As Charles noted in his comments about pitch bowls, I have found that
the plaster I originally used as a filler in the bottom of my pitch
bowls did eventually crack and break up after heavy use. I have also
changed over to using concrete instead. I use a “quikcrete” product
from the local home and builder’s supply center. It is an easy to mix
fast setting type of cement commonly used for securing fenceposts,
etc. This works well for me and it adds a bit more weight to the bowl
which is helpful.
I have prepared my bowls by putting them in the oven (on an old
cookie sheet) to melt the pitch. This is what Valentin reccomends
and it works well. I set the temperature at 325 degrees (F) for the
red German pitch. It takes 20 to 30 minutes to melt. Just make sure
to turn the oven off and allow the bowl to cool completely before
removing it from the oven. Additional pitch can be built up
afterwards on the top of the bowl by adding pieces and melting with a
heatgun.
The way I was taught how to make the pitch bowl is using an old
bowling ball. You cut it in half, and use the pitch on the cut side
with some type of craddle on the other side. Or you could use the
pitch on the rounded part depending what your working on. That would
certainly give you the weight, and you wouldn’t need lots of pitch to
fill the bowl.
I know that Karl Fischer (www.fischer-pforzheim.de, request a
catalogue) has the red sealing wax and it’s very expensive. But I
purchased mine through my teacher. Must have been about 5 pounds or
so and came as big chunks of red sealing wax. About 4 years ago I
reimbursed him about $30.00. I have heard that it’s more today.
When I talk with him in the next week or two, I’ll ask him about his
source and get back to orchid with a post.
How, and/or with what, do you cut a bowling ball in half? I've got
That’s a good question. I know we covered pitch bowls in a simpler
fashion that I will share which some may find useful.
Get a dirt chep metal mixing bowl.
On your sand bag or what have you with a rounded out stick or how
ever else you wish to do it, pound out the bottom to make it rounded.
Get some scrap pieces of steel, be it large nuts or bolts. I had a
thick rod I wasn’t going to be using any time soon so I choped that
up and filled the bowl a third full.
I went to the hardware store and picked up an spare Bar-b-cue
wheel and peel off the tire to use as my pitch bowl base.
From a second hand store I found a crock pot so I ground off the
keyed lip, but if you find just a cooking pot then you’re good.
On a dedicated heating element at medium heat in a well ventilated
room (I maybe should have done this outside) I brought tar to a
liquid consistensy… I broke off chunks from a larger piece using a
scrap piece of sheet steel and a five pound sledge.
Slowly I added Plaster of Paris, mixing/stiring it with a stick
until the pitch turned to a velvety plastic looking mixture. It took
a surprisingly large quantity, maybe 4 cups for a 3/4 full pot.
Fill the bowl like it was pudding.
Have a torcb about to heat the surface while it cool as you want
to work out any bubbles that rise so the surface is nice and flat and
doesn’t have any air pockets.
Note: Don’t catch you pitch on fire or it will become brittle and
loose the properties you need it for. Melt, skim off, heat surface to
make it flat and work out air pockets.
How, and/or with what, do you cut a bowling ball in half? I've got
two, yard sale bowling balls, in storage, so that part is easy...
Bowling balls ar made of a hard rubber or a plastic material
depending on the age of the ball. Both materials are easily cut with
with a carpenters hand saw.
It’s probably a two person job, unless you’ve got a big vise, one
person to hold the ball still & the other to saw. If you’re fortunate
enough to have a large band saw, or know someone who does, that may
also work.
I have read every thread in the archives on pitch bowls and pitch. My
husband bought me a beautiful German 8" bowl and pitch from Otto Frei
for my birthday, and I am ready to prepare it. I am confused on a few
things and need some assistance. My questions are as follows: If I
fill my bowl with quikcrete - do I just follow package directions on
mixing it up? What is the correct consistency? Should I let it set
for 24-48 hours like plaster of paris? Do I fill the bowl and leave
3"or 2" from the top for the pitch? Does it matter? Once I crack the
pitch and put it into the bowl on top of the quikcrete and put that
into a 350 degree oven, do I have to worry that the quikcrete will
crack from the heat of the oven underneath the pitch? Does it matter?
