Scratches showing up on hammered textured pieces help very much needed!

[SJEgan]

Do they take forever to be shaped though? I'd imagine its a long process! I'd also imagine you can get some nice interesting shapes!

[Goldsmith]

Do they take forever to be shaped though? I'd imagine its a long process! I'd also imagine you can get some nice interesting shapes!

If you do treat yourself to the grindstone polisher I mentioned, then small hammers will only take minutes to shape on the grind wheels. When they are shaped they will last a lifetime. I also meant to say that you can get many types of textures using chasing punches and doming punches.

James

[SJEgan]

Thats my new toy bought! You're a bad influence James

[Goldsmith]

You can never have too many tools in your workshop, sooner or later they will pay for themselves.
I have tried many variants of texturing during my long career. In recent times I have used a hammer head attachment on my flexshaft slip joint pendant drill, with this attachment I have detachable screw in hammerheads that I have ground to various shapes for texturing.
I have posted this photo before,sorry to those who have already seen it, but some newbies may not have seen it.

James

[SJEgan]

Some interesting looking textures there, does the attachment work like a jack hammer or something?

Ye I (like I imagine most of the people on this forum) have a serious tool problem! It takes all my will power not to spend every penny I make! But stupid bills do need to be paid. I've wanted a proper polisher for a while now anyway so that machine will defo get used, just got to figure out where to put it! Unfortunately my workroom is the spare bedroom in a rented flat so I don't have much space to play with, and can't attach things to the walls. Still trying to figure out somewhere to put my rolling mill so I can actually use it properly Some day I'll have a proper studio! Hopefully some day soon!

[Goldsmith]

It's not great trying to adapt a small space for a workshop, have you considered using a Black and Decker Workmate as a folding bench to support your mills and polisher? a friend of mine uses one to great effect in her spare room studio, when not in use it folds flat and is easily stored away. She has blocks of wood bolted to her polisher and small rolling mills, which she grips firmly in the Workmate's large vice grips when in use.

The hammerhead attachment is like a rapid mini jack hammer, by twisting a control band on the handpiece you can alter the hammer pressures.

James

[ps_bond]

Some interesting looking textures there, does the attachment work like a jack hammer or something?

Pretty much, yes. It's very handy at times for setting work - means that you don't need to hold a hammer in one hand, a punch in another and the item you're working on in another...

I'm a bit ambivalent about surface textures - peined is fine, but any of the deeper textures are a bit of a swine to clean. Shallower ones like sandblasting look great, but wear off quite quickly. Which is not to say they don't look nice, it's more the after-care that bothers me.

Have you seen the stunt of mounting your rolling mill on an Ikea kitchen trolley?

[Tabby66]

Have you seen the stunt of mounting your rolling mill on an Ikea kitchen trolley?

I am now the proud owner 0f 3 (VERY very) sturdy Ikea kitchen trolleys, making up much of my workspace.........hard to beat at the price

[Dennis]

I'm a bit ambivalent about surface textures - peined is fine, but any of the deeper textures are a bit of a swine to clean. Shallower ones like sandblasting look great, but wear off quite quickly. Which is not to say they don't look nice, it's more the after-care that bothers me.

One finish which is not given the credit it deserves is done with a medium frosting wheel for flexshaft. It can be added as an afterthought, right at the end of the making process and is great for disguising blemishes, or finishing the whole of the back if it looks a bit untidy.

Parts can be masked off with masking tape, even to create a smooth frame, and it is relatively safe on fingers if not run very fast, but eyes need protecting against possible moulting wires. Dennis.

[Goldsmith]

This was a little silver gorilla brooch that I made for a friend, nothing special as it was a freebe for his daughter,but it was made from flat sheet silver and textured using my hammerhead attachment. I do not have a photo of the finished brooch as my friend was going to set stones in the eyes and then get the brooch coloured like a silverback gorilla at his electro platers and I am still waiting for him to send me a photo of the finished brooch.

James