tips for making cones

[madsally]

hello! I was hoping someone could give me advice on making small cone shapes out of sheet silver. Is there a special mandrel to shape it over? Do you do the same as for paper (start with a circle)? I've had a few attempts in the past, but it's never been very successful...

I look forward to hearing from you, cheers!

[Wallace]

hello! I was hoping someone could give me advice on making small cone shapes out of sheet silver. Is there a special mandrel to shape it over? Do you do the same as for paper (start with a circle)? I've had a few attempts in the past, but it's never been very successful...

I look forward to hearing from you, cheers!

have a look at Nancy LT Hamilton's video... the principle and application is sound and you can adapt this to any size cone. And you will have fun laughing with her too.

[Dennis]

Well I watched Nancy, but I would just make a disk from paper, cut out a wedge and then form the cone to the shape and size I want, letting the paper overlap.

When it seems right I would glue it, cut it through, flatten it and use it as the first template for soft metal such as annealed copper. A good thickness is about 0.35-0.4mm according to size of cone.

It helps to snip a tiny bit off the apex before annealing and bringing the edges together. For a shape to form it around you can use one beak of round pliers, a sharpened pencil or other pointy object around the house. Sometimes it is enough just to make sure the base is round by inserting the head of a doming punch.

Once the copper cone is as you want it, cut it through , flatten it and use this as the final template for your silver. If not to be subjected to hard bumps I would use fine silver, which is easy to form when annealed.

Below are some cone earrings, where I left the overlap as a design feature. Dennis.

[Wallace]

Well I watched Nancy, but I would just make a disk from paper, cut out a wedge and then form the cone to the shape and size I want, letting the paper overlap.

When it seems right I would glue it, cut it through, flatten it and use it as the first template for soft metal such as annealed copper. A good thickness is about 0.35-0.4mm according to size of cone.

It helps to snip a tiny bit off the apex before annealing and bringing the edges together. For a shape to form it around you can use one beak of round pliers, a sharpened pencil or other pointy object around the house. Sometimes it is enough just to make sure the base is round by inserting the head of a doming punch.

Once the copper cone is as you want it, cut it through , flatten it and use this as the final template for your silver. If not to be subjected to hard bumps I would use fine silver, which is easy to form when annealed.

Below are some cone earrings, where I left the overlap as a design feature. Dennis.

isn't that the beauty of a forum, wonderful pieces by some forum members and a variety of advice from a variety of peeps too. Lovely cones Dennis.

kindest,
Wallace

[madsally]

Thanks so much for your advice, your method makes a lot of sense. I'll be having a go this week!

The earrings are lovely, too!