[TheForge] copper balls

[Michael Horgan]

Well, could be cast, use a sweep to make the simple sand molds.Pretty 
heavy, though.  Could be done in one shot over a hollow die.Use an annealed 
blank bolted to a die form. Draw a vacuum, then put at the bottom of a 
tank, then set off an underwater explosion above it. The pressure wave does 
a nice job of forming the blank to the die.  <grin> Your mileage may vary.
At 07:42 PM 9/27/2003 -0600, you wrote:
>Talked to a customer today who wants 2 copper balls for his patio 30"-36" 
>in diameter.  One will become a Bar-B-Q and the other an ice bucket.
>Has anyone had any experiance forming anything this big?
>All I can think of is raising which sounds like a ton of pounding or 
>spinning on a setup similar to Mike Spencers air hammer power plant, big 
>form and copper disc bolted to an axle.  The latter sounds half scary and 
>would also be quite a bit of work even before moving any copper.
>Any suggestions wil be appreciated.
>Randy Mundt




Michael D. Horgan , lughaid@earthlink.net
http://members.aol.com/lughaid/
posting from
  A BRAZEN FORGERY
Blacksmithing and Metalwork
Claremont, Ca.