catceefer Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can make the rounded ends on some copper bull rushes? I have tried two methods 1) Slitting the end of a piece of 10mm pipe in a few places, pressing the ends together to make a taper and brazing the slits back up again. This looked just that: a brazed slit and would need a huge amount of fiing and sanding to shape. 2) Making a copper hemisphere to sit on the end of the pipe and brazing it on. This may have worked, but I have been unable to keep the cap in place whist trying to braze it and it kept falling off. I gave up after losing three. Any suggestions would be welcome. Regards, James. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironwolfforgeca Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 look up how to make candle cups out of pipe with a gilluten tool )-( cut apart braze top hole up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvereaglevaughan Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 my thoughts/ 2 cents dish the flap > trim & braze ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfootnampa Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 Easy peasy!! Just forge the ends of a tube shut! You can put a wire spike in one end and a stem in the other! Simple stuff and there are some old threads here on it though I think they used iron... same technique though. I would do it with my power hammer but you could also use a guillotine tool. You could even do it free hand over a fuller with a nice rounded peen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catceefer Posted February 11, 2013 Author Share Posted February 11, 2013 Thank you for the replies. I had not heard of fullering before, but have looked into it and shall have a go at making a basic tool and then shall give it a go. Regards, James. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfootnampa Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Basically you make sausage shaped forms by forging the tube into narrow necks and then cut between the sausages insert the spike and stem and either forge weld or braze or solder them in place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don A Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 Remember that if the copper starts getting hard and brittle as you work it (work hardening), you can hit it with the torch 'til it's dull red and then quench it. It will be annealed and malleable again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbillysmith Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 Look online for the method of making an "orange peel cap" for piping.... I've done this with 3" pipe before. Best if luck. -Hillbilly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can make the rounded ends on some copper bull rushes? I have tried two methods Any suggestions would be welcome. Regards, James. Here is a pic or two of a steel one, made from tube and solid rod centre, fished out from the old samples/scrap pile ends are fullered in to give radius, leaving a small hole through centre through which the stem will fit then cut off with hacksaw at the centre of each fullering, and then secure by silver soldering, Forge leafs fix leafs to stem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catceefer Posted March 17, 2013 Author Share Posted March 17, 2013 Further to the suggestions made here, and a little other research, I made this tool to make the rounded ends on bull rushes. It works very well, allowing me to take a 15mm pipe down to almost nothing, with nice rounded shoulders, by working through the different sized holes. I just need to polish to working faces a little as they leave marks where I ground them to shape. Regards, James. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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