In my quest to get more color in turnings I've used brilliant fired enamels.
Picture shows a heart shape in red and a plain circle in green. Heart is about 1" high on thin copper. Various shapes can be purchased pre-made or you can make your own.
I made the die to stamp the heart out. Very simple, a heart shape die was cut in the piece of 1/4" thick soft aluminum shown in the pic below. The copper is placed over the aluminum die and on top of that is a piece of hard rubber or urethane. I used urethane, it's the dirty brownish piece in the picture below. Then pressure is applied with a press onto the urethane which causes the shape to be blanked out. The shapes get a little bulge from the operation. A cheap 15 ton press should do it. Then a small torch is used to fire the enamel powder which was sprinkled on. Apply heat on the back side. A small butane torch can fire the enamel. I use an acetylene torch because it's what I have.
This is a good opportunity (excuse) to buy some more tools too. A cheap press from Harbor Freight, torch from a jeweler's supply along with the enamel powders. A couple hundred bucks should be plenty. The firing could also be done in a kiln.
Picture shows a heart shape in red and a plain circle in green. Heart is about 1" high on thin copper. Various shapes can be purchased pre-made or you can make your own.
I made the die to stamp the heart out. Very simple, a heart shape die was cut in the piece of 1/4" thick soft aluminum shown in the pic below. The copper is placed over the aluminum die and on top of that is a piece of hard rubber or urethane. I used urethane, it's the dirty brownish piece in the picture below. Then pressure is applied with a press onto the urethane which causes the shape to be blanked out. The shapes get a little bulge from the operation. A cheap 15 ton press should do it. Then a small torch is used to fire the enamel powder which was sprinkled on. Apply heat on the back side. A small butane torch can fire the enamel. I use an acetylene torch because it's what I have.
This is a good opportunity (excuse) to buy some more tools too. A cheap press from Harbor Freight, torch from a jeweler's supply along with the enamel powders. A couple hundred bucks should be plenty. The firing could also be done in a kiln.
