Rawhide!

Now that I'm addicted to bronze metal clay, I've noticed it can warp while drying. I tried turning it while it's drying but it can still warp. So what's a bronze metal clay addict to do? The best remedy for warping is to hammer your bronze metal pieces on a steel bench block after you take it out of the kiln. But which hammer to use?

dun-da-la-dum-da-la-dum ---- RAWHIDE!

No, I don't remember watching the t.v. show, I remember the SNL skit where John Belushi sang the theme song to Rawhide.

Digression aside, I always wondered when you'd use a rawhide mallet. Now I know. You use a rawhide mallet on metal you don't want to mar. You can use a wood mallet but a rawhide mallet is heavier than wood. I pound the bronze pieces with the rawhide mallet to flatten the bronze metal clay pieces to smooth out any warping. Bronze isn't as soft as copper or brass so I have to pound a few extra times.


So now if you're thinking, "That's just the tool I need!" - here are a few sources for Rawhide mallets:

The rawhide mallets shown above are from the Contenti Company;

Rawhide and plastic mallets at the Hammer Source;

Rio Grande Jewelry Supply.

Friday's Tip: Don't buy a hammer that loses its head.....

I was using one of these hammers that have a interchangeable screw-in heads - you know, I've been hammering alot lately - I raised the hammer to strike the copper sheet when the head flew across the room. The screw on the head had stripped. I can't use it anymore.

Luckily, no one was hurt, but by the way the cat ran out of the room, he thought he was going to get hit.

Today's Friday tip is: don't buy a hammer that's gonna lose it's head.

Losing one's head is never a good thing.

Chasing? Planishing? Are we speaking the same language?

So do hobbyists, crafters and professional jewelry makers really care about the difference between planishing and chasing? Most of us have a chasing hammer as our all purpose hammer but did we know that we tend to use our chasing hammers to planish? That's right, when you are using your chasing hammer to work harden, flatten or smooth your wire or sheet metal, you're planishing. Chasing, on the other hand, is used to incise a pattern into metal by hammering.

So most of us are planishing but not to worry, if you're going to buy just one hammer, a chasing hammer is your best all round hammer. Just a little bit of trivia - you can all go back to talking amongst yourselves!
(Photo Credit: Contenti's Chasing Hammers)

Hammering Away....

Lately, I've been developing a new relationship with my hammers. Not my carpenter's hammer but the ball peen and chasing hammers. Although I have basic hammer knowledge, I'm learning the finer points - like why are there so many choices in chasing hammers?

My ball peen hammer and I have a serious relationship that has developed from creating pendants for my sentimental junk, here a pieces of pottery found in the garden one spring day.

Filing smooth, hammering the edge and creating a texture for the brass sheet is soothing and cathartic as I pound over and over again to get just the right finish to the bowl bezel.


I'm going to add a couple of beads or charms at one end but can't decide if I should make a metal charm or if I should look for paw through my box of junk looking for a teeny tiny sentimental whatnot.

Have YOU hammered something lately? Doesn't haven't to be jewelry, it might just be hammering a loose nail. Do you think it's cathartic or do you just miss and get your thumb(OUCH!)?

(Hammer Photo Credit: Ball Peen Hammer)