Embossing on metal. Artistic metal processing. Drawings for coinage

Stamping for metal is a technological process used for making relief images, inscriptions, various souvenirs. It is one of the types of fine arts and crafts. Each product is handmade exclusively.

Craft or art

The artistic processing of metal by the method of coining has been known since ancient times. Masters of the Middle Ages perfectly mastered the art of "knocking out" images on a thin sheet of soft metal, and their ability to create drawings with a hammer and a special percussion called "chasing" was passed down from generation to generation.

Currently, the relief art images, as before, are made by hand, so each work is unique and unique. The material is used in a variety of ways, but it must be plastic and stretchable. The best metals for chasing are sheet metals: brass, aluminum and copper.

Specifications

Stamping for metal Is made on a so-called substrate, which fits under the workpiece. The substrate must be malleable and not amortized under hammer impacts. Masters usually use a cross-section of a hardwood tree - this can be a birch chock, an oak bark or a linden log. For embossing on extremely thin metal sheets , felt, a thick rubber plate or a bag of dense tarpaulin stuffed with river sand is used. The latter method is used if the area of the source material is more than a square half-meter. For smaller products, professional chasers prefer a lead plate, which allows you to achieve the finest strokes and lines in the image.

Kinds

Chasing (photo Presented in the article) can be in two versions: volumetric, with a rather high relief, and flat, in which the relief indices are insignificant. Each species has its own advantages. The relief image is more effective from the point of view of the plot aesthetics, as the approach to the 3D format occurs, and this is considered a positive factor. But flat mintage for metal Can be executed in an openwork version, which is an indisputable sign of artistic style.

Cutting

Lacy ornament in metal requires high skill and is made by the method of through piercing. The procurement is cut in two stages. At first, sharply sharpened coins mark contours and lines, along which punching of the pattern will follow, then directly cut through the material.

After the product is cleaned and the deburring is done, firing is carried out in order to level the material. This technological operation requires special care, because thin openwork partitions can melt.

A subset of planar coinage is a contour method, which resembles an engraving with a low relief. Contour chasing can be convex or concave, depending on the plot of the picture. As a rule, such items are used to decorate interiors, but they are also interesting as independent decorative ones.

Embossed chasing

Bulky products are more complex in terms of technology and, in addition, carry a constant threat of deformation. Nevertheless, relief embossing on metal is considered the most aesthetic and artistic. During excavations in the southern European regions, archaeologists have repeatedly found the finest gold and silver products made by embossed embossing. And although the ancient masters owned casting technologies, they preferred more elegant ways of creating ornaments.

Metal embossing with own hands

To begin with, you can try to make chasing on kitchen utensils. It can be a tin of coffee or tea. How to make chasing at home? Start better with a concave variety, that is, the pattern will be directed inwards. To do this, it is necessary to firmly fix the material, in this case, the coffee can, and draw a picture with a pencil. Subject can be any.

Then you need to make a tool for coinage. At home, an ordinary building nail 100-150 millimeters long, which should be sharpened with a sharp end, is suitable for work. When the tip of the nail takes a round shape, it can already be called a kofarnikom - this is the main tool of the chaser. It remains to find a hammer weighing two hundred grams, and you can start working. Light strokes need to cause the contours of the pattern, and then beat out the points. Chasing metal with your own hands at home is a creative process that can become the beginning of a long-term passion. In this case, you need to be prepared for the need for a set of tools and special material.

Drawings for coinage

The initial stage in the process of creating the product is drawing the drawing onto the workpiece. Artistic processing of metal is associated with the presence of such raw materials as metal plates made from tinplate or sheet copper, brass and aluminum. For each of them, you need to draw a drawing, which will be made chasing. Subjects of images are selected in advance, and further on they prepare special sketches. Then the drawings by direct copying are transferred to the surface of the metal workpiece. After that, the surface is covered with a thin layer of lacquer, protecting the contours from abrasion.

Forms

Technology of coining for metal used in the manufacture of coins. This automatic process is under the control of the state and is designed to provide the country's needs for monetary units. Complex machines continuously stamp metal coins of different denominations. For each denomination there is a form for coinage, which is an interchangeable, universal construction. Technicians, as required, change these forms in a matter of minutes, and the process of making coins continues.

Instruments

To work the master-chaser needs a set of special tools and tools. Professionals with many years of experience have a whole instrumental base, numbering tens and hundreds of different devices. Beginners chasing the cost of several tools.

For the manufacture of a simple product, a set of four- or octagonal forged coins is required:

• Kafarnik - mint in the form of a thick needle with a rounded end;
• Consumption - a straight, flat or radial shape in the form of a screwdriver tool;
• Seed - sharpened chisel in the form of a chisel, designed for deaf or through cutting of material;
• Horseshoe - a variety of flat-shaped tools for polishing - leveling the base.

For full-fledged work, locksmith's devices, various retainers, clamps, vices and weights are also required. You can not do without wooden hammers (kiyanok).

Materials

• Red copper is the most preferred metal for coinage, having plasticity. It easily takes the given form, is able to withstand the high relief of the product. After polishing for a long time it does not get dark.
• Brass is an alloy of copper with zinc. Less plastic in comparison with copper, but has good data for mechanical processing, concomitant coinage: stamping, cutting, rolling and other operations. Well polished, long lasting shine. When oxidized, it acquires a beautiful greenish color.

• Aluminum - metal is hard enough, but it is easily minted. In the form of foil allows the hood. Does not require firing, as it does not deform during processing. Easily polished, long retains a noble matte shade.
• Stainless steel - used for particularly large products, minted only on special machines. Manual processing is not possible, since steel has high strength and toughness.
• Nickel - in its pure form for coinage is not suitable, but in the alloy with copper is a convenient and reliable material for the manufacture of products with a high level of aesthetics. The most popular alloys are nickel silver and nickel silver. They are perfectly polished and do not require cleaning.
• Roof iron - the material is used only for the manufacture of the simplest products. The consistency of the metal is unstable, prone to cracking.

Artistic products made by the method of coining are in demand in many areas of public life. They decorate the halls and offices. Particularly valuable specimens are in museums and art galleries.