planishing an anticlastic recess

redrook · Post by **redrook** » Mon May 11, 2009 8:16 pm

Well I am still working here and there, on a musculata that I started a couple of years ago. All the major forming is done, and I am now planishing( an extremely tedious process considering all the varying degrees of curvature). Anyway,I am trying to planish the anticlastic recess,that runs horizontally between the bottom of the ribs and the top of the "love handles".I imagine it would be akin to the planishing done on some sallet visors,though not as tight a radius.

Can someone give me some pointers on planishing this type of area?

Richard

Halberds · Post by **Halberds** » Mon May 11, 2009 9:58 pm

How about filling the back side with lead or something?

When I have a weird area to do I generally use my RR spike head.
Or you might try reverse planishing on a ball stake.

Best of luck and be sure to show us some pics.

Destichado · Post by **Destichado** » Tue May 12, 2009 7:09 am

grind. or leave artistic tooling marks. :wink:

Mac · Post by **Mac** » Tue May 12, 2009 8:36 am

Richard,

Places which are difficult to planish from the outside often yield to planishing from the inside. You can probably find a place on your anvil horn that fits the spot.

There is nothing wrong with planishing from the inside. You won't find a description of this technique in any of the silversmithing texts. Silversmiths would rather die than planish that way. But, we're not silversmiths, and we can get away with it.

Mac

redrook · Post by **redrook** » Tue May 12, 2009 2:17 pm

Thanks for the replies everyone. My original intent was to leave the surface planished, then blacken, and finally scuff the surface with a scotchbrite. I have been meticulously trying to get a uniform pattern with my hammer marks. This was possible until the recessed areas. I have planished from the inside on a couple of other pieces, and (in my limited experience) it looks much different from the hammer marks. I suppose I will have to abandon my original finish ideas, and go ahead and grind/sand it smooth. Considering all the time invested in shaping this,I guess a smooth finish would be more complimentary. Running some sandpaper over the surface (which I haven't done on this piece), will certainly make finding the low spots easier. :wink:

Thanks again.....will post more progress pics, once I install the camera software on new computer.

Richard

Mad Matt · Post by **Mad Matt** » Tue May 12, 2009 2:50 pm

You can use a lightweight crosspeen with rounded edges on the sharp side.

My planishing hammer has a round end with a radius on the face I've used it on anticlastic curves and it works ok that way too. Faster is from the inside but if you want a uniform planished look on the outside that should work.

redrook · Post by **redrook** » Wed May 13, 2009 2:13 pm

Thanks Matt, if I have time I may give that a try. I have a baby on the way, so my days are numbered. I am afraid if I do not finish before the birth, this piece may never get finished. :sad:

Thanks again.

Richard

wcallen · Post by **wcallen** » Wed May 13, 2009 4:02 pm

My guess from looking at originals is that either they had very small stakes or they 'plannished' from the inside a lot. I certainly go back and forth all the time. Whatever works.

I also have various hammers that are flat, not so flat and a little more curved so I can plannish from the outside on a lot more things than I could if I just had a normal jeweler's plannishing hammer.

Either way works.

Wade

Talbot · Post by **Talbot** » Thu May 14, 2009 11:13 am

I planish from the inside all the time. I have some very small hammers for getting right up to edges and creases.

wcallen · Post by **wcallen** » Thu May 14, 2009 3:57 pm

Just for what it is worth.

This is a picture of the inside of a real breastplate.

http://www.allenantiques.com/images/A-15-inside.jpg

Unless they were working over stakes the size of hammer heads, there is no way that was planished from the outside on a large stake that simulated the desired shape of the piece. I personally think they beat it a lot from the inside on a flat anvil-like thing to do the final 'smoothing' (since it isn't all that smooth on the outside).

it appears to be a bunch of reasonably aggressive hammer marks from the inside to me.

The outside seems to confirm this. This piece was left 'rough from the hammer' and not ground. Here is the outside:

http://www.allenantiques.com/images/A-15-detail.jpg

Wade

Halberds · Post by **Halberds** » Fri May 15, 2009 2:19 am

Thank you W. Callen for the fine pics.
Perhaps it was made on the anvil?

Great rolled edges, they look heavy duty.
Yes... I see the thousands of hammer marks on the inside.

I love this stuff.

Hal

redrook · Post by **redrook** » Fri May 15, 2009 3:25 pm

Thank you for the pictures and the info Wade. Yes, it certainly looks to be hammered from the inside. I have not really experimented with hitting a dished piece from the inside,onto a flat surface. It seems though,that doing so would be much easier than trying to constantly adjust something over a ball type stake. I have been struggling with that, perhaps because a breastplate is so large. I seem to spend more time trying to align things to hit the "sweet spot".

The outside of the piece you linked does look very different from the outside of mine which was planished on the face. The pattern is less consistant, but more organic than the hammer marks. I believe the next time I want a" rough from the hammer" finish, that is the method I will try.

I can't seem to get get the closeup photos off of the camera,but here is a full view of the bp. Please excuse the Sharpie marker guidelines.
Richard

Armourkris · Post by **Armourkris** » Fri May 15, 2009 5:56 pm

that's going to be one sexy musculata