Chasing for metal is a technological process used for the manufacture of relief images, inscriptions, and various souvenirs. It is one of the types of fine arts and crafts. Each handmade item is exclusive.

Craft or art

Artistic processing of metal by chasing has been known since ancient times. The masters of the Middle Ages perfectly mastered the art of "knocking out" images on a thin sheet of soft metal, and their ability to create drawings with a hammer and a special striker called "chasing" was passed down from generation to generation.

Currently, relief art images, as before, are made by hand, so each work is unique and unrepeatable. The material used is different, but it must be plastic and stretchable. Sheet metals are best suited for minting: brass, aluminum and copper.

Specifications

Chasing for metal is done on the so-called substrate, which is placed under the workpiece. The backing must be pliable and not absorb under hammer blows. Masters usually use transverse hard rocks - it can be a birch chock, an oak butt or a linden ridge. For chasing on especially thin metal sheets, felt, a thick rubber plate, or a bag of dense tarpaulin stuffed with river sand are used. The latter method is used if the area of ​​​​the source material is more than a square half a meter. For smaller items, professional chasers prefer a lead plate, which allows for the finest strokes and lines in the image.

Kinds

Chasing (the photo is presented in the article) comes in two versions: three-dimensional, with a fairly high relief, and flat, in which the relief indicators are insignificant. Each type has its own advantages. The embossed image is more effective in terms of story aesthetics, since there is a convergence with the 3D format, and this is considered a positive factor. But on the other hand, flat chasing on metal can be made in an openwork version, which is an indisputable sign of the artistic style.

notch

Lace ornament in metal requires high skill and is made using the method of through punching. The workpiece is cut in two stages. First, contours and lines are outlined with sharply sharpened chasings, along which the punching of the pattern will go, then the cutting of the material directly follows.

After the product is cleaned and deburred, firing is carried out in order to level the material. This technological operation requires special care, since thin openwork partitions can melt.

A subspecies of planar embossing is the contour method, which resembles engraving with a low relief. Contour embossing can be convex or concave, depending on the subject of the drawing. As a rule, such items are used to decorate interiors, but they are also interesting as independent decorative items.

Relief chasing

Volumetric products are more complex in terms of technology and, in addition, carry a constant threat of deformation. Nevertheless, relief chasing on metal is considered the most aesthetic and artistic. During excavations in the southern European regions, archaeologists have repeatedly found the finest items made of gold and silver, made using the relief chasing method. And although the ancient craftsmen mastered casting technologies, they preferred more elegant ways of creating jewelry.

Do-it-yourself metal chasing

For starters, you can try chasing on kitchen utensils. It could be a coffee or tea tin. How to make chasing at home? It is better to start with a concave variety, that is, the pattern will be directed inward. To do this, it is necessary to firmly fix the material, in this case a metal coffee can, and draw a pattern with a pencil. The topic can be anything.

Then you need to make a tool for chasing. At home, an ordinary construction nail 100-150 millimeters long is suitable for work, from which the sharp end should be grinded off. When the tip of the nail takes on a rounded shape, it can already be called a kanfarnik - this is the main tool of the chaser. It remains to find a hammer weighing two hundred grams, and you can get to work. With light strokes, you need to draw the contours of the picture, and then knock out the points. Chasing metal with your own hands at home is a creative process that can be the beginning of a long-term hobby. In this case, you need to be prepared for the fact that special material is also required.

Drawings for minting

The initial stage in the process of creating a product is drawing a pattern on the workpiece. Artistic processing of metal is associated with the presence of such raw materials as metal plates made of tin or sheet copper, brass and aluminum. On each of them it is necessary to apply a drawing according to which the chasing will be made. The theme of the images is selected in advance, and then special sketches are prepared according to them. Then the drawings are transferred to the surface of the metal workpiece by direct copying. After that, the surface is covered with a thin layer of varnish, which protects the contours from abrasion.

Forms

Metal minting technologies are used in the manufacture of coins. This automatic process is controlled by the state and is designed to meet the country's needs in monetary units. The most complex mechanisms non-stop stamp metal coins of various denominations. Each denomination has its own minting form, which is an interchangeable, universal design. Technicians, as needed, change these forms in a matter of minutes, and the process of making coins continues.

Tools

To work, a master chaser needs a set of special tools and devices. Professionals with many years of experience have a whole tool base, numbering tens and hundreds of different devices. Novice chasers get by with a few tools.

For the manufacture of a simple product, a set of four- or octahedral forged chasings is required:

• kanfarnik - coinage in the form of a thick needle with a rounded end;
• consumable - a straight, flat or radius-shaped tool in the form of a screwdriver;
• chisel - a sharpened chasing in the form of a chisel, designed for blind or through cutting of the material;
• burnishers - a variety of flat-shaped tools for polishing - leveling the base.

For full-fledged work, locksmith fixtures, various clamps, clamps, vise and weights are also required. Not to do without wooden

materials

• Red copper is the most preferred metal for minting due to its ductility. Easily takes a given shape, is able to withstand the high relief of the product. After polishing, it does not darken for a long time.
• Brass - Less ductile compared to copper, but has good data for machining associated with coinage: stamping, cutting, rolling and other operations. Well polished, retains shine for a long time. When oxidized, it acquires a beautiful greenish color.

• Aluminum is a fairly hard metal, but it is easy to mint. In the form of a foil, it allows drawing. It does not need firing, as it does not deform during processing. Easily polished, retains a noble matte shade for a long time.
• - used for especially large items, minted only on special machines. Manual processing is not possible because steel has high strength and toughness.
• Nickel - in its pure form is unsuitable for minting, however, in an alloy with copper, it is a convenient and reliable material for the manufacture of products with a high level of aesthetics. The most popular alloys are cupronickel and nickel silver. They are perfectly polished and do not require cleaning.
• - the material is used only for the manufacture of the simplest products. The consistency of the metal is fragile, prone to cracking.

