Re: getting the sticky stuff off your metal from labels. I keep
a can of WD 40 handy at all times. Spray in on and it disolves
the stickum - and doesn’t scratch the surface. Gini in west
coast Fl.
Gail, I use a material called Frisket Film. It is a low tack
soft peel masking film used by artists and can be found at most
Art stores. You just write on it peal off the clear plastic sheet
and tack it to your metal. When your done sawing just remove it.
It’s adhesion isn’t as good as glue but in most cases it will
work just fine.
George Hebner
To dissolve sticky tape residue without harming most plastics,
try a product called Goo Gone. It’s a petroleum distillate with
an orange scent added. Found in groceries, craft shops, etc. Of
course, read the label, YMMV, blah blah blah Dorothy
http://www.the-wolves.com
Red Wolf Vintage Fountain Pens
Lone Wolf Antiques & Collectibles
Grey Wolf Collector Cards & Comics
White Wolf Custom Jewelry & Gemstone Designs
Sometimes when I want to repousse’ a piece, I paint Chinese white
(watercolor is much cheaper than the block material) on the
silver. I tape the piece down. Cover it with carbon paper and
align the pattern over the work piece. Use a stylus to transfer
the pattern to the workpiece. Spray the traced pattern with a
clear ‘Krylon’ spray to prevent smudge.
Alan Revere’s book has a great suggestion for cutting two of the
same patterns… glue the two pieces of material together with a
piece of paper between them. I use used printer paper and "Elmers"
white glue to glue the top pattern too. Seems as though the white
glue will work well if you don’t let it dry completely. I think
that is why the inside glue/paper works so well. A bowl of water
on the bench is a easy way to separate the sandwich. You will be
astonished at the hold of the inner paper to the silver pieces.
Bill in Vista basking in 80 degree sunshine.
Why can’t you just draw directly onto the metal? Why the need to
put paper down? As for the plastic - if you are using "sheet"
whatever - acrylic, etc… it usually comes with paper on it,
doesn’t it? And if not - then why not draw on it with a fine line
scripto marker? ***Kirsten in PA
another way to stick down paper to metal is to do your drawing
on white contact paper. It sticks and can be peeled off when
finished. candeelou
Wax. Has anyone mentioned wax?
Heat up over a bushy flame or hotplate a piece of plate steel as
a heat source. Place the silver sheet onto that, When beeswax
will melt on the silver turn the flame (or hotplate) off and
smear wax all over the silver.
Then place the paper onto the molten wax on the silver. The wax
sticks the paper to the silver, the paper gets loaded with wax,
and guess what? with the wax there it’s going to be a dream to
saw!
For detailed or intricate designs the paper might lift from the
silver as you saw. Maybe a roughened surface might help for
that. I do this to light card. The card is made waterproof, and
little discs hole-punched out and used under stones in cab
settings last a lot longer.
Brian
B r i a n =A0 A d a m R u t h B a i r d J e w e l l e r y
http://www.adam.co.nz ph/fx +64 9 817 6816 NEW ZEALAND
whenever I try to draw on the metal either with a marker and
with china white is become a MESS! The oils from your skin or any
brushing up against the marked area removes the ink. IF you have
great ideas you can scratch the pattern in with a sharp
instrument.
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Why can't you just draw directly onto the metal?
I was wondering the same thing! There are so many permanent
markers on the market that work for this purpose.
Another choice is blue layout die. Paint it on, it dries in a
few minutes, draw with pencil, then go over the pencil lines with
a scribe. This is great for very precise work. Layout die can
be removed with alcohol or acetone. You can get it from Small
Parts, Inc.(800-220-4242) for about $6.
Kim
Just a general note to those wishing to transfer photocopied
designs to metal:
It has been my experience that photocopy ink will *flake off*
as you are sawing unless it is protected by a layer of tape… I
once had to do a design three times 'cause I couldn’t figure out
why I was losing the design as I sawed. Eventually, the tape
worked. I usually use rubber cement, 'cause I didn’t know it was
so bad for you (It’s not like I stick it up my nose when I’m
doing it! 
) but I’m going to seek out other glues now.
-Kieran
Try spraying the design with hair spray after your ink dries.
Sharon Holt
Kimberly, This is about the best advise I have heard on this
subject. Congrats. I use a double acetate plastic sheet I get at
Architects supplys. I photocopy my design on it, peel of the
underside and glue it on the metal like a decal. It is great. If
you use Oil of Wintergreen as a drill lubricant, you will erase
the design on the sheet, so I use burr life or something like it.
Jurgen J. Maerz
If it is a simple outline, I still draw it directly on the metal
with a marker, but I put rubber finger cots on so the skin oil
and warmth from my fingers don’t smudge the lines. If it is an
intricate design, nothing beats printer label paper, as
previously mentioned.
Nancy <@Nancy_B_Widmer>
ICQ# 9472643
Bacliff, Texas US on the Gulf Coast just blocks from Galveston Bay
Al - I have just purchased a new computer with the idea of using
it both for creating images as well as experimenting with
coloration (I do enameling) rather than trying out the color
experiments on the metal. I have purchased Photoshop but not
Illustrator. Have you tried Photoshop ? My thought was that I
could draw the image and then scan it in and quickly check out a
series of color ideas - though I often find that with computers,
it takes longer sometimes to do it on the computer than to draw
the image, duplicate it in some fashion and then color it by
hand. I would appreciate not only your comments, Al, but
welcome any hints or assistance from anyone else on the list who
uses a computer to compose images. Sheridan Reed
To add my 2 cents to this thread. I do a lot of sawing and
piercing of both silver, gold and copper. One technique that I
use quite often is to sketch with a non permanent marker (I like
red) directly on the metal (if you need to make changes or don’t
like the design, you can wipe it off and do it over). When I
finalize the design, I scribe it with a carbide tipped scribe or
a diamond one. These flow very easily on the metal letting you
make smooth and clean curves and intricate designs. Much
smoother than plan steel scribes. It leaves a bright line that
shows up very well if you aim a little light across it. I find
that this line has a great advantage over pencil or pen lines in
that it has almost no width, so your saw cut can’t wander much
as it can in a broader line. For me this results in very clean
crisp cuts that require little or no filing which is a great
time saver. I find this technique a better conserver of metal as
you can get quite close to the edge in a more precision way than
with gluing paper on. This is especially important with gold.
Sometimes it is necessary to glue paper on the metal, however,
when you’ve sketched the perfect design in you notebook or on a
dinner napkin or whatever and need to capture it. I also
sometimes make master sheets of designs that I run copies of the
use as patterns, and now, of course, with my computer, I find
myself scanning designs and creating designs with graphic
programs. As someone else mentioned, printing on labels is a
great way to go in this case.
And finally, when I find a design or simple form that I expect
that I may want to reproduce late, I make a template of it out
of very thin brass or copper so that I will always have it and
just have to scribe it on metal. Great for perfectly matched
pairs and sets also. I’ve accumulated hundreds of these in the
last 30 years. If a design becomes really popular and I find
myself using it a lot, I go the extra step in time and energy to
creat a pancake die that I can use to stamp out dozens or
hundreds of reproductions utilizing the hydraulic press.
I do run on. Happy sawing to you all and good luck.
Jima Abbott / N. Calif./ @jica
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