Somebodies getting an extra helping of dessert,,lol.
Those are works of art, my vote on the copper would be the patina.
What gauge metals are you using?
LOL. In my experience, it only takes one (wife suggested) project per new machine to get buy-in from the better half—if you pick the project carefully. I think I could write an advice column on how to get out of the dog house after buying tools and machines. It's a subtle art indeed.
Both the steel and the copper are 22 gauge. The machine can do up to 16 gauge steel. The steel is A36 and the copper is C110. I always spec hot roll for the steel when bead rolling it—because it is softer. But regardless of material, it's really fascinating to see how rigid the material gets once it is bead rolled—especially the copper. It goes in all wobbly and you think, "this will never work. I just wasted a bunch of money." Then it comes out SOLID. So, so, so, cool to watch it transform before your eyes. I had a manual roller years ago, and you don't appreciate it as much. With an electric one it's truly magic because it happens so fast.
I actually could have gone 24 gauge—no problem, but I wanted the 22 gauge off-cuts for an an upcoming experiment where I intend to make my own custom dies (pretty common in bead rolling). Copper is SO easy to bead roll, but for 22 gauge I use a Nylatron lower die to avoid marring the material. If I were using 24 gauge, I'd definitely use a Nylatron upper die as well, instead of steel. If not, you risk tearing the material on projects that have pivots (instead of straight or gradually curving beads), especially with C110.
I'm 100% with you on the patina. On previous copper projects I've left them to self-oxidize,
but it takes forever. I've read that in the rust belt region in the USA you see faster oxidation due to more acidic rain than in western Canada. Apparently the lack of industry here makes for slower greening of coppersmith work (imagine how fast it would be in China). These days I use a commercial patina to quickly oxidize artwork. Once I get the right finish, I fix it, then lock it in with a UV-resistant lacquer. Another technique I use is to rub with steel wool to "scratch finish" or "distress" it using a hard object on the lacquered finish when dry. This allows
some rain to leak into the copper, and over time add an element of natural patina as well. A great tool for this is a pneumatic needle scaler with low air pressure; it leaves a series of holes through the lacquer that the moisture can penetrate. There's just nothing like that green copper colour that says artistic in my mind.
However, after doing the first copper star my wife liked the buffed copper best. I've got a really great devoted buffer and if you go through the perscribed Tripoli/White/Jewellers polish you get a spectacular finish. But I usually do only one level, then lacquer if I don't want to use a commercial patina. I'm doing one polished and one patina on this project.
There's a church in Calgary (I think a Coptic one in NE quadrant) that redid some of its copper roof years ago. Supposedly parishioners were so distressed over losing the green patina that the contractor pre-oxidized the new work to make it blend in better. Not sure if this is true, but it makes a good story.
