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Tussey Mussey

27/10/2017

 
Finally we're onto the project I've been looking forward to all module.  A tussey mussey.
Most people had never heard of such a thing, but I'd bought my mother one many (many) years ago.
They were brooches popular with the Victorians, that were in the form of a tiny vase that could hold a flower or small poesy.  I've created a Pinterest board for research.

Despite being told that this was our chance to design something ourselves, the structure of the piece was very specifically dictated (must be fabricated using a cone, dome and tube) leaving very little room for individuality.
Another limitation of the design was that it must be constructed entirely from a provided piece of sheet.  This meant that we had to work out a very specific cutting plan in advance.

I started thinking about possible designs over the weekend and jotted down a lot of ideas.
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I even attempted to turn the whole structure upside down and put the cone on the bottom and the dome on the top.
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I settled on a Victorian inspired design, with a lace type border around the top with the tube section fitting under some long pointed extensions from the cone section.

I have a tiny shell cameo at home that I thought suited the Victorian feel and decided to set this on the cone section.
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We were provided with paper templates for the cone section that would work with the cone forming jig available.
The rest of the cutting plan would be dictated by this template.

I mocked up a cone in copper using the template provided so I could measure the diameter of the narrow end.
This allowed me to calculate the required width of the tube and size of the disk required for doming.
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I produced a cutting plan in MS Word and used it to assemble a paper version of the piece to check that everything fit.

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I transferred the plan onto the gilding metal sheet using the acetone method and pierced out all the pieces (except the back piece).
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Once the main structure was assembled, I was not happy with how wonky the long pointy parts were, so I reworked it to remove these.

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Although this adjustment improved the design, it proved to be my downfall.
The meeting of the conical and tubular sections was not a perfect fit so I filed both to even out the seam.
I filed clean through the metal!!!
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I was able to insert another piece of metal into the hole, but it the solder join remains annoyingly visible.

Shown here is also the tiny buff stick I had to make from coffee stirrers, in order to get into the nooks and crannies of this piece.
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Sick and tired of all the buffing, I Googled how to remove the pink copper coating that occurs when brass is annealed or soldered.

I found a recipe of warm distilled white vinegar and hydrogen peroxide.
Wondering where to get hydrogen peroxide, I remembered that the mouthwash I use contains it.
Not perfect but I thought I'd give it a go.

It works a treat :-)  Stinks, but works a treat.
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The photo shows the tussey mussey after it's been soaking in the mixture for an hour or so (face down, so the red patches show the colour before).

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  • Home
  • Shop by collection
    • "Anjo"
    • "Lulu"
    • "Nova"
    • "Rosa"
    • "Hedera"
    • "Quercus"
    • "Madison"
    • "Hylle" medieval initials
    • One of a kind pieces
  • Shop by type
    • Necklaces
    • Earrings
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    • Bracelets
    • Brooches
  • Wedding Rings
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    • About
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