"S" shaped Brass Guard

R

Ray Plank

Joined
Mar 7, 2007
Messages
18
I am working on a rather large Bowie style blade, and I want to make the guard into an "S" shape, with the top going forward over the blade, and the bottom coming back over the fingers. I have it cut out of 1/4 inch by 1 inch flat stock, with the hole for the tang fitted up snug.

My question is, how do I bend the top and bottom sections without distorting what I already have fitted ? My present plan is to have the center section snugged up in the vice, heat the ends up with a propane torch, and tap it into shape with a wooden hammer. ( I've never tried bending brass before, so is there anything I need to look out for ? )

Thanks for your help.
Ray
 
I have a large block of steel with a radiused corner. Clamp the guard material to it with the slot just on the flat part and beat the ends over the radius.
 
Yup, what Karl said. Don't forget to put a piece of leather or something between the vise/clamp/whatever and the brass so you don't bugger up the finish. It'll save you from having to re-sand hard to sand shapes once it's bent.

So, is this a knife for Blacksmith Days Ray? :)

-d
 
Karl, Great idea ! I was just going to free hand it, but that makes more sense.

Rob, thanks for the reminder. I hadn't thought that far ahead. Yep, it's for the contest. ( I may not win, but I'm gonna enter ! ) :)
 
many brasses will crumble like cold parrafin if you try to work them hot. Most of the time if I'm forced to bend large pieces of brass I will anneal it (heat it to a dull glow and quench it) then bend it. Non ferrous metals generally do not work hot, and if it is a brass with lead in it which is used to make it freemachining the lead will liquify out of solution at a lower temperature than the other metals which will contribute to the crumbling problem.
Just my opinion for what it's worth (personally if I have to make interesting shapes in yellow metal that's not gold I'll usually sand or lostwax cast them in bronze and save the headache)

-Page
 
I tried a brass guard once. I tried to bend it and it cracked and crumbled.

Try a test piece if you have already got a good fit on what you have. I never did get it to work I ended up using stainless steel.
 
And here I thought I had the hard part done ! Thanks for all the replies, and yes, doing a test piece sounds like the way to go. ( I may end up with a straight accross guard, not an "S" shaped one. ):)

Ray
 
Don't be too afraid to bend it. Do like the others said with a radiused plate. anneal first, bend it some, anneal and bend, anneal and bend.
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Karl, If you do that with brass it will crumble and break.
Brass, copper, nickel, and bronze are annealed by heating them to just barely red, and when the color has cooled to black heat ( around 900F) stick it in a bucket of water. Once annealed you can bend it easily with a mallet and a forming block. A baseball bat, the bick on the anvil, or a rounded edge piece of hardwood will work. Clamp the guard slot area firmly with two pieces of 1/4" steel or it will bend where you don't want it to. A neat trick if you do this often is to drill two holes in the steel plates about 3/4" apart. Make the holes in one plate the size of a bolt that will fit through the slot (say 3/16"), tap the other plate for the bolts. Bolt the plates together through the slot and it will support the area from bending while you shape the curves. You can also make a clamp that looks like a large filing jig.
Stacy
 
My Bad. I was reading the question as " Do you do brass the same as Wrought Iron?"
Stacy
 
Update

IT WORKED ! :) I first tried bending a thin scrap of the brass, and since it bent easily with no sign of cracking, I figured I was good to go without annealing. I'm only planning to do this one, so I radiused a piece of 1 X 1-1/2 wood rather than taking the time to do a metal block, lined up the guard, wrapped it in a rag, ( Thanks Rob ! ) and clamped it in the vice. I used my lead hammer, and it bent right around. A little clean up on the end, and after I do another buffing on the blade, I'll be soldering it all together tonight.

Thanks again for all the help.
Ray
 
Ray Plank said:
Update

IT WORKED ! :) I first tried bending a thin scrap of the brass, and since it bent easily with no sign of cracking, I figured I was good to go without annealing. I'm only planning to do this one, so I radiused a piece of 1 X 1-1/2 wood rather than taking the time to do a metal block, lined up the guard, wrapped it in a rag, ( Thanks Rob ! ) and clamped it in the vice. I used my lead hammer, and it bent right around. A little clean up on the end, and after I do another buffing on the blade, I'll be soldering it all together tonight.

Thanks again for all the help.
Ray
Click to expand...

Looks like you'll have one for the contest then! I'm WAAAAAY behind schedule myself. Taking tomorrow off work to try and catch up :)

See you this weekend!

-d
 
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