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AMMERFORMING
Hammerforming is shaping metal by hitting it
with hammers, mallets or corking tools over,
onto or into a base form, which is known as the
hammerform. It may involve the use of all the
elements I just described, or it may involve only
some of those elements. It is an inexpensive
method to make parts, whether it's a one-of-a-kind
special or many of the same kind. Hammerforming
is a technique available to most people because it
relies more on skill than on expensive equipment.
It can also produce beautiful results. Inevitably,
when I show someone how to hammerform metal I
get a reaction of surprise. No one seems to know
how simple and effective it is.
On the other hand, I often make round tank ends for various kinds of tanks. I will make a round end hammerform and
keep it if the shape and diameter are so common it's likely I'll be making another one sooner or later. This stock of
general use hammerforms can "save the day" when the need arises. If you make a hammerform of a general size and
shape for one project, keep it. You may be using it again sooner than you think.
Another advantage to hammerforrning is that it is possible to make parts with symmetrically opposite halves—or
mirror images of a part that can be welded together. The result is a part that is just as strong, yet far lighter than a
similar piece fabricated out of a solid block of metal. Hammerformed parts save weight without losing strength.
Hammerforms are often overlooked as a technique in sheet metal fabrication. I think this is because people think it
is complicated to make a hammerform, or to use one. Sometimes they think it sounds like too much work to bother
making a hammerform. Nothing could be further from the truth. I can't stress enough how simple hammerforms are to
construct and that they are well worth using.
TYPES OF ample, the metal is placed over the use. They require metal to be both
HAMMERFORMS hammerform. and as it is hammered shrunk and stretched. The best ex-
The most common hammerform is upon, it shrinks down and over the ample I can offer is the hammerform
used under the metal and the metal is form to create the tank end. This is an for a wing rib. A wing rib has both a
formed over it. In this case, the metal example of a simple hammerform. convex and a concave shape. This
is being shrunk to produce the final Some hammerforms are more com- needs both shrinking and stretching.
part. Using the tank end as an ex- plicated, but not a great deal harder to The convex shape must be achieved by
75 HAMMERFORMING