Metalsmithing and Related Topics

I have had many people tell me that they would like to see how I make my brass sculptural pet urns. I finally got around to photographing myself at work on a dog urn, and have put together a pictorial chronology of the process. I have divided the process into “stages” with the piece being annealed before starting each consecutive stage. Stages 1-6 are raising the simple dome form. Stages 7 and 8 are the transformation of that simple dome shape into a sculpture.

1st Stage: This piece started with an 11 in. diameter circle of 16 gauge brass, annealed. I have drawn, with a compass, concentric lines to serve as a guide for uniform raising. The first step is radial crimping, done with the raising hammer on the special wood block shown in the first picture. Next is the stake I made just for this purpose, 2-1/2 in. wide and 12 in. long, the raised part on the right end has a special purpose that will be shown later. The hammering starts at line 1, 2-1/8 in. from the center. The lines are 1-1/8 in. apart, and I hammer a course on each line and halfway between. The resulting diameter is now 9-3/4 in.

The next four pictures show the results of stages 2-5. The piece is annealed between each stage.

6th Stage: Annealed again. Now the metal gets bent over to 180 degrees from where it started. This is where the special part of the stake comes in. A line is drawn 7/8 in. from the edge for a guide. Resulting outside diameter is now 6-7/8 in.

7th Stage. Annealed again. Now it starts getting interesting. I have tried to picture all of the tools used, although I may have missed some. I have arranged the pictures so that the tool is pictured before the process for which it is being used.
In the first picture, there is no tool other than the hammer. Next, tool 3 is an all-purpose slightly domed stake which gets used more than any other. In the process shown, I’m creating the the separation between the dog’s nose and rear. Next, tool 4 is being used to push out the ears at the place where they fold over.

On to the next group of pictures, still stage 7. Tool 5 is an almost-flat stake with a straight part to make it useable at the bottom edge, as shown. Tool 6 is a special little stake to form the dog’s muzzle. I have four of these for different sizes and shapes of dogs, and one for cats. Tool 7 is for flattening out the bottom flange, which has gotten all wavy and distorted in the previous processes.

The next pictures deal mostly with what I call rough planishing. There are also some other types of refinement going on. With a big hammer I smooth out all the bumps, dents, and irregularities created in the raising process. Tool 8 is used for rough planishing around the bottom. Tools 9 and 10 are different size balls used for rough planishing the rest of the piece. Smaller tools, such as tool 3, are used on the head and other places where the curvature is smaller. Tool 11 is for tight areas down against the bottom flange. At the end of stage 7, it looks like a dog, but still pretty crude. It can’t be refined any more without first being annealed.

8th Stage: Annealed for the final time. Much of this stage is further refinement of the same steps taken in stage 7. Tool 12 is used to further define the line between head and rear. Tool 6 is used again to refine the dog’s muzzle. Tool 13 is for giving the ears more definition.

The next two pictures show the final planishing, done with a small planishing hammer with a very flat, highly polished face. In the third picture, all the refinements are complete.

The next tool, #14, is very special. Made from a found shaft already bent to that shape, it is ground in a way that allows me to recess the bottom flange in order to accept the cover plate properly.

Next, I buff the piece with tripoli to get rid of any small scratches and to expose any defects that need to be fixed. I don’t leave it with the polished finish, however, preferring a satin finish. I apply a patina to darken the brass, and then rub it with steel wool. The resulting finish is very stable, and is the most practical for objects that get handled a lot. In the next picture the holes have been drilled and tapped and a rubber gasket set in place. Next, the cover plate is screwed into place, then it’s done.

Putting this pictorial together turned out to be a bigger project than I expected. I hope that it will be educational and helpful to someone. If there is anything that I have not made clear, please let me know and I will be happy to answer any of your questions.

Steve

{ 8 comments }

To satisfy your curiosity, I’m posting these pictures of the early stages of the forming of the heron sculpture. I didn’t take any more pictures of the process because it gets too time-consuming and distroys my momentum, but these show quite a bit about how it’s done. Pic1 shows a wood die I made for the first water bird. I’m using a domed punch to force the metal into the cavity of the die. Pic2 shows the results. The waves get flattened out with a hammer against a small stake. In pic3 I’m using a cross-peen hammer and a steel die to start the curvature of the beak. Pic4 shows the piece after much forming over a stake, similar to the way a bowl is made. You can see how it is approaching closure. It will take at least one more annealing to reach full closure of the seam. After the seam is soldered, the whole surface can be hammered to create a smooth surface, but it can only be made smaller; if any part doesn’t stick out enough, all that can be done is to hammer everything else further in. It’s a challenging process, and I love doing it.

{ 2 comments }

A heron of sorts, just finished two days ago. I took some artistic liberties with the form, for instance, no legs. I was more interested in catching the spirit of the bird than in realism. The bird is made of one piece of 16 gage brass made into a highly modified tube form, with the seam in the front, highly visible. I formed the base using repousse (sp?) techniques on pitch, both sides. the sculpture is 8 inches tall.

{ 6 comments }

I got the inspiration for this from a random piece of bent wire on my workbench. When I saw it I knew I had a new project. I finished it just in time to give to my mom for Christmas. She’s 87 and gives me the very best reviews.

{ 0 comments }

I just found out there are a lot of greyhound lovers out there. I made this hammer-formed brass urn for a greyhound a couple months ago. I discovered that greyhounds have a most unusual head shape, and their ears are different than most other dogs, so it was a little more of a challenge than usual. I’m happy with the way it came out.

cleo1

cleo2

{ 3 comments }

This is the third one of these I’ve made, and I Think it turned out better than the previous one, which I have pictured on my website. All of them so far have been made as gifts for very special people. I tried to make the design such that it can be aesthetically pleasing whether it is being viewed as a religious symbol or having no symbolism at all. Made from three pieces of 16 gauge brass sheet formed into tubes and then twisted together. It is made to hang on a wall. Dimensions: about 9″ x 13″.

back side, showing hanger

{ 2 comments }

Here’s another dog, different from the other one I posted (a huge great Dane). This one is a little dachshund. The base is about 7-1/2 in. square, and total height is about 4-1/2 in. I just shipped it on Wednesday.

Small Dog on Pillow

{ 1 comment }

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:

{ 2 comments }

I just finished this yesterday and shipped it out today. It’s a brass cat urn, cat serial number 18. Like the dog I posted earlier, the cat is hammer formed, and the pillow is hydroformed.

Sleeping Cat on Pillow

{ 4 comments }