Art products made by chasing are in demand in many areas of public life. They decorate halls and offices. Particularly valuable specimens are in museums and art galleries.

Chasing is a method of artistic processing of metal, in which an image is applied to the workpiece in the form of a shallow relief, made using special tools with tips of various shapes.

The art of embossing has been known to mankind since ancient times, when skilled craftsmen made amazingly beautiful embossed bracelets, bowls, trays, and also belts from embossed plates. But gradually the coinage was replaced by other, easier-to-manufacture products. And only in the middle of the 20th century did the revival of this ancient arts and crafts begin.

The technology of chasing consists in drawing a picture or an inscription by knocking out a given image on a metal plate. Surprisingly beautiful products of ancient masters have survived to this day, which laid the foundations for the original chasing technique.

Today, chasing is an extensive section of the artistic processing of metals, which includes the manufacture of a variety of products: from round figured compositions to relief ornaments on a plane; from linear graphic drawings to three-dimensional volumetric sculptural products.

Chasing on metal is considered the most difficult type of chasing art, since in the process of working with a metal sheet, it becomes necessary to create a pattern and relief. In this case, it is necessary to take into account the texture and characteristics of the properties of each metal and to know the qualitative characteristics of all materials used.

materials

Previously, for the manufacture of chased products, precious metals - gold and silver - were most often used. Today, craftsmen prefer cheaper and more affordable types of metals.

Among the most common materials that are used for the manufacture of coinage are the following:

• Copper- chasing is performed on rolled metal sheets or plates with a thickness of 0.3 - 1.5 millimeters. Most often, sheets of copper of various grades are used. The ductility of copper, its malleability and ease of processing, as well as beautiful reddish hues in various versions, have always attracted craftsmen. I must say that copper chased images always look just amazing, and will become a real decoration of the modern one.
• red copper- an exceptionally plastic and pliable material, widely used for the manufacture of coinage. The softness of copper allows you to give it various shapes and apply textured relief images. From red copper, you can make the thinnest sheets with a thickness of not more than 0.05 mm. High anti-corrosion properties make it possible to use copper embossing as elements of the exterior decoration of buildings.

• Brass- brands L96, L90 and L80. Brass is a copper-based alloy with the addition of zinc, the mass fraction of which can be up to 50%. Sometimes up to 10% of other components are added to the alloy - iron, aluminum, manganese and some other components. A distinctive quality of brass is beautiful golden-yellow shades of various tones, due to which craftsmen widely use this alloy for chased works.

Brass is easily cut, polished and perfectly welded with different types of solders. Embossed images are well applied to the brass sheet, although it is somewhat harder and inferior to copper in terms of plasticity.

Brass coinage "George the Victorious".

• Red brass- a kind of brass alloy made with the addition of zinc (3 - 12%). The tombak is characterized by a reddish-yellow hue that looks great in art products. Most often, tompak is used to make badges, commemorative medals, high-quality jewelry, as well as decorative dishes, vases and candlesticks.

Commemorative medal "Expedition on the icebreaker" Vladivostok "(tompak, chasing).

• Aluminum– in embossed works, aluminum foil of many grades is used, which retains its plastic qualities for a long time. In addition, aluminum products do not need to be heat treated.

Pure aluminum and various alloys based on it are very easy to mint, but require precautions during the annealing process. This is due to the fact that aluminum has a low melting point, and thin parts of the product can be deformed.

Panel "Lions" (artistic chasing, aluminum, blackening).

• tin- used for the first chased works due to the ease of processing and applying the image. Chasing on tin sheets is available even for beginners.

• Black metals- are steels of soft grades, with a low carbon content, from which decopier is obtained by preliminary annealing and pickling. From it you can make various types of products, both large relief and small decorative texture.
• roofing iron- used for the manufacture of the most simple decorative products. On sheet roofing steel, it is possible to produce embossing without deep drawing, to make contour drawings with lowering the background and applying textured images.
• Stainless steel- this is a very beautiful type of modern material with enhanced anti-corrosion properties. However, chromium-nickel steel presents a certain difficulty in artistic processing due to the strength and density of its texture. Therefore, steel is difficult to mint. For the manufacture of artistic coinage, sheet steel 0.5 - 0.8 mm thick is used.
• Nickel alloys— in chased works cupronickel and nickel silver are often used, which are nickel-based alloys with the addition of copper. Moreover, the mass fraction of copper in them is quite significant (cupronickel contains 81% copper, and nickel silver - 65%).

That is why nickel alloys are ductile, perfectly polished, easily exposed to various types of finishes and take on various shades as a result of exposure to solutions of sodium hyposulfite and lead acetate.

With skillful surface treatment, these cheap materials can take on the appearance of ancient patinated bronze, or a shiny gold or sparkling silver surface.

All these metals and alloys easily take a given shape when knocked out and allow you to create any intended relief. When choosing one or another plate, you need to make sure that it must be of high quality. The sheet should not delaminate, have bubbles, potholes, spots and scratches.

Resin is used to perform chasing on resin substrates - pillows. Most often it is an artificial resin - bitumen, which is obtained by distillation of oil. Depending on the degree of viscosity, bitumen differs in numbers. For the manufacture of coinage, resins No. 4 and 5 are used.

For chemical treatment of the surface of a metal plate, the following types of reagents will be required:

• Hydrochloric acid
• Nitric acid
• Sulfuric acid
• Potash
• Sulphate copper

To give the metal a pleasant shade and make it lighter, quartz sand and pumice powder are used. Machine oil or kerosene is used to remove the resin and wipe the chased plate after chemical treatment.

Minting technique

As for the features of the technique of applying chased images, it has changed little since its invention. Typically, a metal sheet is placed on a flexible lead or resin substrate. On the reverse side, the master with the help of special tools knocks out the general pattern of the figures with a hammer, and then on the front side he applies contours and individual parts of the relief with a chasing.

