The Mettle Works      Overstock Sales Tools and Supplies  Repoussé and Chasing tools - by Gene Olson These tools are normally in stock and ship within a couple of days. 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. We form it to add dimension, push it around and change the shape of the metal sheet. 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. When the metal has been pushed into close to the final shape, sometimes by alternating working back to front, front to back other times working soly from the front we begin chasing in the final details.  Chasing has more to do with the texture of the surface than the shape of the metal.  We use the term chase and some of the same tools when we chase a weld on a sculpture to match the texture of the cast parts on both sides of the weld.  Chasing tools are often sharper and leave crisp sharp edges, or they can have patterns on them, like leather stamps for pressing in designs or textures such as the small cup shaped tool that was used to form the individual little balls in the berries in the design above.  When we have finished forming the shape of our piece, we chase in the details. As such, I divide the tools into 2 general catagories, Pushers (metal moving tools), and Chasers ( for forming detail and texture) there is of course some overlap, but that's life. The tools on this page are finely crafted of oil hardening tool steel. The tool shafts are 4 - 5 inches (10-12.5cm) long. The hexagonal shafts make them easier to hold and use than round shaft tools.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 Repoussé and most tools for Chasing look kind of like chisels but they are not. They are designed for moving metal, not for cutting or piercing it. These tools are hand formed. The sizes listed are approximate. If you need an exact size, please ask. Tools for Repoussé and Chasing These twelve tools are an excellent starter set for learning the art of repoussage. Formed from oil hardening tool steel, they are oven tempered and polished.  Basic Starter set. A Dozen Basic tools, including A large liner for forming the intial shape of your work, a slightly smaller one for refining your shapes and getting into smaller corners, as well as an oval liner of about the same thickness for getting into smaller spaces and working around inside curves. Once your overall shape is developed these three smaller liners can be used to develop your lines further, along with these three pearls to add texture and interest. Finally, you may need to planish portions of your piece to smooth it, make smooth transitions from narrow to wider lines or clean up an edge where you want it really crisp. That's where this planisher, tapered liner, and sheepsfoot can come in handy   Plus a bonus* about 24 square inches of 0.041" copper to play with. (random)   . (*domestic orders only due to international shipping costs) Tools included with this basic set are marked with this color in the individual tools section. $109.95 Individual tools Tools for moving metal, The pushers and shovers Liners 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-0001 - Large liner, main material mover for defining large areas Included in the basic set $9.95 # Chase-0002 medium liner Included in the basic set $9.95 # Chase-0003 medium liner with narrower face (an oval) Included in the basic set $9.95 #Chase-0004 - liner Included in the basic set $9.95 # Chase-0005 Small liner Included in the basic set $10.95 # Chase-0006 - Tiny Liner Included in the basic set $10.95 Pearls #Chase-0201 - Large Pearl Included in the basic set $9.95 # Chase-0202 Medium Pearl Included in the basic set $9.95 # Chase-0203 Small Pearl Included in the basic set $9.95 8 mm diameter round planisher Included in the basic set $9.95 # Chase-0301 Tapered liner Included in the basic set $10.95 # Chase-0302 Sheepsfoot (edge definer, face is taperd back from edge) 5.8 x 5.3 mm Included in the basic set $10.95 Planishers Planishers are nearly flat. They have a very slight crown with a stronger radius towards the edge so that overlapping blows can be blended without leaving sharp edge marks. These tools are hand formed. The sizes listed are approximate. If you need an exact size, please ask. Rounds 8 mm diameter round planisher Included in the basic set $9.95 5.5 mm diameter round planisher $9.95 4 mm diameter round planisher $9.95 3 mm diameter round planisher $9.95 Tear Drop 5 mm x 6 mm tear drop planisher 60° point allows you to planish into corners $10.95 Rectangular and square 3.5 mm square planisher $10.95 3.6 x 4.5 mm rectangular planisher $10.95 2 x 4.7 mm rectangular planisher $10.95 half round 2.2 x 3.2 mm $9.95 half round 2.8 x 4.4 mm $10.95 Smaller Sheepsfoot 4.8 x 5 mm $10.95 # Chase-0302 Sheepsfoot (edge definer, face is taperd back from edge) 5.8 x 5.3 mm repeat of item listed above $10.95 Chasers Coming soon texturing tools, curved liners, curved chasing chisels, matting tools. . .   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. 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Gene Olson