Cool Hand Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 I know a swage block will work, but I am looking for some non-swage techniques for making a bowl shape. Currently, I am using a 2 3/4 inch truck towing ball locked in the leg vise. At Madison, I saw someone hammer a bowl by placing the metal on a stump and beating it with a pien hammer. I love making sporks, but I just can't seem to get the bowl made the way I want it. Any ideas are appreciated. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easilyconfused Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 I use a ball peen hammer and a hardwood stump end up. The metal burns in as you go. Keep an eye out for dished metal shapes. Some people have used the bottoms of gas cylinders and such. Be careful if you are cutting the ends off!!!! if you do go that route. There are many "swages" out there if you look for them.;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dablacksmith Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 ive made a lot of sporks ... and if you dont have a swage block make something like on to do the job... a piece of say 1/2 by 1 1/2 strap use a ballpien to forge a spoon shape in to the strap .... forge down one end to fit in hearty hole . you can clean it up with a die grinder (or dremel) . it will pay for itself fairly quickly if your makeing a lot of sporks .. good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 Actually, all you need is some kind of hollow in a wood block and a ball pien hammer, Start at the middle and work outward. Keep the hammer is the same spot and move the metal under it. Anneal frequetly. When you get to the out side begin slapping the metal at the edge and upset (shrink) the metal into it self. It helps to have a dome shape for this step. Work inside out and then out side in. Time and and concentration are the keys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbob Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 (edited) try using the end of a piece of pipe and your ball pein, or a coil of of a spring, a thick washer...just about anything that has a hole in the center, the pritchel hole can also be used with the ball pein Edited May 22, 2009 by jimbob pritchel hole ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 Darn Jimbob! I was going to suggest a pipe. I do ladles and bowls over the through holes on my swage block. Works a treat. Turning some rings from round stock works well too. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Browne Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 Have you had a look at what the bloke in the youtube vid mentioned in this thread has done? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 What about using the hardie hole as a dishing swage? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 You can use the step or partially open vise jaws as well. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dablacksmith Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 here are a couple of pictures of a progression for makeing a spoon and the tool i use to make the depression . i made the tool today in about a half hr . i used a large ballpien as a set tool (its not good on your hammer faces but it works) hope this helps ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Ameling Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 When you choose your wood block, try to get a chunk of oak. It tends to last longer than things like pine. Plus end grain also works better and lasts longer. Although, you can get some interesting textures from pine or oak when hammering hot iron into its side. The different layers of wood growth tend to "char" at different rates - leading to different levels in the final iron piece you hammer into it. It is a subtle difference, but still there. Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David E. Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 I have a collection of different size chain links to sink into. I am always on the lookout for large ones to use as bottom dies on my flypress and hydraulic press. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintjohnbarleycorn Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 I have seen pipe with a solid ring welded on the pipe for a nice round edge, forge you ring then weld it to the top of the pipe add hardy hole adapter so pipe sits on anvil. kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbob Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 I have seen pipe with a solid ring welded on the pipe for a nice round edge, forge you ring then weld it to the top of the pipe add hardy hole adapter so pipe sits on anvil. kevin you can also forge a ring from the pipe like making a candle cup just keep turning the metal lip on over on itself . you can also weld a piece perpendicular to the pipe and hold it in your vise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lysdexik Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 I use an old block of Locust wood, it is very resistant to charring, and bugs wont touch it, so I leave it out in the open. I started a depression in it with a tow ball heated up then burned into the end grain, then I made a set tool out of another ball, the next size down, with a set of leashes held tight with a nut. Heat the piece, set tool a dimple in the middle then work it outward with a ball pein hammer, I make lead laddles etc. I am a woodworker and I carve all kinds of Swages from locust end grain, in the south it is readily available and has no real comercial value. Makes the best anvil stump, because insects find it repulsive, and once dry it is as hard as good oak. Hookie..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintjohnbarleycorn Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 lysdexix, that would be black locust? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 I forged a piece of 1" round into a ring about 51/2" dia arc welded closed then welded on a block to fit my hardy hole it has worked well for me. Also some one state side has been selling swaging blocks for dishes and spoons on Ebay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
781 Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 To do a spoon on the anvil Use a ball pien starting in the middle work toward the edge and roll the bar so the middle rolls up. continue striking with the pien this will bend the spoon side up. Do one side then the other. These directions may not sound right but try it. If you are trying to raise somthing very deep use different techniques but somthing small like a spoon works fine. I would agree a depression in endgrain wood works better but it can be done on the anvil face alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBrann Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 I made a set of swages to make spoons... I put the dome side in the hardy hole so the scale falls out. I am looking for suggestions of how to finish the inside of the spoon so it is smooth and shiny in an effecient manner. also how do you get a good (also consistent) offset for the bowl from the handle?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
territorialmillworks Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 I went to the local welding supply shop and got two oxygen caps free from their bone yard. They had rounded tops not the ones with a hex head. I band sawed the dome portion off of both but one was intentially shorter than the other. Welded the deeper one dome back into the cut off portion to form the depresssion and radiused the edge with a flap sander. Welded a piece of plate into it the shorter dome with a piece of 1" round for a handle. That and a hitch ball with a welded handle lets me rough out the shape quickly and then a stump and mallet to finish..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 I made a set of swages to make spoons... I put the dome side in the hardy hole so the scale falls out. I am looking for suggestions of how to finish the inside of the spoon so it is smooth and shiny in an effecient manner. also how do you get a good (also consistent) offset for the bowl from the handle?? Finishing> I picked up some cheapo cast auto body finishing tools. They are fairly hard and will take a good finish. I use them to planish the interior of the bowls cold. That helps with the finishing. Small hard felt buffers on and air or electirc hand grinder can finish the job. Tedious any way you do it. Offset from the bowl > fuller thicker so transition is thicker than handle in the vertical plane. Half face blow on the back side to the right and left of the transition so that there is a litte extra thickness left, like a ridge pointing to the center of where the bowl will be. This can be on the front or the back depending on your taste. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatamax Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 This you tube video shows one technique for making bowls, you dont need a pink mallet or the puck thing.YouTube - Introducing the TuckPuck metalshaping tool Traditionally elm was used for doming blocks, it has an interlocking grain making it resistant to splitting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reid Neilsen Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 Gitcha an old 6x6 post and hollow/dish out the end a little. Mount or secure it such that it wont move around a lot when you are trying to work on it and sink bowls to your hearts content(or until it starts to burn out and the shape starts to get irregular). I think somebody said this already, but go the junkyard and get a big piece of thick pate steel (at least 1/4" thick) and torch cut out some holes of differnt diameter. Mount or secure this in such a way that you can work on them and you have light duty swageblock of sorts. You may need to file/grind the insides of the holes smooth so they arent so sharp or jagged of course. The other half of dishing/sinking is - planishing. The cheapy way to go about this I'd recommend is to get an old trailer ball hitch and grind the top of it smooth (so it doesnt have the flat part anymore). you can use this in your vice to planish bowls, spoons, etc. I am sure you already know this one, but if you have a big enough hardy hole and are only making a spoon or something little, you can use the hardy hole to sink. (My 2 cents) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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