Bracelet bending.

[thughes]

Hi all,
I've been pretty quiet lately because of cancer issues and Iust some other life stuff. But, I did make a sterling bracelet with dogwood blooms for a friends daughter (it was the first time I've felt like getting out and cutting anything in a while) and it felt pretty good, not that it looked all that good. Any way, I got a GRS metal forming thing, but when I bent the bracelet around with the dome shape, the edges seemed to kind of wrinkle up. Now that I think about it, it you are bending a dome there is extra metal that has to got somewhere. What am I doing wrong? I remember where mark and maby some others use a soft hammer around a piece of wood to get a flat bracelet, but if anyone could give a tutorial on bracelet bending, it would be appreciated. I tried bending some copper practice stuff and got the same results. Not hideous, but if you look those wrinkles are there. How ofte should you heat the metal to reform? I just used right out of the box. Sorry for the dumb questions, but consider the source.

Thanks for your help
Todd

 

[Haraga.com]

Check your messages.

 

[DakotaDocMartin]

You have to start at one end and only partially form the bracelet as you slowly advance the metal. Maybe a couple of passes and you will be down into the bottom of the cup. If you try to go from flat to domed and curved in one step you are pretty much assured of mashing it. But, you should still be able to go back over it a couple of times and save it. Try advancing maybe 1/8 inch at a time and that should do it.

 

[thughes]

Thanks Doc, I'll try that tomorrow on some copper. I was going all e way down the first pass.

 

[Andrew Biggs]

I've never had a problem with the bracelets I've formed on the GRS former. They were sterling silver and quite thick.about 1mm or 1.5mm from memory.

So does the puckering that occurs on the edges happen if the metal is on the too thin side???

Cheers
Andrew

 

[Willem Parel]

Todd, I am glad you come up with this question, I had the intention to ask the same here because I received my GRS bender this week and had the same problem with copper sheet.
I did lean the bracelet over to one side and go over it again and then lean it to the other side and that helps a little bit.
But maybe a thicker sheet like Andrew mentioned will be better, this was less than 0.8 mm.
I ordered silver sheet, will see if that's better.

 

[Chujybear]

You are smithing the bracelet when you form it like that.. You need to watch that those wrinkles don't get too drastic. That come by being just a little bit careful..
So the wrinkles that form along the edge can just be worked out by titltin your bracelet and passing it so your bracelet edge passes through the forming tool. Because of how the metal is compressed the metal should make your edge just a little thicker as it displaces out..
The other way to finnish off an edge that goes like this is to work the edge with a rawhide mallet over a trailer hitch held sideway in a vice (or otherwise supported).
Use good wacks with the curve of the bracelet supported, as much as possible, against the surface of the ball hitch.

I almost always do my final touches on a hitch
Good luck

 

[Brian Marshall]

Just posted this over on Steve's forum, thought it might amuse a few over here too?


If you want to go cheap and have a LOT of free time, you can try this?

I have actually seen this done in Arizona and besides... it's Leonard Haraga's favorite method!

(I am not recommending doing it yourself)


You use a pickup truck as your press.

First gather up some wheel balancing weights and a cast iron pot or pan to melt them in.

Melt them. You want the pan almost full of liquid lead.

Remove the hitch and turn it sideways or upside down in the square receiver. (depends on the ball & shank)

Then find some concrete blocks or bricks. Stack 'em up high enough so that the pan with the lead weights will be the right height under the hitch.

Jack up the rear of the truck a coupla inches...

Slide the pan full of molten lead into place under the hitch ball and lower the truck so that the ball makes an impression into the lead.

Let it set until the molten lead is solid.

Now you have your bracelet forming tool.

All you need to finish the job - is someone to keep raising and lowering the rear end of the truck as you guide your bracelet blank...

Probably best to choose someone with better than room temp IQ, but not much more - or they will talk you out of trying this...


Brian

 

[gcleaker]

Hey glad to hear you are making a comeback. Keep up the good fight Greg leak

 

[alladin]

"Probably best to choose someone with better than room temp IQ, but not much more - or they will talk you out of it"

Brian, was that Fahrenheit or Celsius? That can make all the difference.

Thanks for posting.

 

[Idaho Flint]

I have found that if I go too fast, i.e. move the bracelet I am forming through the GRS press to fast, I have this happen. When you are forming the bracelet, after each press, only move the bracelet a very small amount and press again. It is a lot more of a work out, but it seems to move the metal much better and gets rid of most of the buckling.

I have also found that harder material has more problems with this. Sometimes I heat up the former, and create a smaller impression to form on, then after I have run it through that a couple times, I will heat up the former again, and create a larger impression, and form on that. I repeat this until I get to the size of impression in the former, that will fully create the doming I am looking for in the bracelet.

I hope this in not confusing.

Mike

 

[Big-Un]

Brian, hydraulics on the truck takes care of the raising-lowering issue.....just don't go crazy with it, it could bounce way too hard!

 

[Chujybear]

you should be able to do it all on the former. i dont have one, but basically have one jigged w a three tonne arbor press, wooden die, and a trailer hitch.
waves towards the edge occur and can be taken out by tipping the bracelet so that the impact is centered over the borders of the bracelet.
however, i find i can keep a better eye on thye shape by pulling it out of my jerry-rig bender, and and just doing the final forming with my rawhide mallet, and another trailer hitch in my vice. again, centering my blows towards the edge, and working from end to end (rather than from the centre out, for instance).. this keeps the roll of the metal consistant in front of your tool