[Jewelry making - Article 00869] - Re: [Orchid] Red pitch and a bowl

[Kelley Dragon]

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Dear Julie -

    Wrap pitch in a sheet of newsprint, and wrap again in an old towel.
    Take a mallet or hammer (not a good one!) and smack the heck out of
    it. Check periodically for size of the resulting pieces; take out
    those that are 1-1/2" overall or less. When done, set the pitch
    aside in a sealed container - I use an old coffee can. 

    Though a purist would fill the bowl with pitch, I elected to fill
    2/3 of the bowl with plaster of paris. If you do this, wait several
    days for it to completely dry! It takes time, but saves on pitch.
    When you are ready to put pitch in bowl, turn the oven on to 300
    degrees F. 

    Make sure you have SPOUSAL UNIT APPROVAL  before this next step! 

    Put some, but not all, pitch in the bowl...use less than you think
    you will need. Better to build up slowly than to have a spill in the
    oven! Your aim is to fill the bowl to within 1/8" of the rim. You
    will find as the pitch gets closer to the top that the finer chunks
    are better than the bigger chunks. 

    Check about every 10 minutes. Your oven may run hotter or coooler
    than mine - adjust accordingly. You definitely don't want the pitch
    to be smoking! Some bubbling will occur, but it should not look like
    it's boiling. 

    When you have the pitch to the level you want, remove the bowl
    carefully to a heat-resistant, flat surface. I would not leave it in
    the oven to cool. Give it plenty of time before you use it! A hot
    pitch bowl looks just like a cold pitch bowl. 

    Before you use your first time (I'm assuming you are going to be
    chasing & repousse), gather these things: 

        chapstick
        old rags
        denatured alcohol (not isopropyl)
        wooden paint stirrer
        jar of water for the paint stirrer
        heat gun
        old needle nose pliers

    the chapstick is for coating the back of your metal before putting
    it in warm pitch. If you don't do it, a lot of pitch will come up
    with the metal when you are ready to remove it. 

    Rags & alcohol for cleaning off the metal. When you get really good,
    you won't pull any pitch away with the metal when you release it. But
    until then, you will need to be prepared to clean up. 

    Use the heat gun to melt the pitch slightly. don't be in a hurry -
    you don't want the pitch to smoke or bubble. When putting the metal
    in the pitch, use the heat gun on the pitch. When it's soft enough,
    just push the metal down into the pitch, and use the paint stirrer to
    push the edges of the pitch over the edges of the metal. Wait until
    the pitch is as hard as a cold tootsie roll before chasing or
    repousse. 

    ALWAYS assume the pitch is hot enough to burn your fingers. 

    To remove the metal, heat the metal, *not the pitch* with the heat
    gun. Grab a corner of the metal with the needle nose pliers and pull
    'up' as much as possible. Don't drag the metal through the pitch, or
    too much will stick. 

    To flatten the pitch, prepare the surface, scoop up pitch to put on
    metal for chasing support, use the paint stirrer. It must be kept
    wet! If it dries out (& that happens faster than you'd think), then
    the pitch will stick to it & make a mess. I'll bet you were wondering
    where that jar of water comes into play - that's where the paint
    stirrer lives when waiting to be used. Dip it frequently when moving
    pitch around. 

    I know there's stuff I left out, but in the interest of sending it
    in a timely manner, I'll quit now. Good luck with whatever your
    project is. 

Kelley Dragon
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