working copper sheet

I would like to use copper sheet to capture the texture of tree bark for a sculpture. I know I'll have to anneal the sheet before working it. I'm looking for suggestions on how one might work the copper directly on the bark to help pick-up the ridges, lines and depressions in the bark. What sorts of tools might I use to help transfer the texture? The copper will likely be either 3oz. or 5 oz. sheet. Any suggestions appreciated.

Reply to
Steve Fulton
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One thing that you might try is a small bag full of lead shot or sand, and use it as a kind of very soft hammer to pick up the high spots in the bark. You could use a bunch of padding taped to a mallet to do the same thing. I would expect this to get the high spots, and then you would need to go back and do some repouse? work to add the fine detail.

The other way to do this, of course, is by making a mold and casting

Richard

Steve Fult>

Reply to
Richard Ferguson

Here is one source of information.

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Reply to
Eastburn

Martin Thank you much for that link. I work with copper and that site is very informative.

Lane

Reply to
lane

Rather than trying to duplicate actual bark, what is often done in metal is to produce a shape that gives the impression of being bark.

For instance, blacksmiths sometimes use power hammer dies made with rows of arc weld on their faces to give a bark texture to a piece.

I'm not see>I would like to use copper sheet to capture the texture of tree bark

Reply to
Steve Smith

If you try to beat the copper over the bark on a tree all you are going to get is the high spots. That is if you use like a wooden or rubber mallet. In order to get the deeper grooves etc. then a smaller hammer or punch would have to be used around each bump.

I myself when I do tree bark, see

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I do it free hand with different style and sizes of hammers and useing different mandrels or stakes to beat it over/around. Why not be creative and make you own bark and not try to copy. It just has to look like it right?

warren

Reply to
Warren Townsend

Warren

When trying to see your link I get a message: Sorry, this side is temporarily unavailable! The web site you are trying to access has exceeded its allocated data transfer. Do I wait? For how long? Could you post to the dropbox? Lane

Reply to
lane

I just tried again, fourth time, and it came up.

Beautiful work! I would love hear more detail about how you do some of the detail work, like bark, feather, and dragon scales.

Lane

Reply to
lane

You could try to make an electroplate form. It has been done for very difficult surfaces. There are coatings to turn the bark conductive. The rest is relatively easy... in theory, at least...

JS

"Steve Fulton" escribió en el mensaje news: snipped-for-privacy@posting.google.com... | I would like to use copper sheet to capture the texture of tree bark | for a sculpture. I know I'll have to anneal the sheet before working | it. I'm looking for suggestions on how one might work the copper | directly on the bark to help pick-up the ridges, lines and depressions | in the bark. What sorts of tools might I use to help transfer the | texture? The copper will likely be either 3oz. or 5 oz. sheet. Any | suggestions appreciated.

Reply to
J.S.

Recommend you do a Google search for baby-shoe bronzing companies. Used to be a lot of them around. They would take almost any material, dip it in salt, connect the items to direct current in a saline solution, hang a bronze bar nearby, and sit back and watch as the bronze magically traversed the saline solution and started plating the baby shoe, or whatever. Some time later, you'd think you were holding a bronze statue of some sort. Same principle is used for chrome plating, zinc and I think even gold.

In other words, take your bark and have it bronzed. That would look *very* authentic. (Post a pic if you do!)

Grant Erwin

Reply to
Grant Erwin

workers/ like auto body and fender person uses to reduce the area of the metal.. the design is to bring the metal in... so that is probably what a blacksmith uses this tool for also.. doubt that it is for any design purposes......

Reply to
jim

I didn't say that right. Blacksmiths use arc weld to give a bark texture to a thick piece, not to sheet metal. What I was trying to say was it doesn't have to duplicate the bark to give the *impression* of bark. Artistic metalwork often uses illusion rather than duplication.

Steve

jim wrote:

workers/ like auto body and fender person uses to reduce the area of the metal.. the design is to bring the metal in... so that is probably what a blacksmith uses this tool for also.. doubt that it is for any design purposes......

Reply to
Steve Smith

working copper sheet Group: rec.crafts.metalworking Date: Wed, Nov 12, 2003, 7:01pm (MST-1) From: snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com (Steve=A0Fulton) I would like to use copper sheet to capture the texture of tree bark for a sculpture. I know I'll have to anneal the sheet before working it. I'm looking for suggestions on how one might work the copper directly on the bark to help pick-up the ridges, lines and depressions in the bark. What sorts of tools might I use to help transfer the texture? The copper will likely be either 3oz. or 5 oz. sheet. Any suggestions appreciated.

um.... let's see.... plastic explosives ??... used sparingly, of course . an artist in these parts was/is known for blasting mural-sized panels, so I'm not JUST being silly.

Reply to
Dar Shelton

Dar Is that the lady who lives in the desert all by herself and digs holes/pits in the sand to do the blasting? There was a TV show what talked about her.

Lane

Reply to
lane

Why not make a casting of the bark ( a portion) then make a metal(iron) die (male and female) to form the texture in a repeating pattern that you could hammer into the copper?

Reply to
Thomas L. Bates

I was just in Alaskan Copper's Seattle office this week and they have a new product that they are calling a 'barked' look copper. I suppose it does look a little like bark, but if you think about it, there are MANY different tree barks... from the Utterly smooth madrona to some cedar trees with bark deep enough to place you're entire hand into...

James, Seattle.

Reply to
RainLover

Lane, sorry it did not come up. Yahoo when busy the freebie sites do not work. My detail work is all something different, I do not try to repeat a "texture" that I have used before. Always trying to vary some. I use a whole lot of different techniques way too much detail to go into here. You could email if you have a certain question. warren

Reply to
Warren Townsend

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