# Garden Art for Wife



## CalgaryPT (Aug 19, 2020)

My wife found some hanging metal stars in an artisan store from Vancouver Island (I think) years ago. But they only had a few and she's been asking me for years to make something like them because she wanted more. These are what I came up with. I don't have a pic of the original, but these are pretty close. The originals are thiner gauge and painted with a kind of thick paint that glitters a bit. I suspect the base metal of the originals is either tin or galvanized steel. After making these she wanted them just lacquered instead. I still have to solder hooks onto the copper ones and weld hooks onto the steel ones, and then do a final run on the big buffer, then lacquer. A couple of them will get patinas first as well. I'll make a few more, then add the hooks. One copper one and one steel one I'll let rust naturally.

They hang from trees in our backyard.


----------



## David_R8 (Aug 19, 2020)

Wow! Those are really awesome Pete. That type of work is an area I'd like to explore.


----------



## Brent H (Aug 19, 2020)

Outstanding!!!!   Well done @CalgaryPT  - you could sell them pretty quick I would bet!!!  nice!!


----------



## YYCHM (Aug 19, 2020)

That's what I call talent.  NICE!


----------



## dubser (Aug 19, 2020)

Beatyful !


----------



## DPittman (Aug 19, 2020)

Nice job and looks like a fun way of using some cool tools.  My wife would like me to see stars too but am not sure if she would care if I made them or not. LOL.
Nice bead roller exclamation mark.


----------



## DPittman (Aug 19, 2020)

Where do you buy the copper from? I think that sheet is beautiful on its own.


----------



## CalgaryPT (Aug 19, 2020)

Metal Supermarkets. And yes, I love  the look of it too. I can never decide if I like it better buffed and shiny or aged with that beautiful green patina. Both are great to look at.


----------



## YotaBota (Aug 19, 2020)

Somebodies getting an extra helping of dessert,,lol. 
Those are works of art, my vote on the copper would be the patina.
What gauge metals are you using?


----------



## Chris Cramer (Aug 19, 2020)

wow, I love the copper stars the most. the polished copper makes the edges stand out more, revealing more dimensions of the product.


----------



## CalgaryPT (Aug 19, 2020)

YotaBota said:


> Somebodies getting an extra helping of dessert,,lol.
> Those are works of art, my vote on the copper would be the patina.
> What gauge metals are you using?


LOL. In my experience, it only takes one (wife suggested) project per new machine to get buy-in from the better half—if you pick the project carefully. I think I could write an advice column on how to get out of the dog house after buying tools and machines. It's a subtle art indeed.

Both the steel and the copper are 22 gauge. The machine can do up to 16 gauge steel. The steel is A36 and the copper is C110. I always spec hot roll for the steel when bead rolling it—because it is softer. But regardless of material, it's really fascinating to see how rigid the material gets once it is bead rolled—especially the copper. It goes in all wobbly and you think, "this will never work. I just wasted a bunch of money." Then it comes out SOLID. So, so, so, cool to watch it transform before your eyes. I had a manual roller years ago, and you don't appreciate it as much. With an electric one it's truly magic because it happens so fast.

I actually could have gone 24 gauge—no problem, but I wanted the 22 gauge off-cuts for an an upcoming experiment where I intend to make my own custom dies (pretty common in bead rolling). Copper is SO easy to bead roll, but for 22 gauge I use a Nylatron lower die to avoid marring the material. If I were using 24 gauge, I'd definitely use a Nylatron upper die as well, instead of steel. If not, you risk tearing the material on projects that have pivots (instead of straight or gradually curving beads), especially with C110.

I'm 100% with you on the patina. On previous copper projects I've left them to self-oxidize, _but it takes forever_. I've read that in the rust belt region in the USA you see faster oxidation due to more acidic rain than in western Canada. Apparently the lack of industry here makes for slower greening of coppersmith work (imagine how fast it would be in China). These days I use a commercial patina to quickly oxidize artwork. Once I get the right finish, I fix it, then lock it in with a UV-resistant lacquer. Another technique I use is to rub with steel wool to "scratch finish" or "distress" it using a hard object on the lacquered finish when dry. This allows _some_ rain to leak into the copper, and over time add an element of natural patina as well. A great tool for this is a pneumatic needle scaler with low air pressure; it leaves a series of holes through the lacquer that the moisture can penetrate. There's just nothing like that green copper colour that says artistic in my mind.

However, after doing the first copper star my wife liked the buffed copper best. I've got a really great devoted buffer and if you go through the perscribed Tripoli/White/Jewellers polish you get a spectacular finish. But I usually do only one level, then lacquer if I don't want to use a commercial patina. I'm doing one polished and one patina on this project.

There's a church in Calgary (I think a Coptic one in NE quadrant) that redid some of its copper roof years ago. Supposedly parishioners were so distressed over losing the green patina that the contractor pre-oxidized the new work to make it blend in better. Not sure if this is true, but it makes a good story.


----------



## kevin.decelles (Aug 20, 2020)

I’ve never seen /used a bead roller . Sounds like an excuse for a meet up or virtual meet up


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Dabbler (Aug 20, 2020)

CalgaryPT said:


> There's a church in Calgary




I think you are referring to All Saints Russian Orthodox Church On 8 ave and 8st NE.  The patina thing, is unfortunately apocryphal -  I lived in the area when it was reroofed.  Bright shiny copper for 5 years before it started to brown (yes brown)... It is now a very pretty patina.  (oh and the congregation didn't like the shiny copper - too flashy!)


----------



## PeterT (Aug 20, 2020)

Nice work PT.
Re church, I was thinking St Vladimir's?


----------



## Crosche (Aug 20, 2020)

Super work! Your wife must be thrilled with those.


----------



## Dabbler (Aug 20, 2020)

PeterT said:


> I was thinking St Vladimir's?



that's quite a beautiful one!


----------



## CalgaryPT (Aug 20, 2020)

PeterT said:


> Nice work PT.
> Re church, I was thinking St Vladimir's?


Thinking some more...you may be right @PeterT. It was either St Vladimr's or Holy Trinity on 7Av and 6th Street. It was in the 1980s.


----------



## Janger (Aug 20, 2020)

kevin.decelles said:


> I’ve never seen /used a bead roller . Sounds like an excuse for a meet up or virtual meet up
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Kevin has a good idea...


----------