Panel "George the Victorious" (1993). Aluminium, brass, copper, blackening.

Finished product processing

Drawing an image on a metal sheet is carried out in several stages, each of which has its own characteristic features:

I stage- creating a sketch of a drawing on sheet metal

II stage– execution of a chased image

Stage III- final finishing

Among the main types of finishing processing of chased products are the following:

• Grinding- used to remove all kinds of remaining irregularities and roughness from the surface of the finished product.
• Polishing- is performed to give the chased product a finished look, as well as to improve the anti-corrosion properties of the metal.
• Patination- is a type of processing of a chased product with chlorine or sulfur compounds.
• Painted brass and copper- allows you to color brass chasing in yellowish-brown tones. Dyed copper will be characterized by varying shades of orange, red, and deep red.
• Enameling- is a special staining method that is used for individual sections of the product or for small items. Enamel is a glass alloy that contains various color additives.
• Oxidation- a method of processing the surface of the coinage with special chemical reagents, with the help of which products can be given a different color from green to black, as well as protect the metal surface from corrosion.
• Touching- the process of driving the thinnest wires into the metal, which emphasize the boundaries of the pattern. This is the inlay of a metal sheet with another metal that is softer in structure and has a lower melting point.

Types of coinage

In the process of manufacturing chased products, craftsmen use several traditional types of drawing an image on metal, among which are the following:

• Openwork chasing- one of the most beautiful and spectacular types of chased art, which looks like real lace made on metal. First, with the help of special cuts, the background of the image is cut out, and then cutting is made along the same lines.

In this case, thin openwork metal partitions are obtained, which require especially careful handling during annealing so as not to melt them and not damage the texture of the product. Most often, openwork embossing is performed on finished volumetric objects as a finishing product.

• contour coinage- contour artistic embossing is performed on flat metal sheets without preliminary relief. In terms of its external qualities, contour embossing is very similar to engraving, but differs in that it can be convex and concave.

Contour chasing is used for various types of work, but most often this technique is used to decorate interior items and create expressive ornaments.

• - this type of chasing is considered more complex than the others due to the fact that the image is applied not to a flat sheet of metal, but to three-dimensional objects of various shapes. But for experienced masters - chasers, such a technique is not particularly difficult.

• - is also considered a complex type of artistic metal processing. First, a rough marking is made and the general contours of the image are knocked out, and then a clear contour relief is given to the product, and the forms are finally aligned and polished.

The final stage of work is the final embossing of the product, which is aimed at creating a complete look of the product.

The background and texture of embossed surfaces also play a huge role in giving the product extra shine. The combination of several ornaments made on matte and smooth surfaces, as well as a combination of other stylistic devices, looks very sophisticated.

Equipment and workplace

In a well-lit room of a small area, a small-sized table is installed - a workbench on which you can work on art.

• Table must be sustainable. It must be installed in such a way that daylight falls from the left. For work in the evening, in addition to general lighting, additional light sources must be equipped.

It can be a wall or pendant lamp, installed at a distance of 30 - 50 cm from the working surface of the table. Thus, the workplace will be illuminated evenly and correctly. The eyes of the master will not get tired, and on the surface of the future product there will be no sharp shadows that interfere with work.

• Vice, sharpener and other special devices are placed in places convenient for work, so that the master can easily reach them if necessary.
• Wardrobe or shelving are used to store tools, blanks, models, product samples and graphic sheets.

On the desktop, the tools and materials needed at the moment should be placed as conveniently as possible, because they should always be at hand for the master.

It is also necessary to remember that there is always clean and fresh air in the working room, therefore, the room must be periodically wet cleaned, dusted, and discarded unnecessary waste so as not to clutter up the working area.

You also need to follow the safety rules while working with various cutting tools and mechanical equipment.

To perform stamping work, you will also need special equipment:

• Small pitch pot
• Two canvas bags measuring 50 x 50 cm, filled with well-sifted and dried sand
• Bath for bleach solutions
• Wood shavings box for drying metal plates
• Electric stove for heating resin
• Blowtorch for annealing plates
• Blacksmith tongs for gripping a fired metal plate
• Scissors for cutting metal
• Locksmith's jigsaw (for openwork chased work)
• Rubber gloves for handling chemicals
• Canvas gloves for working with heated plates
• Scraper plate for straightening embossed plates

Only if all the equipment necessary for work is available, the master can start manufacturing highly artistic chased products.

Minting tools

The main tools of the master of chasing are various chasings, punches and special hammers - metal or wooden.

• Coins- these are special rods made of metal or having different sizes and special processing of the lower part, the so-called battle.

The length of the rod is 120 - 180 mm, depending on the section. Metal rods are usually thickened in the middle part, and their cross section is a tetrahedron. Such coinage is easy to hold in hand, it is convenient to work with them, because these design features eliminate the occurrence of vibrations in the process of striking a metal plate.

• Stichel- used for drawing a linear pattern on a metal plate. Engraving with a engraver is carried out directly by hand, without hammer blows.

A shtikhel can be made from a spring from an old mattress. To do this, cut off a piece of spring 80 - 100 mm long, heat it on fire, and then straighten it.

After that, the straightened end is again heated on fire, and flattened with a light hammer - this part will be the working part of the engraver. It is given the appearance of a dihedral or trihedral pyramid. To give additional strength, the engraver can be heated up again, and then a wooden handle can be placed on it.

• Wooden coinage— are applied to performance of large and deep relief images. They are also used to smooth out the background of a metal plate.

Wooden chasings are tetrahedral bars with a processed working part, similar in shape to the shape of metal chasings, but at the same time much larger.

