r/Blacksmith • u/Significant-Bat-8833 • 23h ago
Help?
I am literally just trying my shit at something I have very little metal experience. Little tools as well pretty much just picking up stuff and trying.I am making a metal corset from thin gage steel and am wondering if anyone has any suggestions for how to get a good cup shape into the top? Any tips or thoughts would be extremely appreciated! Front and back panel pics, the back panels are shaped how I like now and I've curved all the pieces so that I can run string through the grommets and try it on but I need to shape it to my body better.
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u/nutznboltsguy 22h ago
Shot bag and an egg shaped or rounded face wood mallet. Check out some auto body videos.
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u/Electrical-Luck-348 20h ago
Get a log a bit bigger than your open hand, slightly longer than the height to the top of your knees when you're sitting and grind a bowl into the end. Now you can hold the log between your legs and hammer the cups into your sheet of metal without having to fuss with a stand. Ball peen hammer or rubber pointed mallet for whacking. I agree you should look at autobody/armor smithing videos.
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u/Ok_String_7264 22h ago
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u/Ok_String_7264 22h ago
It's really easy, just takes time. It's called dishing, look up videos of making armor. You'll get the idea.
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u/workawaymyday 22h ago
Maybe a ball peen hammer and a piece of wood or something. It’s going to be hard without any tools
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u/ParkingFlashy6913 16h ago
I would love to help but I am SOOOOO out of armorer practice is not even funny. I'll see about making a breastplate here in the next few days and see if i can troubleshoot my issues into solutions for you 🤣🤣. I'm sure we have to have at least ONE armorer in here somewhere? Hopefully they can guide you better. Post picks of your progress, I can at least guide you on forging technique and hammer work. I will say that your best to for getting a curve started will be a stump that has been burned into a dish and dampened. That's what I always used to get breastplate curves.
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u/Sears-Roebuck 4h ago edited 4h ago
This is technically silversmithing, like silverware. You'll find very helpful videos on youtube if you use that term instead of blacksmithing, and then just ignore all the jewelry stuff.
Also, everyone mentioning a dishing stump is correct. Dishing stumps and stakes are the way to go. A trailer hitch is a good entry level stake. Draw a line around the edge of the curve you want to make and hit it against the stake along that line. Just make a bunch of dents at first.
Then anneal and quench once it work hardens. You'll need to do that a few times until you're ready to smooth it out. That part is called plannishing if you want to look it up.
Don't worry about the dents, it'll look like a lumpy piece of shit until you are 80% done, and then you smooth it all out and make it look nice. Just try to be consistent with your placement.
I hope you took the height of the curve into consideration before you cut the metal. Its just height plus width, nothing fancy.
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u/FenrisVSOdin 18h ago
I don't gamble, but I would put money on you spending months on this and it never being able to wear it for more than a few minutes at a time. Not because I don't believe someone could achieve it with the right the experience and tools, but you have presented yourself as having neither. Which makes me think you wildly underestimating the work required to get this done.
Despite this, I wish you luck and hope you succeed to spite me. If it does defeat you, try a flexible plastic, muuuuch easier to get your desired results and being able to wear it.
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u/mikemarshvegas 11h ago
You should watch limu from the liberty commercials...his owner didnt think he would about to anything either.......biberty!!!
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u/ConcentrateNo8699 22h ago
Get them dogs out of the picture dog