How do you know how much pitch is needed once you fill it partially
with quikcrete? Do you watch it and add more as it is heating in the
oven? Or do I just put it all in - because that is the correct amount
in that metal pan? I did read that I could add more with a heat gun
after the bowl was cool, but how much can you add with a heat gun? Is
it best to underfill the bowl and then use the heat gun to be safe?
Sorry for so many questions…
First question, are you using Swedish pitch. This is already made to
the correct consistency for chasing or Repousse. You can partly fill
the bowl with broken brick so that you use less pitch. Personally, I
wouldn’t use quikcrete. Is the bowl cast iron or steel. Do you have
a metal ring to stand it on? Swedish pitch is ready to use, break it
up, put it in the bowl, and heat it until you get a smooth top to the
pitch, let it cool. You are now ready to use it. Just heat the top
layer of pitch with a gas flame, you can then set you work in that
ready for work. Just let it cool and you can start chasing!
Incidentally, if you don’t want to pay for chasing punches, buy some
quarter inch square wire from you local supplier, cut it into about
4" lengths, shape and polish the ends. Case harden the ends. This is
a much cheaper option. I have made all my chasing punches this way.
I have never heard of or used quickcrete or any concrete for pitch
preparations…I use plaster and pitch in a cast iron bowl for
pitch,and skillets with handles sawn off…
If using burgundy pitch you heat it in the bowl after breaking in
chunks and,after about 20 minutes it levels off,and is still too hot
to touch…cool to warm, then bend the edges of a piece of scrap
brass,copper, etc, and see if the easily are held firmly in the
pitch without chipping when you strike it with hammer and
pucnh(es).If it chips reheat and soften with some beeswax .I like my
pitch right near he top of the bowl,say within a quarter of an
inch…up to the top can be hazardous when reheating…if not paying
complete attention…
If using asphaltum or pine pitch and plaster and beeswax to make
your own…do it outside on a gas burner in an old skillet
w/handle…when the pitch and wax are just flowing mix in the plaster(
mixed off heat in a big empty yoghurt container or similar),stir with
a paint stirrer,without adding bubbles, that is folding the admixture
together…then pour into a warmed pitch pot and let set up… sealing
wax bars make another alternative to the high cost of pitch…to each
1 lb bar of green or red sealing wax,add 2oz. of beeswax and mix
thoroughly to the warm and flowing,but not bubbling, pitch.
A friend I know leaves her pitch bowl ona single electric typr
buffet burner,to warm the bowl,soften pitch and then add things if
necessary ( she uses burgundy or orange pitch with beeswax,and
prefers hers softer as she works in mostly 22kt golds no thicker than
16 gauge)- she too hasn’t a clue about quickcrete unless its to set
the bowl/pitchpot in…plaster is a common additive cement???
Hi Alis,I don’t use any plaster or quikrete in my bowl. If you hit
with any force it eventually breaks out and is exceptionally
annoying. I just detest plaster in pitchbowls, but I know it works
fine for small delicate pieces.To fill the entire 8 inch bowl, you
need about 6 pounds of pitch, plus an extra pound for mounding on
the top later with the heat gun. Here is a blog entry that shows
pitch melting into those exact 8 inch bowls
No, don’t underfill the pitch bowl. Fill it to the top, or within
1/4 inch of the top. You can add chunks of pitch to the top with a
heat gun, yes- as many as you want as long as you go slowly and work
with small chunks, oh maybe 1 to 2 inch pieces.Feel free to email me
with any questions.Don’t set your oven at 350, way too hot. Set it
at 250 and let it melt slowly, very very slowly.I’m teaching 2
chasing & repousse workshops this summer, which you can find here
Well I have some idiosycratic views of pitch bowl.
I believe a pitch bowl should be as heavy as possible, and should be
filled with lead (diving weight material will do) if you can do it.
There are serious ventilation issues and care is needed. Do only if
fumes are exhausted properly.
The shape I prefer is that of a sphere with one quarter or so taken
off the top. A bowling ball is used for it in this article at
Ganoksin:
I have seen Portugese pitch bowls in exactly this shape made from
solid granite, one might be able to use decorative balls for garden
pillars as pitch bowls.