• metal hammers- are used for knocking out various shapes on metal and for hitting chasing, so the hammer head often has a spherical shape on one side, and on the other - flat square or rounded outlines.
• wooden hammers- made from the same types of wood as the minted.
• Metal shears- needed for cutting thin metal sheets. Metal shears are more durable than ordinary shears. However, for small sheets with a thickness of 0.2 - 0.4 mm, medical scissors are used.
• Hacksaw- used for cutting metal.
• Files- are used for the manufacture and finishing of metal plates. They differ in the size of the notch. Files with a large notch are rasps, and those with a small notch are needle files. With their help, they perform various types of work on finishing large and small holes.
• Punch It is a small steel rod with a hardened end. It will be required to fix the plate on a wooden substrate.
• Measuring tools- folding rule, steel ruler, steel compasses, calipers, thickness gauge and square (metal or wooden).

Coinage styles

The high decorative properties of chased products allow master chasers to create new unique designs in various styles, among which are the following:

• historical style
• Old Russian style
• Oriental style
• Georgian style
• Moroccan style
• Uzbek style
• Modern style
• Modern and many others.

Image Themes

The subject matter of engraved images can be very diverse and touch upon the most diverse spheres of human life and activity. Among the most common themes of images on coinage are the following:

• Depiction of literary and mythological heroes
• Genre and everyday scenes from people's lives
• landscape sketches
• Plots of fairy tales and legends
• The exploits of modern heroes
• Historical miniatures dedicated to famous events in world history
• Typical portrait and many more

Chased products

Among the variety of products decorated with a chased image, the following can be mentioned:

• Paintings on metal
• Interior decor elements
• Embossed fragments for wooden furniture
• Auto tuning details
• Forged tables with embossed surface
• Beds with chasing elements
• Chest of drawers decorated with wood carvings and embossing
• Panel from chasing
• Chased screens and columns
• Cornices with chased decor
• Embossed trays
• Artistic plates
• Fireplaces with embossed decor
• Braziers with chased elements

In addition, craftsmen can apply a chased image to almost any item, based on the individual wishes of the customer. So, individual products of author's chasing are suitable for decorating the interiors of apartments, country houses and, as well as elite restaurants and hotels.

Usually, this type of artwork is divided into embossing on casting and embossing on sheet metal.
Workplace
It is better to place the desktop near the window so that the sun's rays fall from the left side. For artificial lighting, a fluorescent lamp or with a matte finish, with a power of 75–100 watts, is used. So that it does not interfere and does not take up much space on the table, it is placed aside, at a distance of 50–70 cm from the lid. Deep shadows that interfere with work will not appear on the product if you also turn on the main light.
The table is most often chosen wooden, with a thick lid. Its dimensions depend on the products with which the master most often works. To muffle the sound from impacts, thick rubber pads are placed under the legs of the table. But at the same time, its stability should not worsen. A chair with a back or a stool is selected according to the height of the master and the size of the table.
The workplace will become comfortable if you equip it with racks and drawers, which should be arranged so that they can be reached without getting up. Organizing your tools will save you time looking for them. After the work of the tool is completed, it should immediately be put in place. This habit must be brought to automatism and not to think about where everything is in the process of work.
After finishing work, it is necessary to sweep away all chips and dust from the table, and ventilate the room.
Optional equipment
In addition, a small parallel vise with an anvil must be included in the workbench equipment. It is better to choose a clamp mount, which, if necessary, will allow you to quickly remove the vise from the table and free up more space (Fig. 102).

Rice. 102. Vice-clamps: 1 - sponges; 2 - screw with a handle; 3 - handle.

It is good to have a grinder with interchangeable discs on hand, which can be used both for sharpening tools and for filing the edges of workpieces. For sheet embossing, it is necessary to prepare a substrate for the product. For it, resin is most often used. Special tools are used for boiling and pouring the filler, as well as for grinding: containers, tiles with a closed spiral for cooking resin, scrapers and wooden boxes of various sizes, in which the substrate is placed.

For subsequent annealing of the plate from the substrate, you will need a heating device (it is most convenient to use a blowtorch), blacksmith tongs and gloves to hold the product. For chemical processing, you will need a set of special containers and trays, as well as boxes for storing reagents and protective rubber gloves. Drying of the processed plates is carried out in wooden boxes filled with materials that absorb moisture well.

An exhaust hood must be installed above the table on which chemical solutions are prepared, as well as above the heating device.

After processing, flat coinage often has to be leveled. For this, test plates with a flat and smooth surface made of metal, stone or wood are used. Any massive object that allows you to perform this operation will also work.

Since the product goes through several stages in the process of making a coinage, unnecessary tools should not accumulate at the workplace. In an ordinary apartment, as a rule, it is not possible to place several more tables for processing operations on the finished product, so it is better to arrange the working surface of the table so that unnecessary items - such as a vice, substrate boxes, etc. - can easily be put away. For the same reason, it is not recommended to deal with several products at once.

Tools

To perform high-quality chasing works, chasings of various shapes and from different materials, special hammers and other tools related to blacksmithing and plumbing are used.

Coins

This is the main working tool with which all processing is carried out. Craftsmen use specially shaped chasings to dampen lateral vibration and ensure precise distribution of impact energy. In the middle part they are noticeably thicker than at the ends. Their length is 120–180 mm (Fig. 103).

Rice. 103. Chasing: a - skeleton; b - combat end; c - section of the core.

For some special works, the coinage may be longer, curved.

The skeleton of the coinage (Fig. 103, a) is usually made octagonal. With this form, the position of the working part can be controlled by hand during minting, without looking at the tool itself. The skeleton is made according to the parameters of the human hand.

The combat end (Fig. 103, b) can have a different shape and size, which are determined by the purpose of the tool and the size of the workpiece. The master can make himself a coinage of the desired shape from an octagonal or round bar, independently forging or turning the working end on the machine. After that, it must be hardened and released to a blue tint.

