[Jewelry making - Article 00038] - Re: [Orchid] Making copper grapes

[John Burgess]

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    G'day;   My suggestion for making grape shapes in copper  is to make
    your own grape shaped dapping dies. You can get a variety of
    two-part plastic resins which set really hard from auto supply
    shops.   Select a small shallow vessel for the mould.   Grease a
    firm ripe grape - or a plastic one - and set it to half it's
    diameter in the hard setting plastic, and there's your female die.
    Coat the inside of this die with a layer of wax of the thickness of
    the copper sheet you will use and pour the setting plastic into it,
    remembering to place something in it to act as a handle - a short
    screw or some such. Now you have the two halves of a dapping die,
    which if well treated will last for a good number of thin sheet
    copper dappings.  These could be made in a number of sizes.
    Hammering will destroy the dies.  Press the well annealed copper
    into the mould using a bench vice. 

    Take two mating dappings, clean the edges so they match and solder
    them together, leaving a small hole for air to escape. A short
    length of suitable copper wire could be easy-soldered to the
    'grape'.   Seal the escape hole with plastic resin and copper dust.
    Sounds easy? well, it ain't!   But practice will perfect, (as they
    say)   Other folk in Orchid will give you suggestions on patination;
    I have very little experience there. 

    See; I just can't resist offering an answer to a question to which I
    think I have a suggestion! 

Cheers for now,
JohnB of Mapua, Nelson NZ


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