How to make a sculpture out of coins...?

I'm busy making a sculpture out of coins and after posting on
rec.crafts.metalworking and alt.sculpture they gave me the idea to use
silver solder. I have 6 months experience as a jewler so i'm not a
complete newbie but i am abit rusty....below is a description i posted
on both forums. Now i'm coming here to find out more about what i will
need in terms of small tools and techniques to continue with this
project.

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Original Post "How to make a sculpture out of coins...?"

I am doing an art piece and need to make a pair of lifesize hands.
Initially i was going to cast in bronze but recently I've had an idea
to make this out of lots of coins

Ok, imagine the fingers made from varoius sized coins joined together
(welded....drilled and wired...???) in a cylinder.... these cylinders
would continue until the wrist and where the flat top and palm of the
hands were, could be filled in with metal of some sort. From the wrist
down could be two of these welded cylinders next to each other and also
filled in with metal(solder). Any ideas what to fill in gaps with....?

My problems are : how can i bond the coins together...? what infill too
use...? how to make it strong? It is tricky because all the coins are
made from different metals...so i think welding would be impossible.

The piece is going to part of a display that sees 65000 visitors every
year, so it has to be very durable.

I've been thinking of drilling holes in the coins before hand and then
threading a wire through from the tip of the finger through to the
wrist....so i'd have 5 strands coming together. It would be cool if the
fingers could move slightly at the joints ,as it is going to be an
interactive....but it still has to be super strong so doing this is not
so important...a static piece would be alright. What wire....maybe some
sort of cable...?

I've also been thinking of possibly shaping the coins beforehand
....what would be the best way to do this....? And when the piece was
roughly made how would you model the shape abit more....? It does not
have to be perfect....and gaps will be ok.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

What advice given was :
use euros...not punnishable by hanging as i am in the UK.
Use silver solder
Good Luck!!

Many Thanks

Silver solder involves some heat. Enough heat to melt many of the coins if
you apply it too long. Non-Acid electronics solder would work and is lower
temperature than most silver solder.

To bend a coin you can use a mallet and a wood form (dowel) of the size
needed for your arc. Or clamp in a vise (padded jaws) and used pliers
(padded jaws). Applying the right amount of heat at this stage can also help
prevent cracks and fractures in certain metals.

For joints, it may be a bit involved but hinge pins (rivets) can be used to
accomodate movement and wold hold up very well. Or your cable idea would
work as well.

Greg
wrote in message
...
I'm busy making a sculpture out of coins and after posting on
rec.crafts.metalworking and alt.sculpture they gave me the idea to use
silver solder. I have 6 months experience as a jewler so i'm not a
complete newbie but i am abit rusty....below is a description i posted
on both forums. Now i'm coming here to find out more about what i will
need in terms of small tools and techniques to continue with this
project.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Original Post "How to make a sculpture out of coins...?"

I am doing an art piece and need to make a pair of lifesize hands.
Initially i was going to cast in bronze but recently I've had an idea
to make this out of lots of coins

Ok, imagine the fingers made from varoius sized coins joined together
(welded....drilled and wired...???) in a cylinder.... these cylinders
would continue until the wrist and where the flat top and palm of the
hands were, could be filled in with metal of some sort. From the wrist
down could be two of these welded cylinders next to each other and also
filled in with metal(solder). Any ideas what to fill in gaps with....?

My problems are : how can i bond the coins together...? what infill too
use...? how to make it strong? It is tricky because all the coins are
made from different metals...so i think welding would be impossible.

The piece is going to part of a display that sees 65000 visitors every
year, so it has to be very durable.

I've been thinking of drilling holes in the coins before hand and then
threading a wire through from the tip of the finger through to the
wrist....so i'd have 5 strands coming together. It would be cool if the
fingers could move slightly at the joints ,as it is going to be an
interactive....but it still has to be super strong so doing this is not
so important...a static piece would be alright. What wire....maybe some
sort of cable...?

I've also been thinking of possibly shaping the coins beforehand
....what would be the best way to do this....? And when the piece was
roughly made how would you model the shape abit more....? It does not
have to be perfect....and gaps will be ok.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

What advice given was :
use euros...not punnishable by hanging as i am in the UK.
Use silver solder
Good Luck!!

Many Thanks

wrote:
I'm busy making a sculpture out of coins and after posting on
rec.crafts.metalworking and alt.sculpture they gave me the idea to use
silver solder. I have 6 months experience as a jewler so i'm not a
complete newbie but i am abit rusty....below is a description i posted
on both forums. Now i'm coming here to find out more about what i will
need in terms of small tools and techniques to continue with this
project.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Original Post "How to make a sculpture out of coins...?"

I am doing an art piece and need to make a pair of lifesize hands.
Initially i was going to cast in bronze but recently I've had an idea
to make this out of lots of coins

Ok, imagine the fingers made from varoius sized coins joined together
(welded....drilled and wired...???) in a cylinder.... these cylinders
would continue until the wrist and where the flat top and palm of the
hands were, could be filled in with metal of some sort. From the wrist
down could be two of these welded cylinders next to each other and also
filled in with metal(solder). Any ideas what to fill in gaps with....?

My problems are : how can i bond the coins together...? what infill too
use...? how to make it strong? It is tricky because all the coins are
made from different metals...so i think welding would be impossible.

The piece is going to part of a display that sees 65000 visitors every
year, so it has to be very durable.

I've been thinking of drilling holes in the coins before hand and then
threading a wire through from the tip of the finger through to the
wrist....so i'd have 5 strands coming together. It would be cool if the
fingers could move slightly at the joints ,as it is going to be an
interactive....but it still has to be super strong so doing this is not
so important...a static piece would be alright. What wire....maybe some
sort of cable...?

I've also been thinking of possibly shaping the coins beforehand
...what would be the best way to do this....? And when the piece was
roughly made how would you model the shape abit more....? It does not
have to be perfect....and gaps will be ok.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

What advice given was :
use euros...not punnishable by hanging as i am in the UK.
Use silver solder
Good Luck!!

Many Thanks



You could perhaps make 2-3-4 rubber molds from the coins you wish to
use, then make multiple waxes of them, form and assmble as desired, then
invest and burnout/cast in the desired material. If you milled or ground
the original coins down on one side, the resulting pieces would be
thinner and it seems they are only viewed from one side anyway - giving
a savings in weight/metal required for casting. This way, the issue of
soldering/cleaning odd alloys is resolved. Even 'pennies' might be
selectively plated with copper - not sure about that. Just a thought.

Carl
1 Lucky Texan


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