Depending on the shape of the warhead and the type of work performed, several varieties of coinage differ. Among them, the main group stands out, which includes kanfarniks, consumables, boboshniki and loshchatniks (Fig. 104).

Rice. 104. The main types of coinage: a - consumables; b - bobshniki; c - loafers; d - downers; d - kanfarnik; e - boot; g - figured coinage; h - iron; and a tube.

With their help, the main part of the work on drawing a picture and creating a relief is performed.

Kanfarnik

In the shape of the working part, it resembles a blunt sewing needle (Fig. 104, e). Kanfarnik serves to knock out dots on metal and create a rough embossed background, often used in compositions (Fig. 105).

Rice. 105. A background created using a kanfarnik.

In addition, with its help, the pattern from paper is transferred to metal.

Consumables

In another way, they are also called bypass coinage (Fig. 104, a). In the shape of the combat end, they resemble an ordinary screwdriver. The working edge for better sliding is made slightly blunt. They are used to draw clear solid lines along the outline of the picture. A softer line is formed from a wider consumable.

To draw curves and rounded lines, semicircular consumables with different radii of curvature of the battle are used. The more rounded it is, the more difficult it is to strike on the surface. In this case, you have to be careful and work with single strokes so as not to get separate prints.

Semi-circular and straight fittings are made in pairs so as not to violate the integrity of the line when moving from a straight line to a curve.

Chasings similar to consumables, but with sharply sharpened flat or semicircular blades, are called cuts. They are used for cutting through the sheet during openwork and for cutting complex contours (instead of a chisel).

Boboshniki

This is the name of coinage with a convex oval warhead (Fig. 104, b). Another name for this group - oblye coinage (oblyzhniki) comes from the Old Russian word "obly", that is, round. They are mainly used to create convex parts of relief compositions. The shape of the working part does not have to be oval, it is also made rectangular, but with rounded corners so as not to damage the material when punching out the relief.

loshchatniki

They serve to level the front surface after working out the relief, lowering the background and other operations (Fig. 104, c). The surface of the battle can be completely smooth or with slight roughness to create a matte background.

So that no traces of the working part of the coinage remain on the surface of the product, the corners are slightly rounded. With the help of burners, you can imitate the texture of a forged or cast product.

To obtain a quality product, it is necessary to follow the sequence when using the coinage of one group and when moving from one group to another. If it is required to make a deep punch, then the largest consumables are used first, and then, for a more detailed finish, smaller ones are used, etc.

First of all, processing is carried out with consumables, then with skiers, and lastly with scavengers. This sequence is shown in fig. 106.

Rice. 106. Successive transition from one coinage to another.

There are many more varieties of special coinage than the main ones. They make the final finishing of the product.

Purushniki

Chasings with a spherical working surface are called puroshniki (purovniks) (Fig. 104, d). They are used for punching pits or semicircular landforms. Fur guns of different diameters are used to obtain recesses of different heights and sizes.

Crimps

The combat ends of the crimps are concave spheres of various diameters and depths. They iron the spheres knocked out with a purron. For this purpose, the crimp is taken in several large sizes. When working, they make circular movements with their hands to prevent dents. Crimps are either straight (with a spherical impression) or oblique (with a hemisphere-shaped depression). The latter are used for embossing a twisted cord.

Boot

When it is necessary to mint a pattern of a convex shape or undercut (squeeze out beyond the line of the pattern) the relief, the so-called boot (Fig. 104, e) is used - a mint of a curved shape. It belongs to special coins. It takes a lot of experience to work with it.

iron

Another chasing with the cheerful name "iron", or "squeezer", is used to stroke (punch through) the pattern when working with high-relief products (Fig. 104, h).

Punches

Figured embossing punches (Fig. 104, g) are used if it is necessary to mint a large number of small identical details of the pattern. On their working surface, while it is not yet hardened, a small drawing or ornamental detail is engraved. The stuffing of the finished pattern on the product is carried out with strong single blows, evenly pressing the working part to the surface. To make it easier to orient the punch during stuffing, the pattern is placed strictly on the axis of the battle.

Cuts

When performing openwork works, cuts are used - chasings with a pointed working surface. They are divided into semicircular ones, which resemble a knife in shape (but not in sharpening) and are used to cut curved lines, and straight ones, more like consumables, with which straight lines are cut through.

tubules

To make a pattern in the form of small convex balls (graining), chasing-tubes are used, the striker of which has a concave hemispherical shape (Fig. 104, and). Recesses can be of various diameters and depths.

Hook and ratchet

These curved chasings are used when working with bulky products. Their fighting ends are not made in the form of consumables and stalkers, since they are intended only to create a general relief. Unlike a ratchet, the hook has two working ends, one of which is pointed and is used for small details of the pattern, and the other is somewhat rounded.

The dimensions of these tools depend on the workpiece being processed. However, it is not recommended to make them from steel with a cross section of more than 16 mm, since when a hammer strikes, the hook and ratchet should vibrate well.

A few words about the sizes of the above tools. For jewelry work, small (3-4 mm in diameter) chasings are used, for works of medium size - about 6-8 mm in diameter and more. For large compositions, sometimes wooden chasings are used, which are held in a fist like a chisel (Fig. 107).

Rice. 107. Wooden coinage.

You can store coinage both in boxes made especially for this purpose, and in a tall glass, but in this case, always with the working surface up. Otherwise, it will be difficult to find the right tool.

Hammers

Chased hammers are significantly different in shape from ordinary metalwork hammers. The head of such hammers has two strikers: on the one hand, flat or slightly curved and much wider, on the other, rounded (Fig. 108).

Rice. 108. Hammer for chasing.

At the moment of impact with the wide part, all energy and attention are concentrated on the working surface of the coinage. The second striker can serve as a fur coater.

To work, a chaser needs to have at least three hammers: 100, 150–200 and 400 g.

