forming ranger buckle

tdelewis

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Oct 10, 2010
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752
Location
Volant, PA 60 miles north of Pittsburgh
I want to form a ranger buckle. I am practicing with copper and have made a hard wood form to shape it on using a rawhide mallet. It works pretty well when forming the front part of the buckle but when I try to form the back of the "U" shaped buckle the outside comes up when I form the inside. When I form the outside the inside comes up. I don't spend a lot of money on a press as this is a one off.
 

tdelewis

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Joined
Oct 10, 2010
Messages
752
Location
Volant, PA 60 miles north of Pittsburgh
The back has a gentle curve. It is dished out so that there is compound curves front to back and left to right. I have looked at a lot of photos. I trying for the classic Vogt shape. I have also been thinking of making a form and see if I can get a Machine shop to press one out for me. I guess the form should be steel and would need a plate with cut out so you could press it down over the form. is there a book on making western buckles that would be a help? I just tried a second time and it is somewhat better. I left a bar between the two tails in the back. That helped stabilize the tales during the forming. But I'm not there yet. Thanks so much. I assume that you have done this style of buckle.
 

Brian Marshall

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Nov 9, 2006
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Stockton, California & Taxco, Guerrero, Mexico
You can probably get by with just a simple shallow hardwood wooden "bowl" that you can get someone to spin up for you on a lathe?

Overmatch the depth of the bowl a bit. Use a rubber mallet to form with.

Yes, you would make the back plate oversize and trim with a saw & file after soldering. Remember to put any overlays on before you solder the plate to the top...


Brian
 

pmace

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Nov 18, 2010
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Arizona City, AZ
Sounds like you are "raising" the large convex curve and then "chasing" the smaller concave curves into it. You use chasers pitch in a pitch bowl to back up the first curve you raised so you can punch (chase) the secondary curves in. Fairly cheap and beats having a punch and die set made. Google "chasing and repousse".
 

Brian Marshall

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Nov 9, 2006
Messages
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Stockton, California & Taxco, Guerrero, Mexico
It needs to be uniform/smooth... to get that result (and accuracy) from chasing in a pitch bowl alone - would be very very time consuming...

Maybe see if you can find an old wooden salad bowl with the right curvature and embed it in concrete?

Just go easy with the rubber mallet & anneal the sheet beforehand. For a one off, it might work?


B.
 

RT Bit and Spur

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May 17, 2007
Messages
279
No problem I draw out the shape. Cut the outside. Dome then cut the inside U shape. If I have cut the u shape already I weld a small bar across te gap in the U then dome. Cut out the small bar. Rod
 
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