I first developed my method for making brass pillows about a year ago. The idea was to use them as a base option for the cat and dog urns I make for custompeturns.com. My first attempts were with compressed air, which turned out to not have quite enough force to push the metal out beyond the form that creates the depression where the cat or dog would lie. I had heard of hydroforming before. and had read a little about it, and I already had a “porta-power” hand-operated hydraulic pump. With a little adaptation, it did the job. The only drawback is that it uses oil, which is very messy. I just recently realized that water could be used instead of oil, using a pressure washer. The pictures below show my first attempt at using water. It was a total success.
Click on the individual pictures for further explanation and larger picture:
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- Bending over the edge
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- Top and Bottom Together
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- Closing the Seam
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- Soldering the Seam
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- Pickling
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- Bottom Half of Jig
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- Jig Assembled, Pillow Inflated
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- Top of Jig Removed
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- Top of Pillow
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- Finished
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
kaytaylor 11.24.08 at 4:26 pm
Amazing work, Steve. I’m a fan!
Kay Taylor
Jeff Demand 11.25.08 at 1:43 pm
Very nice, just what I need. Another brute force technique to try.
Sort of little guy always looking for a bigger hammer.
Jeff