The Mettle Works      Tools and Supplies  Repoussé and Chasing tools - by Gene Olson Repoussage and chasing combine in the art of transforming sheet metal into art. Repoussé means pushed from behind and when working on a flat sheet, that is often the first step though most detail is chased in from the front. We form it to add dimension. The tools used are meant to move the metal, not to cut it. A design is developed with large radius tools and defined and refined with smaller radius tools, or specially made ones with specific shapes, such as the small cup shaped tool that was used to form the individual little balls in the berries at left. All the rest of the detail shown was developed with the basic tools shown below. The tools on this page are finely crafted of oil hardening tool steel. The tool shafts are 4¼-5 inches (11-12.5cm) long. The hexagonal shafts make them easier to hold and use than round shaft tools. The twelve tools displayed on this page are an excellent starter set for learning the art of repoussage. The working faces of the tools are hardened and tempered while the struck end is left annealled so that it doesn't shatter from the blows of the hammer. Eventually the struck end may start to mushroom out. When this happens the end should be ground or filed back to round. If left untended, the mushroomed edges can break off and fly with great force when struck. These bits can be very dangerous to tender things like eyes. Always wear safety glasses when using struck tools and use hearing protection as well.  Tools for Chasing and Repoussé look kind of like chisels but they are not. They are designed for moving metal, not for cutting or piercing it. # Chase-set-01  Basic Starter set. A Dozen Basic tools, including Chase-0001, 0002, 0003, 0004, 0005, 0006, 0101, 0201, 0202, 0203, 0301, & 0302 $109.95 Individual tools #Chase-0001 - Large liner, main material mover for defining large areas $9.95 Liners are the workhorses of this discipline. They can be used along the narrow axis for that width, bumped slowly along the wide axis for wide lines, or used at a diagonal for intermediate widths. # Chase-0002 medium liner $9.95 # Chase-0003 medium liner with narrower face $9.95 #Chase-0004 - liner $9.95 # Chase-0005 Small liner $10.95 # Chase-0006 - Tiny Liner $10.95 #Chase-0201 - Large Pearl $9.95 # Chase-0202 Medium Pearl $9.95 # Chase-0203 Small Pearl $9.95 #Chase-0101 - Round Planisher $9.95 # Chase-0301 Tapered liner $10.95 # Chase-0302 Sheepsfoot (edge definer, face is taperd back from edge) $10.95 Addition tools available Coming soon half rounds, more planishers (round sizes, rectangular, square) , tear drops several sizes, # Chase-0401 Half round (face is nearly flat)   # Chase-0402 Half round (face is nearly flat) # Chase-0403 Half round (face is nearly flat)   # Chase-0404 Half round (face is nearly flat)       Custom tools - as a point of reference I have posted pictures of Pete Renzetti's set of small chasing tools and numbered them. Point out one similar to what you want and we will consider making it. Email Gene Olson We use the services of PayPal and their secure server for our online transactions.   You may pay online via your PayPal account, or with a Credit Card. If you would rather order and pay by snail mail, please follow these directions.
Gene Olson