13

Beaten metalwork
objectives
By the end of the topic learners should be able to:
 describe the properties of metals used in Beaten Metal Technology
 illustrate tools and equipment used in beaten metal technology
 perform Beaten Metal Technology processes
 state types of Beaten Metal Technology mass production techniques
 perform beaten metal technology mass-production techniques
 Polish produced artefacts using the buffing method
Beaten metalwork is the shaping of thin sheet metals using either the mallet or
the hammer. Metals to be shaped must be malleable and ductile e.g., copper,
aluminium, silver, gold and gilding metal However, metals such as gold and
silver are expensive and cannot be found in a school workshop.
The making of sheet metal into what is called holloware is now mainly an
industrial process. The aluminium baking trays have been stamped into shape
with a powerful press before being given a non-stick finish. Both stamping and
spinning are used on a small scale by craftsmen who work on industrial pieces,
but they also use the traditional methods of making holloware’s, shaping the
metal by sticking it with hammers and mallets.
Tools
Blocking hammer and bossing mallet

The blocking hammer has two domed faces with different diameters. The
bossing mallet consists of a cone-shaped boxwood head fixed to a cane handle.
Both these tools are used for hollowing and sinking metal.
Collect hammer and bick iron
The collet hammer has curved faces rounded corners. It is used with a bick iron
or funnel stake to flare a cylinder
The bick iron is conical in shape. It is used to support work being expanded,
such as flaring. It can be used as a former for cones.

The raising mallet and raising stack

The raising mallet is made of boxwood fitted with a cane handle. It has a flat
end. used for truing up dish rims that have been hollowed, and a wedge-shaped
end. Use this for raising a large-diameter shape with a raising stake to support
the work.
The raising stake can have two cones of contrasting diameters. Sometimes it is
also a side stake, with the cylindrical bar used to support straight-sided work.
The raising hammers
The raising hammer looks similar to a collet hammer but it has oblong flat
faces and rounded edges. Use it in the same way as the wedge-shaped raising
mallet. It is often used on smaller work that may be raised on a round-headed
stake.
Planishing hammers

Planishing hammers have flat faces for working curved surfaces and slightly
convex faces for working flat surfaces. The faces are highly polished. Use them
with work supported on highly polished heads suited to the work.
Planishing heads

Planishing heads fit into a vice horse held in the vice. As well as the shapes are
shown, some planishing heads are oval or horn-shaped with varying radii. Use a
box head with square edges for working into the comers of containers.
Beaten metalwork processes
Reparation of work for beaten metalwork

Estimate the size of the blank to be shaped and cut off the material or 2 × X to
give the blank diameter
(i) and (ii) show methods of developing the size of the required disc.
Annealing
Annealing is carried out by heating the metal to a dull red. The metal is now
more malleable, so it will not split when it is hit with the mallet. The surface
will now be black (burnt tarnish) and this needs to be cleaned off before
hollowing. Either an emery cloth can be used to clean it, or the still warm disc
can be placed into a bath of dilute sulphuric acid.
Annealing Copper - Heat to dull red and quench it in clean cold water, or leave
to cool.
Annealing Brass - Heat to very dull red and allow it to cool in the air. Never
quench in water
Note: If the metal is aluminium, it cannot be heated to red heat because it
never glows red. Soap should be rubbed onto the surface, and the metal heated
gently until the soap turns a dark brown, the correct temperature has now been
reached for annealing. The burnt soap can be washed off with water.
To clean brass and copper thoroughly a pickle is used. A cold pickling bath Is
one part dilute sulphuric acid to seven parts of water. A hot pickling bath is
usually one part sulphuric acid to twenty parts glasses of water. Non-ferrous
tongs made of brass or copper are used to hold the metal while pickling. Steel
tongs will contaminate the acid and so discolour the metal being pickled.
Pickling dissolves the black oxides scale formed during annealing. The
workpiece should then be rinsed thoroughly in running water.

Hollowing
Hollowing is a procedure used to produce shallow bowl shapes from circular
sheet metal blanks. Hollowing is also a method of forming double curvature
work by beating the metal to shape by means of hammering. The shaping is
generally carried out on a sandbag or a suitably recessed wooden block. The
type of blow struck in hollowing is often termed an "elastic" blow. This is a
blow struck when either the tool, or support, or both is of a resilient material
such as wood
Use a sandbag, in conjunction with a wooden or rubber bossing mallet on light
gauge sheet steel, where a minimum amount of stretching is required, or for soft
materials such as aluminium.
Before use check that sandbag is free from cuts and stitching of seam is good
order.
The process
1. A circular blank of metal (copper or brass etc.) is prepared by annealing
it to make it more malleable.

