CHASING/REPOUSSE WEATHERVANE PROJECT
By David Ferro
This project was designed to teach the actual techniques used in our studio to create weathervanes from copper sheet. There are both similarities and differences between the processes of chasing and repoussé. Chasing work is done from the front side of the metal. Shapes and forms are created by outlining, undercutting to raise and texturing the shapes. In repoussé work, sheet metal is worked from the backside where shapes and form are created by stretching the metal outward. Ordinarily the two processes are used simultaneously in forming weathervanes.
MATERIALS
- Photocopies of Historic weathervane designs. Design should be about 8″ square.
- 1/16″ dia. wire (brass is best), 10″ long, 2 pieces
- 36 – 38 gauge metal foil, 2 pieces 12″ square. (Decorator foil in copper or aluminum is best)
- Drill and 7/32″ drill bit
- 5/8″ wood dowel, 12″ long
- 5/8″ wood dowel tool 6″ long – one end rounded, the other sharpened.
3/16″ Brass rod, 9″ long- Hot glue gun and glue
- Scissors
- Ruler
- Carbon Paper
- Black paint & Brush
- Newspapers
- Magic Marker and pencil
- Masking Tape
First, choose a weathervane design. Place the carbon paper, face up, on a table and place the design on top of it. Trace the design using a pencil. This will transfer the design to the opposite side of the paper for a two-sided template. On a pile of newspapers (15-30 pages deep), place a 12″ x 12″ piece of metal foil, colored side up. Tape the two top corners of the drawing to the foil. Using the sharp end of the wooden tool, trace all the lines of the drawing. Press just hard enough to emboss the pattern on the foil. This is called “chasing”.
Remove the tape from the drawing and remove the embossed foil. Place a fresh piece of foil on the newspaper. Turn the design over and trace the opposite side of the weathervane onto the foil. Remove the drawing and turn the foil over on the newspaper so that the silver side is up. Use the rounded part of the tool to puff out the design in between the embossed lines on both pieces of foil. This is called “repousee” (re-poo-say). Following the design’s outline, cut out the weathervane using a pair of scissors leaving a flange around the outline of the design. Glue the two halves together by applying hot melt glue on the flange to glue the halves together. Trim the flanged seam with scissors to neaten.
Find the vertical center of the design and place marks with magic marker on the top flange and bottom flange. This is where the spindle will attach. Cut the flanges with the scissors, creating a small hole. Put the 3/16″ brass rod spindle through and glue it in 
place.
Drill a 7/32″ hole 3″ into one end of a 5/8″ dia. wood dowel. Measure down 6″ and drill a 1/16″ hole through the dowel. Drill another hole crossways from that hole and slightly above it so that the two holes don’t intersect. Insert the two 1/16″ dia. wires through the holes and bend the ends to form the compass letters, N, S, E, and W. Glue the wires to the dowel. Paint the dowel black. Place the weathervane figure on the post and compass assembly and give it a spin. The weathervane can be attached to a deck or placed in a flowerpot.
