[Ansteorra] Reproducing Buttons
Stefan li Rous
StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
Wed Apr 9 22:05:19 PDT 2008
If you decide to carve your own molds, which does give you the
advantage of modifying the design you are thinking of or making a
completely new design, you might want to take a look through these
files in the CRAFTS section of the Florilegium:
casting-lnks (22K) 7/14/06 Links to info on medieval metal
casting by
Dame Aoife Finn of Ynos Mon
casting-msg (164K) 3/ 1/08 Casting pewter and other metals.
However, making casts of the buttons you have using modern rubber and
techniques may give you greater fine detail.
Of course I've also thought having a set of buttons with my coat of
arms on them would be nice, if I had a persona that knew what buttons
were.
Stefan
1150s Anglo-Norman
On Apr 9, 2008, at 6:43 PM, Michael Kahn wrote:
> I'd suggest using the original to make clay molds. You can then
> cast the
> replicas in either pewter or brass. I haven't made clay molds
> before, but
> I'm sure we have artisans who have.
>
> If you're up to reproducing the raised pattern on the front, you
> can carve
> a soapstone mold and cast pewter replicas. That's not really very
> difficult. A two-part mold would let you cast the buttons with a
> rounded
> tab on the back, and you could use a drill press to drill a hole
> through
> it to turn it into a shank. This approach wouldn't be difficult,
> because
> a raised pattern is the norm in a carved mold. Even with just a
> single-button mold, the casting would only be a matter of a couple of
> hours. Drilling and cleaning up the buttons would take a bit longer.
> Techniques used by plastic model and figurine painters (dark wash and
> dry-brushing) could produce some very striking buttons that would
> stand up
> well to gentle-cycle washing, but I don't know whether that paint
> would
> stand up to dry cleaning solvents.
>
> Miles Grey
> Wiesenfeuer
>
> JOHN KELLER wrote:
>> I am looking to make copies (about 100) of a brass button I have.
>> It is
>> about 3/4" diamter and has a raised pattern on the front. Does
>> anyone
>> have any suggestions on the best way to go about doing this? And the
>> final product does not necessarily have to be metal so long as it is
>> sturdy enough for wear and preferably able to tolerate dry cleaning.
--------
THLord Stefan li Rous Barony of Bryn Gwlad Kingdom of Ansteorra
Mark S. Harris Austin, Texas
StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at: http://www.florilegium.org ****
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