hammering copper

[trainwreck]

The only forging I've done was over a decade ago where I tried to forge bronze. That didn't go so well, so I'm tapping into the GJ hive mind for your expert advice.

Does anyone have any tips for hammering copper back into round? It's a small frying pan, about 7" in diameter. I got it for a song, so I can't complain too much, but it just irks me that it's bent out of round. And it's not a simple bend either. You can tell that this pan has lived a working life in a kitchen. I'm not looking to get it perfectly round again, but if it was close enough that I couldn't eyeball it, I'd be pretty happy.

Do I just find something that's about the right size, and hammer the pan against it gently with a rubber faced mallet?

Thank you for any advice you've got.

 

[MoonRise]

Umm, generally you don't whack the object to be shaped against something else. Sometimes yes, but usually no.

Usually you 'sandwich' the object to be shaped between the 'hammer' and the 'anvil'. Sometimes the 'anvil' is an actual anvil, sometimes it is something else that is hard, and sometimes it is something that is soft (to varying degrees) like a "shot bag".

Likewise, sometimes the 'hammer' is an actual hammer, and sometimes it is a mallet of varying size, weight, and/or hardness.

"Bent out of round"? What is bent? The lip/rim, or the sloping side between the flat bottom and the lip/rim?

Also, if it is a 'real' copper pan, of plain copper, then you might want to annel it before hammering on it. Annealing copper/brass is kind of the 'opposite' of annealing steel in that you heat it up and then rapidly quench the metal unlike steel where you let it cool slowly.

 

[trainwreck]

Yes! I can tell that you know way more about this than I do. Thank you for responding.

It is solid copper that's been plated with stainless steel on the inside. I think it is very nearly pure solid copper. It feels about as soft, and has the right color to it.

The bottom is warped slightly, but I'm mostly concerned about the rim (for purely cosmetic reasons.) The sloping side between the rim and bottom is mostly alright (except for one small ding.) It's the rim that I'd like to round out.

I have access to a shot bag, but I suspect that annealing is out of my league. The pan wasn't very expensive, but I fear ruining it with my hack job of heat treating it. What can I use to sandwich the pan between the anvil and hammer? Can I use pieces of wood that are about the right shape?

 

[Frank The Plumber]

Do a search for metal working copper on google or ask, there are a couple of tricks such as carburizing the surface with an acetylene rich carbon soot before you start hammering to keep the copper from work hardening and cracking while you work it with a shot bag and forming tools.

 

[MoonRise]

Umm, are you -sure- that the inside of the pan is 'plated' with stainless steel?

Because 'classic' copper cooking pans are often tin-coated on the inside to put a less-reactive metal in contact with the food than plain copper.

 

[ZRX61]

Post a pic or 3...

 

[srmofo]

Personally I would be more concerned with a flat bottom if you are actually cooking with it. Ive had several cheap pot sets growing up, and I can tell you from personal experience a warped pan will take forever to heat up.....except in that one spot .

 

[asp]

Personally I would be more concerned with a flat bottom if you are actually cooking with it. Ive had several cheap pot sets growing up, and I can tell you from personal experience a warped pan will take forever to heat up.....except in that one spot .

Depends on the stove. You're right if it's an electric oven or a glass top. I have a glass top and I hate when all I have left is my crappy thin pots with warped bottoms. It won't make a big difference for a gas stove.

 

[NASTYZEN]

Post a pic or 3...

Yes, showing us the damage will help determine a method for the fix.
We can spend all day speculating.LoL

 

[Brad54]

I can't speak to the annealing, but I'll add this:
If you have access to a shot bag, that's what you want to use as your anvil. It will back the metal and let you control it as you shape/reshape it.

For the hammer, go get a pinewood derby kit. Round off the corners for the pine block. I've got a couple with different radii and contours to the ends--some are fully rounded, some are flat in the center of the end with the corners rounded to it, etc.
Use that to drive the metal into the shot bag.

I like pine because its soft enough that it will slowly work the metal, and the rounded corners won't leave marks.

-Brad

 

[5lima30]

Check on the Blacksmithing Forum they deal with stuff like that frequently. Good luck!

 

[wiz56]

If you are going to work the copper, you need to anneal it. You need to heat it up with a reducing flame......not too much oxygen if you are using a oxy torch. You can do it with propane or butane torch. If you just throw it in water it will likely get what they call fire scale which won't mean much to you unless you plan on buffing this to a high sheen.( if you want to do it right you quench it in a pickling solution called Sparex No. 2) After you anneal it, it goes to the dead soft condition. If you have a rawhide mallet and a piece of wood I'm sure you can figure out how to bang it back in shape. You could make a form for the inside of the pan or dish out some wood for the outside of the pan. Copper is very malleable and you can heat and anneal it as many times as you want with no concern. I used to raise vessels in college out of copper, brass, and silver. They all work about the same. Good luck with your project........you really can't screw it up. If you do end up using the Sparex........do not allow any steel of any kind to come in contact with it.