No, I've never tried that. I have turned some wooden bowls and vases on a lathe, though. But my real passion lies at the end of a hammer. I love watching whatever I'm working on take shape after every hammer blow. There's something magical to me about watching hard, rigid metal move like clay under the blow of a hammer.

Walker

Walker,

It sounds to me that you love the process as much as I do. Spinning vases like this would be possible and it eliminates the texture that is so sumptuous in these vases. I find that I can spend hours refining the hammer marks and the contour of the piece of holloware I am working on.

The recipients of the vase are lucky folks.

Fred

Fred Zweig
Metalsmith

Hi! My name is Rivka and I,m so happy to have found people in this planet that still raise and shape metal by hand. I sort of googled myself all the way here on my way looking for sheetmetal brass or copperor what we called in Argentina "alpaca"(not the wool but an alloy of copper brass and tin) and other supplies to make and show desadvantaged children how to make their own Hanukah Candelabras and other metalsculptures. I've also worked with clay and understand the awsome feeling of shaping/ raising metal thru heat and hammer and holy patience and determination. In my search I've even come across glass. Hot blown glass is truly infatuating and more expensive than clay or metals.
Anyways I was wondering wetheranyone out there would be able to reccomend places in and aroud Flushing , Queens for metalsmithing supplies? Such as sheet metal, soldering supplies, stakes and slices of tree trunks with Bowl depressions to start shaping, acids for cleanng etc
Thank you all and have sweet happy holydays
Sincerely Rivka

Hello Rivka,

Allcraft is located in New York, NY. They carry lots of metal shaping supplies including hammers, stakes, etc. They carry a lot more than their website has listed but here is their url:

www.allcraftonline.com

I've never seen any suppliers of wooden chunks with bowl depressions already cut into them. You could acquire your own tree sections and carve it out yourself or you can go the route I did. I acquirred several different sized gas bottles (oxygen, etc) and using proper safety techniques, cut the bottoms off to use as sinking forms. Here is a link to a pic of the ones I cut and use.

http://www.artmetal.com/images/walker/2007/10/sinking_forms

Walker

It's hard to aquire the trunk slices or stumps on which to mount stakes and anvils. After you find a source, it's hard to convience the "logger" that there is a way to cut it so that it will stand up straight. However, they are worth the hunt. If you are trying to sink a piece or start a piece for raising, use your hammer on the trunk or slice. Hammer a depression until it suits. You do not need a depression as big as the finished metal is to be. All that is needed is a small depression with the right cross section as the curve on the finished piece is to be.

marilyn