Lead-working, bossing/dressing sticks

[carlosleadman]

hi Phillip

nice to see that someone is still making these type of tools ,the tools I use are all hand made and mostly antiques some well over a hundred years old .
I have carved and turned several myself ,but mostly from box,hornbeam or lignum all are heavy and short grained timber and are getting harder to obtain . The dresser that I made for hollow rolling weighs around 1.0 kg and was curved using a 4.5inch grinder carvers wheel and finished with spoke shave and file . the main thing to remember about timber tools is to soak them in linseed oil at least once a year, the oil adds weigh and protects the tool during use . When using these type of tools it is the grain in the tool that grips and moves the lead in the correct direction and not the force of impact ,little and offend is the main trick in bossing . Plastic and rubber tools are fine for moving the lead and used correct leave fewer makes than timber ,but these are not for bossing in my option, plastic will just slip or bounce off at impact and rubber is not suitable to be made into anything other than mallets --I hope this helps in understanding the finer points of the bossing craft --regards

carlos