The hammer handle, also of a special shape, is made of hard wood. The cross section in the region of the neck is round, while approaching the end, it smoothly turns into an elliptical one. The dimensions of the hammer are chosen so that the handle does not interfere with work, but the blow would be strong enough. The head is mounted on the handle so that it is at an angle of 90 ° to the working surface (Fig. 109).

Rice. 109. The position of the hammer handle.

To work with soft metals, wooden hammers are used, made from durable types of wood, such as oak or birch (Fig. 110).

Rice. 110. Wooden hammers.

With their help, softer lines are drawn, since the force of impact with such a hammer is much less.

Other tools

At various stages of work with blanks and chasing, other metalwork tools will be needed. Among them, special mention should be made of those with which the image is transferred from paper to metal: a punch, compasses for metal, a ruler, etc. You will also need metal scissors, files, needle files, rasps, etc. ticks. If they are not at hand, you can use pliers.

Material

For embossing, sheet metal is used, the thickness of which depends on the material and the height of the relief. The most commonly used metal is up to 1 mm thick.

The main property that determines the suitability of a metal for chasing is its ductility. This property is possessed by copper and its alloys, aluminum. They are most often used for making high-relief coinage.

red copper

This metal is highly valued among craftsmen and amateurs due to its high ductility. After annealing, it easily restores its shape. It is easy to make thin (no more than 0.05 mm) foil from copper. When embossing from thicker foil, high relief can be obtained.

Copper is well polished and polished, has high resistance to corrosion. Processing copper products with chemical solutions allows you to get different shades of color.

The disadvantages of red copper are poor sharpness and rapid oxidation in the open air, as a result of which the original brilliance of the products cannot be preserved.

Brass

This copper-zinc alloy was already known in ancient times. It is better than copper, cut and polished, well covered with nickel, silver, gold. Brass is inferior to copper in plasticity, but has greater hardness.

For chasing, it is better to take brass grades with a high copper content (L62, L68, L80). Such alloys are called tompaks. They are better for flat relief compositions.

In the process of embossing, the strength of the sheet increases due to the formation of work hardening, and plasticity decreases. To remove it, brass is heated to a temperature of 600-700 ° C.

Cracks may appear from prolonged storage in a cold and damp place. To avoid this, long-term calcination is carried out at a temperature of 200–300 °C.

Aluminum

It is very good for beginner chasers. Aluminum foil retains high ductility for a long time and does not require heat treatment. This material allows you to work on one ornament for a long time, correcting mistakes.

Aluminum is easily minted with impurities up to 2%. Marks with a large amount of impurities are less plastic, so they are recommended for embossing with low relief or for contour and openwork punching.

Nickel alloys

Of these alloys, cupronickel and nickel silver are the most commonly used. The copper content in them is quite high (81% and 65%, respectively), so they have good ductility.

When treated with solutions of sodium hyposulfate and acetic lead, a variety of shades are obtained. The surface is well polished and has a number of features that can be used to advantage in combination with painting.

Black metals

For minting, pre-annealed and pickled steel with a low carbon content is used - decopier, as well as pickled before and after annealing - twice decopier.

Compared to copper, it is not so soft and is quickly riveted during the minting process. It is annealed at a temperature of 700–760 °C.

Small decorative items are made from the decopier, high relief is knocked out only on fairly large items. When finishing and applying texture, the material acquires a special beauty.

Roofing and stainless steel

Sheet, or roofing, steel can be used for minting simple decorative items. It allows contour embossing with lowering the background and applying texture. The masters of Ancient Rus' created openwork embossings with cutting through the background from this material.

Stainless (chromium-nickel) steel is often used to create large decorative items. Due to the great difficulty of minting, it is practically not used to create small works.

In the past, precious metals were often used to create beautiful coinage - gold, silver, etc. Now this art is no longer valued so highly. Most of the coinage for gold is made on brass reminiscent of its color, silver is replaced by cupronickel and nickel alloys similar to it. Precious metals are mainly used to create small jewelry.

Creation of a sketch, drawing

1. You are looking for a theme that you would like to transfer to your metal to create your work of art.

2. You develop your sketch for chasing, in short, stylization (simplification of the pattern for chasing), over time, when you work with metal, you will look for your own style.

3. We created our work on paper, which should look like one clear line (without strokes), so that it would be convenient for you to transfer onto metal through carbon paper.

4. You wipe the metal with a solvent, “degrease”, then paint it with white gouache, water-based paint (but not oil paint), let it dry.

5. Then transfer your drawing through carbon paper to metal covered with white paint, you have translated the drawing.

6. Then cover it with a clear niro varnish so that your drawing is visible, in a thin layer (you need a varnish that dries quickly so that you do not have to wait for the next day when it dries). Your drawing is fixed so that you do not wash it with your hands, because your hands will lie down on the metal when you hold the “consumable” stamp and walk around your work and erase your drawing. There is another way - you also transferred your drawing to metal, and then circle it with a “sharp cutter”, squeezing out the contours of the drawing on the metal so that grooves (dashes) remain. And then you can mint without fear, when you erase the drawing with your hand during work, you will have the grooves of the drawing on the metal. I did this work. But if you are doing large and complex work, the first option is better.

Chasing for metal and preparation of material and tools.

In order to start chasing metal, you need to make tools from durable material from “alloyed” steel. Do not be afraid of this word "alloyed", if you have a metal rod, you can test it by hitting it with a sharp metal object, if the dent is weak, the metal is good. To do this, you need a metal bar made of steel, of different diameters, I used reinforcement in those days, a very durable material, from car valves of various cars and trucks, you can find it through your relatives and friends. The length of the coinage is approximately from 12 to 15 cm, and the diameter is preferably different. It is better to make them yourself, so you will learn more about their manufacture.

