The Mettle Works, Tools for Chasing and Repoussé

Repoussé and It's Tools

Repoussage and chasing combine in the art of transforming sheet metal into art.

Repoussé is French and it 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 just from the front we begin chasing in the final details. Chasing was the English word for the process but it has come to have 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 a few general catagories, metal moving tools (pushers - liners,) finishing tools (texture/matting and planishing,) and metal carving (chisels-chasers-gravers) , there is of course some overlap, but that's life.

The tools on this page are finely crafted of oil hardened tool steel. They are great for working copper, silver, bronze, brass or gold, but will also work with steel and tin plate. Indeed, I made my first set when I started the Altoids tin project, years ago. The tool shafts are 4 - 5 inches (10-12.5cm) long. ;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. As my instructor told me, years ago, repoussé tools wear out from the back forward until they finally get too short to hold. 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.