So I’ve got a question for everybody on metal forming sterling silver 3D daffodils. You know the trumpet thing (I think it’s technically called the ‘corona’) that comes out of the center of a daffodil, it sticks straight up as a tube then the edges flare out dramatically with frilly edges at the top? I’m struggling with this. At first I thought I would make just a tube then flare one end so that it has that frilly look on the edges around the top and flatten it so it would spread out fully. I put one end of the tube on the horn of a miniature anvil. It didn’t work, the tube seam split open REPEATEDLY no matter how many times I tried it. So then I decided to make a tube that was naturally wider on one end than the other so when I put it together it would already be a little flared. It really didn’t work well, the flare was too gradual, and the trumpet thing in the middle of daffodils has a much sharper turn at the top, it goes from a tube into a flared full circle spread with frilly edges at the top. Now, other than carving this thing in wax and just casting it exactly the way you want it, do you have any ideas on how to metal form this thing? I can’t find any decent videos or books on how you would go about metal forming such a thing. Basically all I’m trying to do is take a tube and spread/flare one end a lot. This doesn’t seem like it would be that complicated, you can take a sheet of silver and turn it into a bowl for crying out loud, why am I having so much trouble with this? Any help, tips, and advice would be deeply appreciated!
Hi,
…my brain is thinking repousse, medium pitch in a pitch bowl, and and a few chasing tools…
embossers
liners
i love Victoria Lansfords chasing tool set, and her dvd is very comprehensive…in my personal opinion, a game changer for high relief techniques…
I also like Saign Charlesteins chasing tools, primarily because he sells them individually, in sizes…as well as in sets
I have not tried Nechamkins chasing sets…when i looked at them, my personal opinion was that the sets seemed to have more chasing and planishing tools, and less embossing tools…but, i could be mistaken…
julie
Since it’s your solder seam that keeps splitting on you, I’m wondering if it would work to reverse engineer it by making a pattern to saw out, then hammer the frilled edge, and then form into a tube to solder.
You haven’t offered us any idea of the scale of this piece. You might look for seamless tubing that you can use to start with. That all being said, a well soldered seam should withstand a fair amount of abuse. You might go back to your idea of a cone shaped tube and work on refining the shape of the cone as well as how you are soldering it. If you are using a low melting point solder, you might try something a bit harder like medium. Finally, rather than a butt joint, try overlapping the seam. I have done a lot of lilies with this type of joint.
This is a fairly complicated project, so don’t beat yourself up over it. If you want to see amazing floral pieces done in metal and enamel, look at James Miller’s work. Good luck…Rob
Hi?
perhaps it is a multiple part flower, with the trumpet portion consisting of a tapered cone (perhaps textured/ striated) and topped off (on the larger end) with a flared/ fluted rim made from a washer type shape (soldered onto the larger openning)…and then the balance of the petals can be added as tiered flower layers…or added individually overlapping….
uss pieces of wood that you hammer dents into…either in the middle of the wood to dish out…or on the edges of the ends of the wood to flute and wave…
julie
It’s not a clear how to answer, but I’d encourage you to look up ringgoldnicole on instagram. She does this type of work and you might learn from her.
Hi,
good call! i see she has a daffodil and she shows how she makes it!
julie
I was thinking along those lines too Marlala! I also thought about making darts around the frilled edges to indicate the folds of the corona. I’ve never done any fold forming but surely that is possible.
She does crazy good th8ngs with fusing, I am humbled by her creativity and her no fear of fire scale