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Vent: After months of practice, I shaped a decent leaf, but the veining has me stumped
I've always struggled with adding detail to smaller forged pieces like leaves. This week, I finally got the basic form right without any major flaws. It feels like a real step forward after all the crumpled attempts. However, when I try to add the vein lines with a chisel, they come out uneven or too deep. I heat the piece to a dull red, but the steel still seems to resist the tool. What's the best way to control depth for fine details like this? Any advice from folks who do a lot of ornamental work would be great.
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caseyr786mo ago
In my shop, I always vein leaves cold or at a black heat. Heating to a dull red is your main problem because the steel yields too easily and grabs the chisel. That soft state is why your lines go uneven and deep every time. You need the metal to fight back a little so you can feel each cut. All the fancy ornamental work I see fails from this same hot method making details messy. Keep the piece cooler and use lighter, repeated taps to build the vein lines slowly.
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grant.margaret6mo ago
My concrete work's about as subtle as a dropped hammer, so maybe don't take vein advice from me.
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