Forming an entry thimble

[Acer Saccharum]

Mandrel-less thimble. This is made from .025 brass, so it's quite thin. Helps to keep the weight down on the rifle. 
Seriously, most original thimbles I've seen are very thin.

Note that the ribs don't go all the way around. This makes for easier inletting.

To do this work, you need PITCH, available from RIo Grande, or some such jewelry supply. Heat the pitch with a torch, and then set your metal in it. To remove your piece from the pitch, pass the torch over it. Everything just loosens up. Heat the piece, wipe clean with a rag.



First step, punch ribs in from the back:


The blank with raised ribs and the swell punched up from the back. Not pinched and soldered together yet.


Now it's soldered together, and the dome is raised more to my liking:


Now the dome is detailed from the front with small punches. The thimble is filled with pitch to support the metal.

[Tom Currie]

Tom, Thanks for the tutorial on a difficult task. I raise the tang area with a very small ball peen hammer in similiar fashion, annealing as I go. 

[brobb]

Here is a somewhat cruder approach.  The first picture shows the punch and the lead block.  The second picture shows the results.  This ramrod pipe is for a trade gun.  The ribs really stiffen up the thin brass.








Bruce Robb

[Dave B]

I have several original pipes that show this kind of treatment. This is an entry pipe from a trade pistol.

[Jim Kibler]

Neat stuff Tom.  I've formed the bead on pipes by cutting a groove in a piece of steel and then pounding / pressing a piece of piano wire in it with the sheet between.  This is done flat and the pipe is then rolled.  I was amazed at how well the process works.  With just a little care, it can be formed such that little or no clean-up is required.  As with the process Tom shows, the bead doesn't need to extend fully around the pipe.

[Ed Wenger]

Tom, great idea/method, thanks very much for posting!  Your hands aren't even dirty, lol...

Jim, I like your idea as well!  I see what I'll be doing in the near future.


    Ed

[T*O*F]

I would suggest everyone read about repousse'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repouss%C3%A9_and_chasing

[Acer Saccharum]

Jim, I like your suggestion a lot. I'll put that in my 'mental toolbox'.


At .025, the brass I used is thicker than many originals. I think you could get away with .015 or .02, especially with the Multi ribbed pipe like Bruce's. The thinner the material, the more defined the ribs will be.

[Acer Saccharum]

Here is some repousse I have been fooling around with. 1 1/2" tall. Use a mirror when gazing upon her visage.

Pounded up from the backside of the sheet, then chased with small punches from the front. No metal has been removed from this sheet, only moved forward and back with punches to make the relief. It's .025 thick sterling.

This would be a great method to make thumbpieces.

[Jim Kibler]

That is just marvelous Tom!  I love it.  What kind of treatment did you give the eyes?  They seem very realistic.

[Acer Saccharum]

Jim the eyeballs were initially raised and smooth, then the irises were punched down with a tiny chisel, leaving only the tiny 'sparkle' in the eye left raised.

Another repousse, a faun. Silver head, brass horns. about 1 5/8" tall

[Jim Kibler]

From a historical perspective, I wonder whether pure repousse work was ever used?  On relief work I've seen of silver or brass, some of it was just completely cast to shape, but others appeared to be cast and then further formed with some punch work in select areas.  A good example of the latter is the hunting scene sideplate used by several mid 18th century English makers.  The example I examined was a piece by Thomas Richards.  Neal shows this same sideplate pattern used on example by Griffin.  I've not encountered any relief work formed by repousse alone.  Any others have any thoughts?

Thanks for the explanation on the eyes, Tom.  They look wonderful.  I also like how the face is quartering away slightly.  Most all grotesque masks I've seen used on firearms are a direct frontal view.  I like this.

Jim

[James Rogers]

I have been recently wondering if some of the detail on the silver pieces like trigger guards and butt plates could have been die formed. Of course some of these specific details can also be found on some brass pieces that I doubt would have had that treatment.

[Dave B]

Tom, You continue to amaze me with these talents of yours. I have to laugh that at one point I was sharing with you about how you should treat the silver to some cross hatching to bring out the depth of your design when you were early on in the Jaeger project that I sold to you.   I really like your Reposse work. I think it may have been practiced on the continent to produce patters that were then poured and assembled after the fact. They were reproducing high quality hard ware for sale to various builders in Germany. Some one had some patterns that were being used for these Chiseled pieces.

[Tom Currie]

Tom, I know amazed has already been said but I'm using it again. Really impressive.

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

Very nice work Tom.... I wonder what the psychology is behind the choice of subjects.... or maybe it was the brand of "creature"

Do you suppose artists did this to make molds that were then cast for buttcaps and side plates for pistols and fowling pieces etc??

[Acer Saccharum]

Seldom was work like this done on any scale for European work. Definitely one could use work like this for patterns for casting brass and silver Hdw. Steel, of course, would have to be chiseled one piece at a time.

I suspect from the Middle East and North Africa you would see more repousse one-off kind of work, and mostly floral, running vines, etc.

[verbrugen]

Tom:

First off excellent work with the repousse parts.  Where I have seen this type of skilled work is on 18th century brass mitre cap fronts and brass drum shells from German States ie. Prussian, Brunswick, Hesse, Etc.   Since a large number of the PA. gunsmiths were of Germanic descent it might not be that far fetched to think that some possessed (learned in the old country) this skill and may have used it on occasion.  Just for interest I have included a link to a gentleman who is reproducing mitre caps and uses the same method as shown by Tom.

http://www.longrifle.ws/artisans/artisan.asp?ID=3447

[Acer Saccharum]

This is a repousse sideplate on a pistol. I suspect this is Turkish/Middle Eastern work. Very thin metal. Buttcap made same way. Trigger guard is sheathed in repousse thin silver over iron.