2. To form the hollow shape, either a hollowed hardwood block or a leather

sandbag can be used.

Prepare the disc by making it with a pencil concentric circles about a

centimetre apart as shown above. These will act as a guideline when
sticking the metal with a mallet
 Rest the disc on the sandbag or wooden block and begin hammering at
the edge as shown in the diagram below.

Rotate the discant clockwise until one circumference is completed.

Repeat the process for each marked line. Anneal the work and repeat if
necessary. Hollowing is done with a blocking hammer or bossing mallet.
Check If the bowl has reached the required depth and shape using a
template as shown below.

SINKING or BEAATING DOWN

Sinking or Beating down is a forming process in art metalwork where the centre
of a piece of metal is stretched to form the bottom of the object. This method of
forming is generally used for shallow forming operations. Examples of projects
that are formed by beating down are nut dishes, candy dishes, ash trays and
plates.
Two methods of beating down art metals are with form blocks, and over stakes.
Prepare a hardwood former with two dowels stops which will locate the disc
and keep it in place during forming.
Mark out the disc with concentric circles and progressively stretch the metal
into shape with a blocking hammer.
The rim tends to distort easily and may need flattening after each turn. Use the
flat end of the raising mallet with the work supported on the edge of the hard
wood block. Use the surface of the hardwood block to flatten the base as shown
below

Safety
Ensure that mallet head is secure on shaft and free from splits.
Check that faces are smooth and free from blemishes.

RAISING
Raising is a forming process in art metalwork where the sides of the metal are
formed to give shape to the project. The bottom of the project can be either
rounded or flattened.
This method will enable you to do deep forming operations on metal. Bowls and
deep oval or circular trays are projects that can be raised.
The two common methods of forming by raising are forming over a stake, and
forming over a sandbag.
Relatively shallow dishes are raised on a roundhead stake using the wedge-
shaped end of a raising mallet. Prepare the disc by marking out the base in
pencil and drawing a series of concentric circles to act as guidelines for beating
the metal evenly. At this stage, the base may be hollowed slightly on a sandbag
and flattened later on a round-bottom stake.
Hold the disc at an angle of about 30° to the stake as shown in the diagram
above. Strike it at a point slightly beyond the point of contact. This has the
effect of contracting the metal. Turn the disc anticlockwise until one
circumference is completed. Repeat this procedure for each marked line, to
produce a shallow form. Anneal the work and repeat this process. Tilt the work
at a progressively steeper angle to produce steeper sides.

Raise a steep-sided container on a raising stake using a raising hammer. Prepare

the disc in the way described above and work in the same way. Make sure that
the base circle is in contact with the corner of the raising stake when the first
round of hammering is done.

Expanding a steep-sided container (opening out) is possible using a collet

hammer. Support the container on a funnel stake. Contracting the shallow dish
(closing in) is possible using a flat-faced hammer on a roundhead stake. For
expanding and contracting, the profile of the chosen stake should be as near to
the finished shape as possible.
PLANISHING
Planishing is the finished process in forming double curvature work, in which
the workpiece is smoothed off and finally set to its correct shape. All hammers
and stakes used in planishing must be maintained in a highly polished condition,
as any blemishes on the working faces would be reproduced on the surface of
the work. Planishing hammers are available in a wide variety of weights and
shapes. As a general rule, flat faced hammers are used on convex work and
convex-faced hammers are used on flat or slightly concave work.
Planishing is a procedure that is carried out after hollowing or sinking or
raising, it is used:
a) to remove any unwanted bumps and to correct the overall shape.
b) to harden the metal and make it more rigid.
Planishing takes place after the work has been shaped, annealed, pickled and
washed thoroughly. Planishing with polished hammers on polished stakes
hardens the metal ready for polishing
Ensure even working by marking concentric lines with a pencil. Start at the
centre and work outwards. Overlap the small facets as the work is slowly
rotated. Hammer gently and evenly, trapping the metal between the stake and
hammerhead. This slightly expands the metal. If the blow is uneven or
inaccurate, distortion will occur.
True the rim of the raised object using a scribing block and surface plate,
remove waste with curved snips. File the Regularities. Finish by Inverting on a
sheet of abrasive on the surface plate.