Tutorial Tuesday - Chasing and Repousse series #4 : Chasing an outline

On today's edition of Tutorial Tuesday, I'm going to show you how to chase an outline for the purpose of chasing in repoussé. I'll be using tools from my master set. From left to right, we've got a small straight liner, a small curved liner, and an extra small curved liner. First I start with my small straight liner. I like to start from the center of the design and work my way out. Chasing is done by using many overlapping blows to walk the chisel down, never having to lift it and move it with your fingers. Grasp the tool lightly and hold it at a slight angle, letting the hammer blows walk it down the line. You can come back in with hammer blows forcing straight down to define the edges. You can also go back over your line to redefine it, straighten it, and smooth it out. I've sped this video up 450% so you could watch the whole process in around 5 minutes as opposed to 20. Now I'm switching to my extra small curved liner. Roll the tool in your fingers to navigate it around the curves. For tighter curves, hold the tool at a greater angle using just the heel in contact with the metal. Now I've switched back over to my straight liner. One of the main advantages of mounting your piece in a pitch bowl is the ability to move the bowl without having to move your hand into an uncomfortable and unnatural position while chasing. Always rotate the bowl so you can chase comfortably and controlled. I'm still using my straight liner here. As the curve becomes more drastic, I'm going to switch to my small curved liner. And for the very tight spots, I'll switch back to my extra small curved liner, then back to my small curved liner. When switching chisels midline, make sure to overlap your start and stop points for a seamless transition. Again, I start with my small curved liner, switch to my extra small curved liner, then back to my small curved liner. Now I've switched back to my straight curved liner, then I will switch back to my small curved liner just to finish up this curve. I've switched back to my straight liner to chase these outer rings. Make sure to chase deep enough to leave an impression on the back. You can use this impression in further steps, which you'll see in later tutorials. One of the key principles in chasing is consistency. Make sure to hammer with consistent strength, moving the chisel a consistent length with each hammer blow. Well, that's it for this week's edition of Tutorial Tuesday. I hope you've enjoyed. Check back next week to where we remove the piece from the pitch, anneal it, and remount it, getting it ready for the repoussé process.