10-05-2009, 06:57 PM
Thanks Matts 
Yeah, I'm finding Greek stuff more and more interesting- it's all nearly more 'art' than 'function' so is especially appealing. Roman stuff is more decorated functional, so they compliment each other well.
Once I have more specifics worked out and when I get to trying a true copper alloy piece, I'll definitely take lots of 'in-process' photos possibly for a paper on the project. In simple terms though, the 'shrinking' I'm meaning is just reverse dishing- look at the abdomen: the right side is very hammermarked as you can see, while the left is still 'bulging'- I hammered (from the front) in the clefts for the various muscle definition points with a raising hammer on edge (a narrow cross pein would do the same thing), and over slightly convex WOOD form (just a piece of 4x4 fencepost), I used a my blacksmith's cross pein hammer (very slightly rounded face, about 5cm/ 2" diameter) and hammered the bulging areas from the perimeter in to flatten them. One could look at it as dishing save that instead of forming a concave surface, I'm flattening a convex one. Of course instead of stretching the metal, this is shrinking it. The wood form serves as a soft but reflective surface that allows the piece to remain curved and slightly convex where desired- plus you can shape it to however you need it, which is more difficult with steel :wink:
It's wild that that cuirass Dave posted about is only 5.25lbs- it must be pretty thin to be sure; I had considered using 1.6mm thick metal but maybe that's not such a hot plan LOL Some edges of extant examples don't have the look of being rolled and flared, but clearly many are, so there's no help there. It's a shame that so many of the ex-Guttmann pieces are already sold, and the one currently on offer is described as having been stabilized with fibreglass, so measurement or weight may not be so accurate (if the auction house would even give them to non-bidders LOL).
Yeah, I'm finding Greek stuff more and more interesting- it's all nearly more 'art' than 'function' so is especially appealing. Roman stuff is more decorated functional, so they compliment each other well.
Once I have more specifics worked out and when I get to trying a true copper alloy piece, I'll definitely take lots of 'in-process' photos possibly for a paper on the project. In simple terms though, the 'shrinking' I'm meaning is just reverse dishing- look at the abdomen: the right side is very hammermarked as you can see, while the left is still 'bulging'- I hammered (from the front) in the clefts for the various muscle definition points with a raising hammer on edge (a narrow cross pein would do the same thing), and over slightly convex WOOD form (just a piece of 4x4 fencepost), I used a my blacksmith's cross pein hammer (very slightly rounded face, about 5cm/ 2" diameter) and hammered the bulging areas from the perimeter in to flatten them. One could look at it as dishing save that instead of forming a concave surface, I'm flattening a convex one. Of course instead of stretching the metal, this is shrinking it. The wood form serves as a soft but reflective surface that allows the piece to remain curved and slightly convex where desired- plus you can shape it to however you need it, which is more difficult with steel :wink:
It's wild that that cuirass Dave posted about is only 5.25lbs- it must be pretty thin to be sure; I had considered using 1.6mm thick metal but maybe that's not such a hot plan LOL Some edges of extant examples don't have the look of being rolled and flared, but clearly many are, so there's no help there. It's a shame that so many of the ex-Guttmann pieces are already sold, and the one currently on offer is described as having been stabilized with fibreglass, so measurement or weight may not be so accurate (if the auction house would even give them to non-bidders LOL).
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