35, are needed to emboss the design in the sheet
metal. These tools cost about 30 cents apiece and a set of eight or ten
tools will serve you well. For the bolder parts of the work boxwood
punches can be used but steel punches are always used for the finer
work.
[Illustration: FIG. 35B. A PUNCH AND PUNCH DESIGNS FOR REPOUSSÉ WORK]
=How to Prepare the Work.=--The kind of metal that is easiest to work
is _cold-rolled sheet copper_[29] No. 32 Brown and Sharp gauge, but
brass, aluminum and pewter can also be hammered.
[29] Can be bought of Patterson Brothers, Park Row, New York, or of
the Frost and Adams Co., Cornhill, Boston, Mass.
[Illustration: FIG. 35C. HOW TO HOLD A REPOUSSÉ PUNCH]
To get the work ready fasten the piece of sheet metal to a wooden
block with a cement made as follows: melt 1 pound of Burgundy pitch
in an iron pan, or skillet, and stir in 1 pound of _dental_ plaster of
paris,[30] until they are thoroughly mixed. Then put in a tablespoonful
each of tallow and of resin which will make the cement stick better.
[30] This is very fine plaster and can be bought of any dentist.
Take a board 1 inch thick, 10 inches wide and 12 inches long and make
a tray of it by nailing a strip of wood around it so that it is ¹⁄₂ an
inch higher than the surface of the board. Pour the cement while it is
still hot on the board and press the sheet of metal hard down on it;
let it get cold when it will be firmly cemented to it.
=Tracing the Design.=--After you have drawn the design on the sheet of
metal either with a pencil or by means of transfer paper you can begin
to _trace_ the design by punching it with the straight and curved edge
chisels.
To hold a chisel right, grip it between your thumb and index finger,
let your next, or _medius_, finger lie gently on the shank of the tool
and your third, or _annularis_, finger rest on the sheet of metal as
shown at C in Fig. 35.
The handle of the hammer is long, thin and springy and you hold it by
the end with your index finger laying on it as shown at A in Fig. 35.
Do not strike the tool hard or the punch may go clear through the metal
sheet but instead give it a succession of light, gentle taps at the
rate of about 100 a minute or so and you will make the tracing nice and
even.
=Bossing the Work.=--After you have traced the outline of the design
with the chisels hold the plate over an alcohol or a Bunsen flame and
when it is hot enough you can take it off of the cement.
Then cement it to the block again, but this time put the other side
down. Now use your boxwood or steel punches and hammer the copper, or
other metal, into bold relief or you can matt the ground with any one
of the numerous punches shown at B.
[Illustration:
_THE DESIGN ON THE METAL_
_THE RING FOR THE CANDLE_
_THE CANDLESTICK WHEN DONE_
FIG. 36. A REPOUSSÉ CANDLESTICK]
=How to Make a Flat Candlestick.=--This is a good piece of work for
you to start with because it is at once simple, artistic and more or
less useful. To make it, cut out a sheet of brass 6¹⁄₂ inches square
and draw a spider and his web and a poor little fly or two making a
bee-line for it as shown at A in Fig. 36.
Punch the outline with your chisels and raise the bodies of the insects
with your molding tools. The ground can be left flat or you can put it
in with a marker. When you have the bossing done _scallop_ the edges
with your snips and bend them up so that it is 5 inches square.
For the handle cut a strip of brass ³⁄₄ inch wide and 4³⁄₄ inches long;
raise the middle of it by hammering it in a groove cut in a block of
hard wood; bend it and then rivet it to a corner of the brass sheet.
To make the ring which holds the candle cut out a strip of brass 1 inch
high and 3 inches long and cut out three tongues as shown at B. Scribe
a circle in a corner of the sheet of brass, cut three slots on it, slip
the tongues through the slots and bend them over.
Rub the candlestick all over with some _brass polish_ and then cover
the bottom with a piece of green billiard cloth if you can get it, or
any other kind you may have at hand. It is shown complete at C.
=How to Make a Photo Frame.=--The front of this frame can be made of
brass, copper or German silver and the back of it can be made of a
sheet of tin or brass.
