More Mokume

[prizzim]

Just a quick peek at a pendant I did for a lady at work.

$2.00 in dimes, this is half of the billet.




1 1/8 inch diameter.

[nifeman]

DIMES!!!! whatcha doing Chris, running out of change ...Bud

[hammerdownnow]

purty!

[B.Finnigan]

Very nice Chris! I know the photo does not do it justice. The intricate patterns just don't show up good on photo's. I can get steel to laminate but my luck so far with mokume has sucked. Either it de-lames or melts into a puddle.

[Shakudo]

it could be etched a little with ferric and then given a satin finish to bring the pattern out. making mokume out of coins seems to be a waste though.

[prizzim]

Well, I have no ferric. Gotta find some of that, and not at Radio Shack prices, either.


And dimes, I got those a'plenty. I seem to attract loose change, probably because I never find myself with an opportunity to spend it - just keep taking change, and putting it in a bowl at home. Grab a handfull on the way out to the shop, make something. It would take more time and effort to go looking for raw materials than what I'm doing now... someday I'll get around to doing it different, but this works for today.

And the lady's happy with what she got.

[prizzim]

Brian, the fusing point is a very specific temperature. I have learned to recognize it by when the copper starts to run on the surface, but hasn't yet liquified - then get it out of the heat and tap-tap-tap. Sometimes you get little puddles, but I've gotten rid of my blobbing problem by not being afraid to pull it, the put it back in if it was 20 degress shy of fusing. You can always re-heat.

[B.Finnigan]

I will have to try getting it just to the puddle stage. I have pulled it out when it started to look "weepy" but it never has splashed when hit with the hammer. I agree with you that it is far easier to raid your kids piggy bank then try to search out the raw materials, the corresponding thicknesses, correct purity, minimum order amount yada yada yada.. wait a week for them to get around to ship the order. My last mokume attempt was $2.50 worth of quarters, that was it no other hassles or waiting. If I had to order the copper the shipping alone would have been at least double that.

[Gene Chapman]

Neat Prizzim, tried mokume long time back, never got it right, good for you.

That button would be neat as a guard or pommel on a knife, just thinking.

What type fiorge ( sounds Norwegian eh!) I just mispeelled that, you using??

Hey, seem to remember you being from Bremerton??

[prizzim]

Brian, if it puddles, you've gone too far. You want it to "sweat", or have the very outer surface start to look like it's boiling, but only the very outer surface, and only for a moment - not more that about 2-3 seconds at most. Pull it out and tap it shut, rotate the pancake stack, repeat, until the entire outer surface of the cylinder is fused.


Gene, yes, I was born in Bremerton - folks live on the OR coast now, 'round Newport, and I have grandparents buried in Paulsbo. Deep roots out there. Gonna get back someday...


I'm using a bean can forge (literally, yes, a large bean can) lined with about 3/4 inches of kaowool, and painted thin w/satanite, running a simple swirl tip hand torch off a 5 gal tank of propane. I use soft fire bricks front and back to control the atmosphere - it'll run lean wide open, or very rich mostly blocked off. Can't weld steel in it, but I can do just about everything else I want. Bigger stuff is harder, but little knives and especially the mokume is a snap in it.

[Gene Chapman]

Prizzim, sent the package to day, priority mail, you ever get up here, Kingston WA, stop in for some hands on hot iron fun.

How about more info on dime mokume. I use a small kao wool forge for effeciency now for small work.

[SheepishLion]

Prizzim,

What do you use to bind your stack together in the forge?

I've heard people just wire-tying the stack together but I would think that would be too loose for dimes. Maybe two plates of stainless with some sort of screw tightening system?

More info please. Cuz I love this mokume stuff.

Joe

[Sweany]

I like it.

I got some 1964 Kennedy halfs I been saving for something special

[prizzim]

I just pinch 5 dimes at a time in a small pair of pickup tongs. For the $2.00 stack, I did four short stacks, and briefly hit the ends on the belt grinder to get some bare metal before welding those together. No "binding method" other than hanging on for dear life. I think having full manual control of the material in the flame lets you control the melting moment much better. Using a compression system sucks too much heat away, is large and clunky, and is harder to view the stack at the crucial moment. Of course, I haven't tried it yet, but these are the concerns that keep me from going there.

This is easy. Light forge. Dig in pocket for change. Adjust tongs. Get it hot and -tap- it. Repeat last step until it's right. Grind contours for pattern. Get it hot and flatten it. Grind surface to reveal pattern. Polish.

Next...

[prizzim]

I'll try to make a short video clip of the process for those that can't visualize what I'm trying to describe. Look for it late tonight or tomorrow morning, if I get to it this evening.