How To Shape Copper Sheet

Copper is soft enough to cut on a bandsaw using a generalpurpose fine tooth blade.

How to shape copper sheet.

Copper sheeting comes in thicknesses ranging from very thin copper foil to thick copper plate. Before you start cutting i would recommend taping couple of your major fingers. One way you can form the blank is to take a round disc of sheet metal and use a hammer to make a depression. This method is mainly used for softer metals such as copper and brass.

Traditional techniques involve cutting out copper sheet to form the sidewall forming it to cylindrical shape and making a joint. Choose a soft temper of copper sheet to allow you to hammer copper more easily. Get approximately 2 feet about 61 cm more. Mark a bend line and place the sheet metal on the edge of your bench.

Lay out copper sheet on a flat surface large enough to provide support beneath the entire surface of the sheet. Measure the dimensions needed with tape measure. Next place the wood parallel and slightly behind the bending line. Remove paper and adhesive residue then polish the copper faces with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.

It can also be shaped by hand if. Below is a quick guide to help you determine which thickness best suits the needs of your project. Steps and tools for simple planishing of copper. Select a copper sheet that is as thin as possible.

Work from the outside edges in while rotating the disc. The unit of measurement used to identify the thickness of a sheet of copper varies e g gauge mil ounces per square foot inches millimeters. The 1 mil copper sheet will not hold its own shape without something behind it to reinforce it. You can use barkeepers powdered cleaner bon ami is similar or if you want to go all natural baking soda lemon juice and dish liquid work pretty good.

1 4 mil is slightly thicker than the 1 mil. Mark the required dimensions on the surface of the sheet using marking tool and straightedge. Clamp the wood on top of the metal to the workbench. I would not use this for metal embossing.

Easily remove hammer or mallet marks from a formed copper bowl. Draw your shapes you want to cut onto copper with pencil or a sharpie marker. Purchase a copper sheet appropriate to the specifications of your job. A brazed butt joint is not strong enough so an overlap must be used to give a bigger contact area for the join.

Using the edge of your workbench a length of wood two clamps and a mallet you can fashion a rudimentary bending brake. The same techniques can be used for any copp. When you do this draw a circle pattern on a piece of paper. 1 4 mil copper foil.

Centerpunch all drill hole marks on the patterns smooth all burrs and refine the edges with abrasives or files.