You can make the frame round, oblong or square and with a round or an
oval opening in it to suit your fancy. Suppose you make the outside of
it 7 × 9 inches and the oval opening 3¹⁄₂ × 5 inches as shown at A in
Fig. 37. Draw or transfer the design to the surface of the metal and
work it into shape as I have previously described.
Do not cut the opening or trim the metal sheet to the size you want
them until after you have hammered it as this draws the metal out.
After you have finished the front make a back for it of sheet tin or
brass, 5 inches wide and 6 inches long, and bend over the edge of one
end and both of the side edges ³⁄₈ inch as shown at B.
Solder the edges to the back of the frame and then solder a _stay_, or
stand on the back of it. This completes the frame and the photograph
can be slipped in it between the front and the back.
[Illustration:
_THE HAMMERED FRONT_
_THE BACK OF THE FRAME_
FIG. 37. A REPOUSSÉ PHOTO FRAME]
_Cleaning and Polishing Brass, Copper and German Silver._--To clean any
of these metals mix some powdered _rotten stone_ with some machine oil
and rub them with a pad made of a soft flannel rag.
To polish wipe off the rotten stone and oil perfectly clean and then
rub the work with a chamois skin dampened with alcohol and on which you
have put some _red rouge_.
_Frosting, Coloring and Lacquering Metals._--You will find recipes for
finishing articles in these styles in Chapter III.
Pierced Metal Work
This is by all odds the simplest and easiest of all art metal work and
you won’t need any practice to make a good job; then the tools and
materials cost but very little and the finished work is really pretty.
[Illustration:
_THE MALLET_
_A TRACING POINT_
_THUMB TACK_
a _MODELING TOOL_
b _MODELING TOOL_
_STIPPLING AWLS_
FIG. 38A. THE TOOLS YOU NEED FOR PIERCED BRASS WORK]
=The Outfit to Do It With.=--_The Tools._--These are very few indeed
and include (1) a pear-shaped mallet for stippling; (2) a tracing
point; (3) a couple of modeling tools; (4) an awl with a tempered
point, and (5) a metal folder, all of which are shown at A in Fig. 38.
You will also need (a) a sheet of designs; (b) a sheet of carbon, or
impression paper; (c) a dozen or more split shanks to fasten the edges
of the work together; (d) a drawing board about 12 × 18 inches on the
sides of which the sheet metal is tacked while you are working it, and
(e) some thumb tacks for tacking the work to the board.
[Illustration:
_A CANDLE SHADE_
_THE FINISHED CANDLE SHADE_
FIG. 38B. A PIERCED BRASS CANDLE SHADE]
You will need too, of course, the sheet metal and this can be of brass,
copper or German silver and you can buy sheets of these metals that are
already cut out for candle shades, lanterns, photo-frames and numerous
other articles with the designs marked on them ready to use[31] or you
can buy the sheet metal and the designs separately and then transfer
and cut them out yourself.
[31] All tools and materials for pierced metal work can be bought of
Frost and Adams, Boston, Mass.
An outfit for pierced brass work can be bought for as little as 60
cents and you can buy any number of brass or copper cutouts with the
designs stamped on them for 25 cents each, or of German silver for 50
cents each.
=How to Do the Work.=--The first thing to do is to lay the sheet of
metal with the design on it on your drawing board and fasten it there
with thumb tacks.
Now with your stippling awl punch little holes about ¹⁄₁₆ inch apart
all along the outline of the design. The background is then _stippled_
with the awl, that is, dotted all over but not punched through, and the
closer the dots are the prettier it will look.
Use a small modeling tool to put the veins in the leaves and after you
have done this use a larger modeling tool and shape up the leaves or
whatever the design may be.
To do this grip the tool in your hand and press it hard on the edge of
the leaf and force it in toward the vein and at the same time ease up
on it. This is all there is to the actual work of piercing brass.
After you have made the design take some _brass polish_, put it on a
little wad of cheese cloth and rub off the remaining marks and then
polish it with a clean cloth.