When you make tools, they need to be released and hardened with a blowtorch, when you grind them to the desired shape, from the beginning you release them, heat the tip to a scarlet red color, cool and process - grind, the metal lends itself well to processing. When you have finished processing the metal and made a tool, then it needs to be hardened. To do this, heat with a blowtorch to the end to a bright red color, and lower it into engine oil for testing.

The main first chasing is a CONSUMABLE, it looks like a screwdriver, only the edges are much rounded, so that when you hit the chasing with a hammer, it glides softly draws and passes forward leaving an even depression. This takes a little getting used to. Train yourself, take a piece of a metal plate, I used an aluminum plate before, it was cheap, about 3, 4, 5 mm thick. Thin metal can be squeezed out without a hammer and chasing, by squeezing out with homemade tools, but this topic is separate.

With this stamp, you trace the outline of your drawing, leaving a uniform depression. Put the consumable on the line of the drawing and evenly begin to hit the hammer with a hammer, your brain begins to understand how to hit the coin and what force to use to strike so as not to break the metal and the recess should be equally even, try to do without notches. It is better to knock the contour on a hard wooden surface, on a flat smooth board, put it on the board, you can grab the edges of the metal plate to the wood with nails so that it is convenient for you to go through the contours of the pattern and the metal plate does not get off. When you have gone around the entire drawing with the “consumable”, then you need to unfasten the plate from the board. There was a drawing left on the board, you can cut the board back with a planer, and then make the next blank on it. Your metal became elastic, and it was led in different directions. To do this, you do firing, heat up your metal plate, gradually with a blowtorch until red, the entire plate, look do not burn it, how the redness appeared, go to another area, and gradually burn the entire plate so that your metal gives a vacation, it becomes soft and flexible and malleable.

Then you can process your work to remove the fumes and blackness that appeared when you fired the metal.

You may not do this if you are a beginner, your main essence is to understand the whole process of work. I wipe the dark metal with a solvent, but I hang without bleaching. Well, according to the rules and the best option, you should do this. They are treated with a special solution, it is made from a 5 - 10% aqueous solution of sulfuric acid. Be careful with sulfuric acid, it is very dangerous and harmful. The main thing is you must pour sulfuric acid into the water if you do it the other way around, your solution will boil and the sulfuric acid will splatter, and can hurt and harm you. It is necessary to pour in a thin stream and continuous stirring with a glass rod. The body of the bath is made of red copper or lead, and preferably in an iron casing. It is necessary to use gloves and an apron of special manufacture. Putting or taking out your work, use iron tongs. When you take it out, be sure to rinse with the solution, in running water and dry. Your work becomes clean and bright and you will see all the lines of your work without straining your eyesight. After drying, we proceed to another procedure.

Attach to a flat wooden board treated with a planer so that the surface is even and smooth without any holes and roughness, a specially cut board for your work a little more so that you can attach it with nails, put your metal work on the front side where you passed consumable. Take it, mint horseman, and start knocking, along the chasing with a hammer along the edges of your drawing outline, lower the metal, metal around your drawing, where you passed consumable, it all depends on your drawing and its complexity. Coinage loafer should be different sizes small large. To make it convenient for you to pass in all places where you need to lower the metal. You should develop intuition where you need to lower the metal, and leave other places, in short, in order of increasing volume, lower the lower metal, the upper one remains.

Once you've been minted horse-drawn your places where the metal should be lowered down. Let's move on to the next procedure. Remove the metal from the wooden board. We look at the metal, if it is strongly pulled and led, you burn your metal work back. The metal became soft and malleable.

You should have a rubber plate, as large as you can fit your work on it, on which you will punch out the volume from the back of your work. To do this, you need to find a rubber plate or elastic felt, I use a rubber plate on the desktop, a piece of conveyor belt for supplying coal, the thickness is normal and not very elastic. But you can use any rubber plate, I wrote for an example where I found.

For this you need a coin, PUROSHNIK the end is like a hemisphere. Coinage purshnik you need different sizes, if you need to knock out a large volume, then you can use wooden chasings, which you can make yourself from wood. Bars of different volumes, the ends should be rounded, like fluff and you can easily knock out a large volume. You have a large volume wakes up even and beautiful. Large volumes with small details, it is better to do on a specially prepared resin. Making a box... TO BE CONTINUED come see I will supplement….

Watch the video tutorial: How to make metal chasing?

How to prepare metal for chasing to make a sketch of a tiger lesson number 1

How to make chasing for metal and how to use chasings lesson number 2

Chasing metal learning lesson number 3. We continue to study, we go through the entire drawing with a chased consumable, he draws contour lines. The consumable is similar to a screwdriver, but the edges are semicircular and polished so that it easily slid over the surface when struck by a hammer
metal.

Chasing metal learning lesson number 4. We continue to make chasing a snarling tiger. We went through all the contours with a consumable and now we begin to work along the contour with a chased boot.

How to make metal chasing aluminum and all non-ferrous metals lesson number 5, and what is the best way for beginners with the least amount of time? We continue the fifth lesson, what additional materials do you need for your minting?

Chasing for metal is a kind of arts and crafts and a type of cold metal working. It is the process of drawing a flat or three-dimensional pattern on a metal sheet using a special tool and execution techniques. At its core, it is a process. Both varieties are used to decorate the facades and interiors of public and private houses, paintings, weapons, kitchen utensils, everyday items, and precious metal products. Chasing for metal in their work is widely used by designers and builders. Nowadays, this is a popular type of art products, which is in demand and impresses with its diversity. Requires the highest skill from the performer. Do-it-yourself chasing is not difficult if you know the types of craftsmanship, the nuances of manufacturing, the materials used and develop your own handwriting.

The essence of the chasing technique lies in the impact on the chasing tool by blows of an accelerating hammer. An imprint corresponding to its type remains on the metal. By performing multiple blows, a relief is obtained that matches the sketch. The shape of the drawing is conveyed with great expressiveness and accuracy, depending on the tools used in the process of work, which the chaser uses. At the same time, the quality of work depends on his qualifications and skills. Each master has his own style of work. Metal embossing on non-ferrous and ferrous metals differs in type and technology.

