John Martin Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 Not near as good, but I'm making about 20-30 of these out of 3/8 round stock...I need to draw the stem out another good four inches to wrap it to make it looks like a vine. Sorry about the image quality, camera is broken, and I had to use my phone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 A little fuzzy but otherwise looking pretty good. Try drawing a sharper point before spreading the leaf and not working the tip, it'll leave you a better "drip tip". Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Martin Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 okay, thanks, it would help if i had thicker metal, 3/8 is pretty thin to get a wide leaf....I made 8 today...only 3 came out. Got lots of practicing to do for leaves still. I'm gonna be getting 1/2 for sure for leaves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 3/8" sq. is what I use and I can get them pretty wide. Try making them shorter and they'll be wider in relation. I like willow leaves and they're naturally longer but something like alder or birch is more heart shaped and you have to neck the stem less than half as far from the end. Making multi lobed leaves is a whole different thing but well worth the effort to master. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug C Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 Frosty, How do you make a multi-lobed leaf? The guy who owns the barn I'm working on is opening a vineyard and he asked if I could forge some items with a grape leaf on them. Still scratching my head on that one. Being new to this I can not see any obvious solutions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratel10mm Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 It's a long time since I last tried this, and I'm afraid all my notes & the piece that I did this on are still in a container; but iirc I used a ball peen hammer at intervals along the leaf edge to move some of the edge out in a semi-circular shape. Repeat at the right sort of distances & you get the effect I think you want. This was for a water plant leaf though, so not sure how it would work for, say, a Maple type leaf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evfreek Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 I tried using a spring fuller, and although the results were pleasing, they were not realistic. So, when I had some time, I went out to the woods and took a good look at a lot of oak leaves. The gaps between the "lobes" are thin and irregular. A spring fuller makes a form which is too regular. The gaps are almost ragged, and are truly beautiful. I'll have to figure out something else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 3/8 is pretty thin to get a wide leaf Fold the 3/8 over onto itself and make a faggot weld. Then you will have twice the mass to spread around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zsartell Posted September 15, 2008 Author Share Posted September 15, 2008 I do this sometimes with 3/8" stock. Sometimes one fold over won't do it and I do it twice. This helps saving time when trying to neck down the stem as well since you aren't starting with 1/2" stock and trying to get to 1/4" or less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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