Since the brass or other metal for pierced brass work is very thin you
will have to back it up with thin wood, although candle shades and
other small articles can be used as they are. A design for a candle
shade is shown at B and the finished candlestick at C, while one for
a toast panel that can be hung on the wall with a Venetian bent iron
hanger which I described on page 76 is shown at D.
[Illustration:
’Tis easy enough to be pleasant,
When life goes by with a song;
But the nan worth while,
is the man who will smile,
When everything else goes wrong.
FIG. 38D. A PIERCED BRASS TOAST SIGN]
Casting and Working Pewter
Since nearly all metals excepting tin and lead have high melting
points, it is hard to melt them unless you have a regular furnace.
=Something About Pewter.=--But casting metals is a fascinating process
and you can do it by melting 25 parts of lead and 75 parts of tin
together which forms an alloy called _pewter_.
This alloy is as old as the hills and for ten or eleven centuries
before the golden age of invention--that is to say the beginning of the
19th century--pewter utensils were used in nearly every home in every
civilized country.
Then came the invention of cheap processes for making pottery and
glass and those good old hard alloys known as _britannia metal_, which
is formed of tin, copper and antimony, and _German silver_, which is
German all right, for it was first made at Hildburghausen, Germany, but
it is not silver at all for it is formed of nickel, zinc and copper,
went entirely out of use.
But there is a dignity and a beauty about pewter that none of the other
common metals have and it may be revived one of these days for efforts
are now being made to produce it again in all its former glory.
=How to Make Pewter.=--I do not know of any place where you can buy
pewter but you can easily make the alloy yourself.
You can get the lead in your home town wherever you live at any
plumbing shop but you may not be able to get the tin so easily. You
can, however, get it by sending to the _Conley Tin Foil Company_, 521
West 25th Street, New York, and at the present time they are quoting
_pig tin_ in blocks at 75 cents a pound.
When you have the lead and the tin melt the lead in an iron ladle, see
Fig. 39, over the kitchen fire and skim off the _dross_, that is,
the impurities in it that come to the surface, and then put in the
tin. After both are melted stir them well and then pour the alloy thus
formed, which is pewter, in a pan that is oiled with sweet oil, to keep
it from sticking and so make sheets of it of whatever thickness you
want.
[Illustration: FIG. 39. IRON LADLE FOR MELTING PEWTER]
=About Working Pewter.=--Pewter can be worked like any other malleable
metal, only easier because it is softer and more ductile, hence it can
be hammered into any shape.
It can be cast as you will presently see and it can be soldered
by using a flux of tallow, Gallipoli oil or Venice turpentine and
_pewterer’s solder_, which is made of 1 part of lead, 1 part of
tin and 2 parts of _bismuth_.[32] This solder melts at 203 degrees
_Fahrenheit_, that is at a temperature of 9 degrees less than that at
which water boils.
[32] Bismuth is a reddish white metal.
=How to Cast Pewter.=--The way in which pewter is usually cast is by
making molds of iron and brass and pouring the metal into them. But you
can do a very good job of casting pewter by making and using plaster of
Paris molds.
In making any kind of castings you need a flask, that is a wooden
frame made in halves, as shown in Fig. 40; the top half of the flask is
called the _cope_ and this must be fitted with pins that set in holes
in the bottom of the frame or _drag_, as it is called.
[Illustration: FIG. 40. HOW A PEWTER CASTING IS MADE]
When these pins set in the holes they keep the top and bottom parts of
the flask together so that after the mold is made they can be taken
apart and the pattern removed and then when they are put together again
ready for the metal to be poured they will be exactly even. Make the
top and bottom halves of the flask a couple of inches larger all round
and a couple of inches deeper than the size of the pattern you are
going to cast.
=The Patterns Necessary.=--You can saw or turn or carve out of wood
anything you want to cast in pewter, provided it is not too intricate,
and after sandpapering it nice and smooth all over give it a couple of
coats of _shellac varnish_.[33]
[33] This can be bought already made at paint stores or you can make
it by dissolving some yellow shellac in alcohol.
If it is your idea to make table-ware of pewter you can use ordinary
china dishes for your patterns, provided they are without handles, but
before making a mold with any kind of a pattern in plaster oil it well
all over with _sweet oil_, using a brush for the purpose, so that it
will not stick and then you can _draw_ it easily.
=Making the Mold.=--Lay the drag, that is the lower half of the flask,
on a board or a table; mix dental plaster of Paris with water until it
is about as thick as batter and fill the drag with it.
Just before the plaster begins to set, that is, harden, take your
pattern, whether it is one you have made or a china dish, oil it and
press it down into the plaster until it is nearly even with the top
edge of the pattern and let it stay there until the plaster is hard,
that is, over night.
Then brush sweet oil over the top of both the pattern and the hard
plaster which must come about _flush_, that is even, with the top of
the drag. Now put on the cope and fill it with plaster, smooth it off
even with the top edge and let the plaster get hard.
Your next move is to lift the cope from the drag which you can do
without trouble and then lift the pattern from the drag, using the
point of a knife if it seems inclined to stick.
Drill a ¹⁄₄ inch hole through the plaster in the cope, fit the cope to
the drag again and then pour in the pewter. When it is cold take the
flask apart, take the casting out gently and don’t spoil it even if
you have to break the mold.
Where cups, tankards or other hollow vessels are to be cast make a mold
for it just as though it was a solid piece; now pour in the melted
pewter and when it has cooled enough to form a solid layer turn the
mold upside down and let the melted metal run out which will leave it
hollow. If handles are needed cast them separately and solder them on
to the body of the vessel. Some finished pewter ware is shown at C.
[Illustration: FIG. 40C. HOME MADE PEWTER WARE]
=Finishing the Ware.=--Plates and the like can be scraped with a steel
scraper and when they are nice and smooth rub them with a rag dipped in
oil and whiting, but do not polish them.
If you have a turning lathe of any kind you can put your cups and other
round objects in it and turn it up with a _bent inside_ turning tool,
a _flat tool_ and a _round point tool_ such as is used for turning
brass, ivory, etc., and which you can buy for a quarter apiece,[34] and
this will leave the pewter bright and beautiful.
[34] These tools can be bought of Luther M. Wightman, Milk Street,
Boston, Mass.
Engraving on Metal
Engraving on metal is a beautiful art. The method is simple and the
effect is striking but it requires a good deal of patience and long
practice to do really good work.
[Illustration: FIG. 41. TOOLS FOR ENGRAVING ON METAL
A. Shapes of gravers.
B. Handles for gravers.]
=The Tools That Are Used.=--Engraving tools, or _gravers_ as they are
called, are made in ten or a dozen shapes but the _knife_, _round_ and
_lozenge_ gravers will be enough to do all ordinary work with. The
different shapes are shown at A in Fig. 41.
All of the gravers are about the same length, that is 4¹⁄₂ or 5 inches,
and they are fitted with knob shaped handles a third of which has been
cut away as shown at B, so that the graver can be gripped in the palm
of the hand with the flat side against it which keeps the tool in the
right position. The way to hold a graver is shown at C.
[Illustration: FIG. 41C. HOW TO HOLD A GRAVER]
=How to Engrave on Metal.=--If the object to be engraved is very small
it should be fixed to a block of wood with the Burgundy pitch compound
above described, but if it is a large object it need not be mounted.
In either case an _engraving pad_, that is, a round, thick leather
pad filled with sand, is a very great convenience to rest the work on
because it permits the work to be easily turned in any direction and
held at any angle while it is being engraved.
[Illustration: FIG. 41D. AN ENGRAVING ON A SHEET OF COPPER]
Rolled sheet copper is a good metal to practice on and you can trace
the design you want to engrave on it by dabbing a thin film of
_engraver’s wax_[35] on the metal surface with your finger and then
sketching the outline with a _bone stylus_, that is a piece of bone
having a sharp point. An example of art engraving is shown at D in Fig.
41.
[35] You can use _beeswax_ but it is better to make a wax by melting
together 3 parts of _beeswax_, 3 parts of _tallow_, 1 part of _Canada
balsam_ and 1 part of _olive oil_. Or you can buy a small cake of
_Chinese white_, wet your finger, rub it on the white and then dab it
on the metal surface.