I am a luthier interested in forming metal sound plates similar to violin backs in brass ,aluminum and steel.I need to create a shallow dish shaped form to hammer into. I'm wondering if a bondo type material might be suitable for this. Your video was useful and I will view more .
Good video. Thank you. One thing you didn't explain... Once you taped the tuck and you were ready to flatten it, you switched hammers. Why? How was one hammer different than the other one?
Thanks so much for this very informative video. I am in my 8th decade, never to late to lean. I am preparing to build a body for a speedster Porsche out of aluminum, this will be my 1st project. Any suggestions? An old English panelbeater got me started with some basic hand forming tools. I would love to do a home made power planishing hammer with the male/female shrinking dies.
Sorry for the delayed reply. Congrats to you. The best suggestion I can make to anyone who is just starting in metal shaping is this. Don't be discouraged when you make a mistake or you ruin a piece. Any metal shaper who is being honest with you will tell you they have a scrap pile. A good metal shaper will know when a piece is going the wrong way and when to cut bait. Some times you can put a full days worth of work into a piece and things go south. Be humble, learn from the mistake and start over. It happens.
Is this the correct way of doing it? When you combine two tuck together. It made even higher tuck. No good. I was taught make tuck even out through out the entire parameter... Even out the problem as much as possible. So all the edge come out the same...
I’m a complete noob to hammer forming but I picked up Ron Fourniers metalworking hand book and it said to always use a non metal hammer when shrinking, metal hammers stretch and spread the metal. Obviously it worked out perfectly fine for you, what do you usually go by when selecting a hammer for a given purpose?
For the most parts I agree with that statement in theory. Most of the shrinking I do is done with a wooden mallet on a wood stump. However there is always exceptions to the rules. When I used the riveting hammer I used it just enough to flatten the tight tucks that a wooden mallet could not compress. I used the hammer just enough to flatten them. Had I kept hammering I would have began to stretch the metal out again. Lots of tricks and techniques to accomplish what you are going for.
Tyler, you can use metal hammers on the smaller work if you back it up on wood, mdf, high density plastic or some similar material. If you use a steel hammer with a steel form, then it will go south quickly if you are not very careful. I do it a lot, but I use copper and keep it annealed. And Joe; excellent videos. Thanks
It can be. If it is a light gauge steel and the shape is not too drastic then the MDF would be just fine. You just have to experiment to learn any tools limits.
Hey @snapfabrications, what grade and type of cold rolled steel do you use? Like a A1008 CS Aluminum Killer, Im having a hard time finding this stuff locally. Thanks for the great information!
That is all dependent on a persons abilities and the tools they have access to. There are multiple ways to shrink metal. You can create a lot of shrink in steel with a mallet and a stump. I don't want to assume anything about what you are trying to accomplish but I don't believe you have to cut reliefs to achieve a shape. WIth that said, there are limits to what can be done via this method.
It wasn't necessary. Its a common misconception that you have to anneal aluminum in order to shape it. I prefer to try and achieve the shape I want without annealing. There are times that i will anneal after I have started the shaping process. Either because I need the material to be softer to get the shape I'm going for or because the piece has become work hardened. I typically work with 3003 so the piece probably is but it was a cut off piece so I can't be 100% sure.
Hi new sub here, great vid with good instructions. Will you please do a vid with brass sheet shaping? I need to make a buttplate for a 1730 era musket. 3mm brass.
