--Contributed by Katharine D. Morse, Syracuse, N. Y.
** Brass Frame in Repousse [237]
Punches can be purchased, as can the pitch bed or block. Both can
be made easily, however. Several punches of different sizes and
shapes will be needed. A piece of mild steel, about 3/8 in.
square, can be easily worked into tools shaped as desired. A cold
chisel will be needed to cut the metal to length; a file to reduce
the ends to shape, and a piece of emery paper to smooth and polish
the end of the tool so that it will not scar the metal.
A small metal box must be secured to hold the pitch. The
illustration shows an iron receptacle. The pitch is prepared by
heating the following materials in these proportions: pitch, 5
lb.; plaster of Paris, 5 lb.; tallow, 1/2
[Illustration: Design for the Frame]
lb. To put it in another way, use pitch and plaster in equal parts
with 1/10 part tallow. See that the pitch and plaster are dry so
that the moisture will not cause the pitch to boil over. Keep
stirring the mass so that it never boils. Melt the pitch first and
add the plaster by degrees.
For a piece of repousse such as the frame shown, secure a piece of
brass of about No.
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