You wrote "Too bad they don't make tiny tig torches or right angle ones" and Jason pointed you to some. I meant to add that one can weld bronze with a real torch (i.e. one with fire) and some of those are really small too. Sorry the context was lost before I posted it. Oxy-butane only because butane's lower vapor pressure as compared to other fuels allows for much smaller, lighter tanks. A tiny oxy-fuel pencil torch with propane, MAPP, or acetylene would work just as well or better, but it's only butane that I have personally seen this small.
My family uses these in the shop. Worth every penny. Cheap to run too! http://www.ottofrei.com/Hydroflux-Welder-Water-Torch
I started welding up the 2nd eagle. Got the chest back on it. It needs a lot of cleaning up though. A lot of dremel work with the carbide burrs and lots of sanding stones to get rid of the shell failure defects. I'm beginning to wonder if the little bubbles in the metal are from bubbles in my slurry from the paint mixer whipping it to a froth. I didn't see the bubbles in my first coat but I guess they must have been there? I suppose a proper mixer machine is now on the agenda. Anyway the first eagle is ready. I'm going to sand blast it one more time to even it out after the stone burr that I used to remove the chatter marks from the carbide then polish the feather tips to a mirror finish, then apply patinas.
Great job man. That's a good looking chicken! whatcha thinking for a patina? Did ya see this bird? @7:03
Yeah that patina is nice. I'm thinking several things for the final finish. I want to buff the tips of the wings so they are mirror shiney, then put liver of sulfur into the spaces between feathers and then use ferric chloride and ferric nitrate to give the rest of the feather a really nice rich color. Then rebuff the tips of the feathers so they shine and then cost in lacquer for brass. Thanks Jeff!
Me too... but it won't last long unless he clears it right outta blasting. I gotta get some other patinas. Don't want to look like a one trick pony with LoS..
Cleaned out most of the bird. I have a few areas to do tomorrow but it is close to done. I recarved and fixed the bubbles on the feathers too. Now it's all about removing chatter marks with a stone wheel then I'll weld the legs on and then patina time for both of them. Pics tomorrow.
Yes pure gold I'm super duper rich didn't I mention.... I order my gold filler tig rod at the gold shop and everything. Spent many hours grinding. I found a nice carbide bit (dremel tile grout bit) to get the details on the back of the head. Worked out well I think. I tigged the legs on. Now to grind the feathers back and blend it all together. But maybe I'll do that tomorrow. I'm pooped. This bird is definitely lighter than the first bird. Maybe 5 to 10 lbs less.
Good work Zap. I'm glad bronze is nice and soft, but it still takes a ton of effort to do this. You doing all this with a dremel? Mine is about to shit the bed and I gotta get something in line to replace it soon... I'm thinking of trying air.
Yes with a dremel. Takes fking forever. Where are my apprentices??? The dremel is painfully underpowered for this kind of thing but those nice foredoms are pricey. I also hate the chuck on the dremel it very often loosens within a few seconds of use and needs retightening.
Yeah it welds super easy. Like building something using clay. Just adds on to whatever is below without melting it. Similar to oxy/acet but way cleaner and faster. I like the premade tig rods too, they seem to perfectly match the everdure color, no need to make my own rods.
That's good to hear! It's an easy material to work with and the tig machine makes it a no brainer. Depending on what I'm welding, sometimes I melt the parent metal. For the superficial crap, I try to just wash in the metal brazing style using the heat from the torch. This puts less heat in the piece. After welding, it's amazing how long the bronze stays hot. I find it cools quicker if I can set it on my anvil to suck some of the heat away.
