Forming

What do we know about metal?

• Metal consists of imperfect crystalline structures. When any work is done to the metal it compresses these structures moving them closer together, creating stiffness in the metal or work hardening. This work hardening is important to understand when moving or forming metal. If the structures become too compressed fracturing will occur, causing splits or fissures in the metal. Over working a metal can cause brittleness and threaten the structural integrity of the piece.

• To avoid overworking it is important to understand the properties of a work hardened piece and the properties of a dead soft piece. Dead soft is another term for annealed. To Anneal a piece means to heat the piece to a certain temperature evenly. This temperature varies between metals; silver, copper, brass and bronze all exhibit different reactions at specific temperatures.

 **A work hardened piece will be rather difficult to move, bend or form in any way. It will also sound different. Hardened metal has a higher tone to it when struck or tapped. Work hardened metal can damage tools. The only time a work hardened piece is a good piece is when it is finished. Hardened metal takes a better shine/polish then annealed metal. 
 **A dead soft or annealed piece will move rather easily, especially copper. Annealed metal has a dull tone to it when struck or tapped. 

Best practices when moving metal

• Different forming techniques usually employ particular ways of moving metal, such as fold forming or raising.

**Fold forming is the art of folding metal to create dynamic 3D forms.
**Raising is the art of forming a vessel from a flat sheet of metal. 

• A good rule of thumb is to move the metal from inside to out if you are stretching the metal, for instance when doming a disc or raising a vessel. This spreads the metal evening keeping the thickness even throughout the entire piece. Thickness affects the annealing process as well as processes such as enameling or powder coating. Variances can cause failure in the process.

• When compressing metal be sure to avoid overlapping, in the case of forging it is important to true the strikes on the metal. Fins created in this process should be filed away before continuing. If they are folded in while forging it could cause cracking and instability in the piece.

• Anneal often during any forming process.

• Use the right tool for the job.

Techniques

   **Forging
   **Raising
   **Fold Forming
   **Fabrication
   **Roller Printing
   **Resizing/Regauging
   **High Pressure forming
 

Tools used in moving metal

  **Hammers of all sorts
  **Disc cutters
  **Dapping punches and block
  **Sinking dishes, tree stump
  **Raising stakes
  **Bench vise
  **Torches
  **Files
  **Anvil
  **Rolling Mill
  **Pliers
  **Mandrels and dies
  **Hydraulic Press

Die Forming

Media:Handout_-_Hydraulic_Press_Workshop.pdf

by John Fetvedt [Web link]

Media:Using-Form-Boxes-IS.pdf