MOKUME GANE Pronunciation moe-koo-may gah-nay

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Cameron Heath
5 years ago
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1 What Is Mokume?. MOKUME GANE Pronunciation moe-koo-may gah-nay Mokume Gane is a traditional Japanese method for laminating various colors of metals together and manipulated them to create patterns that resemble wood patterns. It was developed by Denbei Shoami around 1700 A.D. and was originally developed to decorate swords but is today mainly used in the jewellery industry.

2 This is a old technique of fusing various non ferrous and precious metals (copper, brass, silver, platinum or gold) together using pressure and heat.

3 What do you require to make mokume 1. Torque Plates The torque-plates are made from steel that is 10mm to 12mm thick. They should be cut large enough to allow for bolt holes to be drilled around the perimeter, and still allow room for the stack in between the bolts. It may be made of mild steel or stainless steel. Thinner mild steel will deform in the high temperature of the forge and it will not apply even pressure after being used once. Torque-plates made from 304, 310 or 316 stainless steel will last for a longer time without deforming. The bolts should be 12mm in diameter. New Stainless Steel plates, bolts, and nuts should be placed in a forge at 1000 C for one hour, then allowed to cool slowly. This builds up an oxide coating which will keep them from bonding to each other during firing of the billet.

4 100mm 100mm 12mm 70mm

5 2. Knu Foil This is used as isolation material between the mild/steel stainless plate to prevent the copper from fusing to the torque plate. This can be obtained from KMTS. 3. Brass and copper shimstock Use shimstock of thicknesses between 0.15mm to 0.5mm. The thinner the shimstock the more layers you can get. Cut them in sizes 75mm x 30mm. You will require approximately 25 to 30 of each. This can be obtained from COPALCOR in Hermannstad or in Wadeville 4 Sandpaper Use 220 grid sandpaper to clean shimstock

6 5. Acetone 6. Container 7. Lytex Gloves 8. Hammer 9. Dremmel tool or anglegrinder 10. Tin snips

7 Preparing the billet 1. Sand all copper and brass pieces on both sides with 220 grid sandpaper. 2. After sanding put all pieces in container and ensure they are all covered with acetone. 3. Leave it in acetone for at least two hours. 4. Dry all pieces with kitchen paper cloth. Ensure that you have your gloves on. Do not touch the pieces with your bare hands since the oil on your hands will contaminate the pieces.

Keep on stacking all the pieces copper brass copper brass until you have used all the pieces.

8 5. Start with the stacking of the billet with the piece of Knu-foil followed by the copper piece and then the brass piece. Keep on stacking all the pieces copper brass copper brass until you have used all the pieces. Lastly put the piece of knu-foil at the top. 6. Put this stack in between the torque plate and secure all for bolts as tight as possible. The billet is now ready to be forged

9 Forging of the billet 1. Place the torque plates in the forge and heat up until approximately 900. The torque plates will turn a cherry red colour. Do not go beyond this point. The melting point of brass is 930 and if you overheat you will ruin your billet. 2. Remove the torque plates from the forge, put it on the anvil and smack it with the hammer. You will notice that the bolts on the torque plates will be come loose. Keep on hitting it with the hammer until there is no more a glow on the pressure plates. 3. Remove the billet from the torque plates and peel the knu-foil off the billet. 4. Put the billet back in the forge and heat it until a dull red colour.

10 5. Remove billet from the forge and start hitting it on the sides to ensure it is properly sealed. 6. Put back in forge and reheat again. 7. Once the desired colour is reached remove and hit the whole billet with the hammer to an approximate thickness of 10mm. The billet will cool rapidly while in contact with the anvil, so you can only strike it a couple of times before it is too cold to forge properly. After forging one side of the billet and reheating, flip it over and forge the other side; this helps to distribute the stress evenly. Reheat billet and forge until you achieve the desired dimensions.

11 This is how the billet should look like after forging

12 Pattern Development The basic methods of pattern development is carving into the surface with burrs, chisels, gravers or mills (round-shaped tools expose the most area of each layer when cutting), then forging the billet or rolling it down to expose the pattern. Try not to cut more than 1/3 the thickness of the billet or you may end up with holes in the sheet during final forging. The carving and forging steps are repeated to develop the pattern. Do the pattern development only on one side if you intent using it for bolsters. Should you wich to make a guard do the pattern development on both sides. Remember the slots and holes should not be directly opposite towards each other

14 Samples of finished products Gold, Platinum and Iron Platinum and Iron

15 Gold, Platinum and Iron Gold, Platinum and Iron

16 QUESTIONS???

6043 DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

www.onlineexamhelp.com www.onlineexamhelp.com CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL EXAMINATIONS GCE Ordinary Level MARK SCHEME for the October/November 2013 series 6043 DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY 6043/01 Paper 1, maximum