Plaster is not a good idea as it can break up with time and work its
way up eventually getting in the way in the pitch.
I’ve used concrete (read the instructions on the bag) and while it
works I don’t find it heavy enough. With either lead or concrete I
fill the pitch bowl to within about 1 cm of the top. On never really
places metal below the rim of a pitch bowl as then you can’t get your
tools at it with a full range of movement. Instead the pitch is piled
up above the rim, and the work, if possible, mounted on a mound,
which lets you get at it from a very large range of angles.
It is dangerous to heat pitch to molten temperatures, in an oven or
elsewhere. One of the special benefits of the red pitch is that it
becomes soft and pliable at a very low, touchable temperature. Heat
also travels through it fast so you don’t have to end up with molten
material on top of still solid pitch. This means you can use a hair
dryer (or a heat gun) to soften it. I usually hit the cold pitch with
a hammer to get chunks (wear eye protection!), then place the chunks
on the top surface of the pitch bowl, warm with the heat gun, and
when it is soft press it into, and onto the top of the bowl to the
desired shape. A bowl of water to dip fingers in while doing this is
good, and traditionally fingers were not used, instead a lightly
oiled steel stake was used to push it around. Never let the pitch get
hot enough to get runny or stick to you. If it smokes or bubbles you
are WAY too hot. Safety notes:
Pitch notes at Ganoksin:
Also there are notes on pitch in Erhard Brepohl’s article at the
Ganoksin Project.
Here is the address for ordering Northwest Pitchworks pitch. I like
their medium one… www.northwestpitchworks.com
Mountain Gems in BC makes their own pitch as well.
Allcraft in New York has these as well. Ask for Tevel.
Allcraft Tool and Supply
45 West 46th St New York City, NY 10036
(800) 645-7124 fax: (800) 645-7125
The quickcrete isn’t in the blend of pitch. It is used to add
ballast and take up space in the bottom of the pitch bowl the
instruction usually state place finger down in the plaster or cement
to from holes to give the pitch something to grab on to.
Thank you so much for all the responses. I think I have a better
understanding of it now.
are you using Swedish pitch. This is already made to the correct
consistency for chasing or Repousse..."Do you have a metal ring to
stand it on?
No, I have red German pitch and a cast iron bowl that is 7-3/4" by
3-1/2" deep. The pitch came in an oblong tin - sort of looks like a
red pound cake. It is 2 kilos in weight. I am hoping this pitch is
ready to use - meaning that all I have to do is chunk it up and put
into the bowl. Am I correct? There is no metal ring, the bowl came
with a leather ring. From the responses to my post, I am thinking
that I should just buy more of this red pitch and fill the bowl up
with only pitch. I don’t want to worry about how hard I am
hammering. I am just beginning and not delicate with the hammering
and it sounds like the quikcrete idea might be risky. I have made one
bracelet and pin so far, but plan to do a lot more. If I am
converting it correctly and need 6 pounds to fill this bowl, I will
need to buy 2 more tins of the pitch. Does this sound about right?
Gets pretty expensive, no wonder people are filling up the bowl with
odds and ends!
If using burgundy pitch you heat it in the bowl after breaking in
chunks and,after about 20 minutes it levels off,and is still too
hot to touch..
When I teach repousse, I give students the less expensive option of
using the horrid, sticky, American black pitch (The stuff’s like
road tar!) to fill their bowls and then add a mound of the red pitch
on top. This allows an all pitch, non cracking consistency without
the $$$, however, the red pitch is much safer to heat and melt into
the bowl than the black pitch.
You need a mound of the red pitch on top of the bowl on which to
work, or you will continually have to stop and mound one up when
working from the front of the piece. Whatever you fill your bowl
with, let it cool completely, and then pile up a hunk slightly
smaller than a fist on top, and soften it just enough to make it
stick together and to the bowl. This will save tons of working time
later on just be sure never to overheat and mix the 2 kinds of
pitches together!
Those tubs of red pitch look like fudge, don’t they?
I use the red german pitch (in the aluminum foil pan) you might need
2 to fill up your bowl, just chunk it up and put in the oven to let
it soften and fill the bowl. The leather ring is fine and works well.