Last year I made a brass and copper heart, and posted about it here. I said in my post that it only took two hours to make, but that must have been beginner’s luck, because when I tried that technique again, it was almost impossible to solder, because when heated, the seams tended to open up. So, even though that was an elegant design, I decided if I was going to make more than one, that I would go with something a little less frustrating. This design still takes over two hours to complete, but it’s consistently doable.
The first step is cutting out two hearts one bigger than the other, from 20 gauge sheet. I used a jewelers saw for this. The larger piece has a notch cut out at the point. The larger piece gets clamped to a hardwood form, as in the second picture, then hammered over all around, as in the third picture.
The next pictures shows the larger heart with a wire bent to the general shape so it fits inside the rim. This is to put a space between the two halves so that the solder won’t flow in and stick the two together anywhere but the seam. The wire is stainless steel, so it won’t get soldered to the brass. Next, the smaller heart, which just fits inside the rim of the larger one, is put in place, and the rim is hammered over all the way around, forming a gap-free seam. Notice in the middle picture the 1/16″ dia. rod inserted at the point of the heart. After the seam is hammered shut, this rod is replaced with a short piece of 1/16″ OD brass tube. The next picture shows the seam having been silver-soldered; notice the tiny tube at the point.
That tiny tube is for inflating the heart with compressed air. In the first of these three pictures, the heart has already been partially inflated, and it is being creased down the center with a wooden block. If this is not done, the metal will buckle in a random and aesthetically unpleasing way. The next picture shows the heart being inflated the rest of the way, using a special custom-made filler attachment. Next, the stem. a 1/8″ brass rod which has been drilled on the end, is shown being flared with a punch, so it will fit the point of the heart. The filler tube fits inside the hole in the end of the stem.
The next picture shows the stem fit to the heart, ready to silver-solder. Then the finished piece, all done. This one is all brass. After I was done with this one, I made three more, one all copper, one brass and copper and one copper and brass. The last picture shows all four. I am offering them for sale on my Etsy shop.
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