Types of coinage for metal

There are the following types of coinage:

• relief;
• flat-relief;
• contour;
• volume;
• openwork;
• decorative texture;
• by casting.

Applied materials and tools

The metal, on which it is planned to carry out chasing, must have viscosity, plasticity, the ability to change shape under the influence of force, without collapsing, be polished. Sheets include:

• copper;
• aluminum;
• brass;
• cupronickel;
• nickel silver;
• iron for roofing;
• low-carbon and soft stainless steel (decapirs);
• gold;
• silver;
• foil.

Materials for embossing have different thickness, it varies widely from 0.5 to 3 mm and depends on the type of metal used.

The tools used by chasers and do-it-yourselfers are specially shaped chasers, hammers and scribers.

The work uses chasings made of alloyed tool steel grade U7 or U8, with a diameter of 12 ÷ 15 cm of different diameters to create:

• convex spherical imprint (tubes);
• a solid line in the form of continuously running dots (bypass or consumables);
• the outline of the future drawing and the background decoration with dots (kanfarniks or crushers);
• leveling the background (hoofers with a rough or smooth surface);
• background cuts (cuts with different types of blades: semicircular, flat);
• punches from the inside (purushniki);
• print (curly).

Each chaser should have his own tool, you can make it yourself. To do this, you need to buy a steel bar of a certain diameter and make a coinage. Before shaping the rod, it must be heated to a bright red color, cooled, and only after these steps proceed to the manufacture of the tool. After production, the coinage is subject to hardening. At home, this operation can be performed using a blowtorch. Heat up again until red and dip in engine oil to cool slowly.

Sometimes chasings made of wood are used, so to strike such an instrument you will need a wooden mallet called a mallet.

Hammers for chasing should be with a special shape of the striker, a handle and a certain weight. The working surface of the components is polished. The handle is made of wood, necessarily from non-layered rocks, must be curved with rounded ends. The weight must match the strength of the minter. This allows you to comfortably place the tool in your hand and perform taps and strikes with the necessary force.

The scriber is necessary for transferring the pattern of future coinage to metal. In addition, you may need such plumbing tools as rasps, needle files, files, jigsaws, pliers, punches. A number of devices are also used: dishes for cooking resin, tinting baths, tool stands, a vise, an emery wheel, sanding and carbon paper, and plasticine.

When performing work, you will need auxiliary devices, such as substrates and bags of different densities, as well as consumables that are used to give the product protective properties, strengthen and decorate it, and, if necessary, allow you to beautifully decorate your work.

As a substrate, wood stumps made of birch or linden, felt, rubber or plasticine mats, and lead slabs are used.

The main stages of minting

Work in this technique is performed in the following order:

• make a sketch of the drawing;
• a plate is cut out of the selected metal, corresponding to the size of the drawing, with the addition of allowances (for fixing and framing upon completion of work);
• if necessary, the workpiece is fired and leveled;
• performing a degreasing operation;
• cover one side with gouache or white paint;
• transfer the sketch using carbon paper and scriber to the workpiece;
• cover with nitro-lacquer (you can not cover);
• all contours and lines are worked out with chasing of the corresponding type, controlling the position of the chasing and the part where chasing is performed;
• perform decorative finishing.

Particular attention is paid to the position of the coinage. It should be slightly tilted back, placed in the left hand between the fingers so that the little finger is not involved. The elbow does not rest on anything, it is on weight. This ensures good tool handling. Hammer blows are applied moving forward, while it is held in the right hand.

Do-it-yourself artistic chasing

Do-it-yourself chasing will decorate any interior, it is a good gift for friends and colleagues, it can even become a profitable business. And you don't have to be an artist. Now on the Internet you can find a lot of drawings. By adding to them your taste, imagination and mastering the basics of chasing, you can create unique masterpieces.

For beginners, it is recommended to first emboss with a simple pattern. So you can learn how to translate a drawing onto a plate, trace the outline of an image with a consumable, lower the background with a trowel, create volume with a fur coater, trim the background with camphor. And only having tried all the tools in practice and having received a positive result, proceed to the artistic design of work of any complexity. The drawing is minted only with the right tool, so you need to buy it or make it yourself, as well as choose the right auxiliary devices and execution technique. But do not forget about the arrangement of the workplace. It should be comfortable and well lit.

Features of copper coinage

Copper sheets are an ideal material for making artistic embossing. The material is well stretched, the image is voluminous. Before drawing the pattern, the copper sheet must be heated to a red color to improve elasticity. Chasing on copper, as well as on other metal or foil, begins with the transfer of a sketch. To do this, you will need carbon paper and a scriber. The next step is to create a fat surface. This will help the tool slide. Plasticine is required for the operation.

Copper chasing begins with processing the workpiece with contour lines from the front side. The purl contour is drawn out after drawing additional lines using the appropriate chasing operation. Next, they proceed to stretching and adjusting the main volume, pulling it out or lowering it. The final look of the coinage can be given by tinting, patination or oxidation. These operations will allow you to change the color of copper coinage, using special chemical compositions.

Having decided to perform your own version of coinage processing, you need to find out the intricacies of performing a particular operation. Many materials are toxic and require compliance with safety regulations not only during work, but also during storage of compounds. Operations should be carried out in a fume hood or in a well-ventilated area, and storage containers should be sealed with lapped stoppers. Before applying the decorating layer and after the operation, the coinage is washed, degreased and dried. In the latter case, sawdust is used, which easily absorbs moisture.

It is forbidden to wipe the finished embossing with fabric material: it can damage the decorative film.

Ways to change the color of copper chasing can be found on the Internet and use the recommendations, or you can come up with your own original method.

We offer you to watch a video on chasing on a copper sheet: