Aluminuium Bouquet

Hello, my name is Sam and I am a student from Slovakia. I enjoyed creating since childhood. I've been making aluminium flowers for a long time, but my classmates and I made these bouquets for graduation and gave them to our teachers :) I got into making roses by accident about three years ago. In the beginning, I cut the petals according to a sketch from the Pinterest page, which I modified over time as it suited me best.

We will need:

- aluminium sheet with a thickness of around 0.4 to 0.5 mm,

- M4 nuts,

-A hook as shown in the picture or some rod with a diameter greater than 4 mm so that we can cut the thread,

- self-adhesive paper,

- vise,

- threaded jaws M4,

-hammer,

- a drill,

-drills with a diameter of 4.5 to 4.6 mm and 8 to 10 mm,

-needle pliers,

-scissors for sheet metal or a decoupage saw and a sheet for metal,

- a hardwood log (I used a beech wood log),

- some marker, pencil or printer,

- sandpaper or grinding stone,

-welder and some electrodes,

- metal saw,

-possibly gold spray paint and a vernier caliper.

We print the template on a printer or redraw it by hand. Then stick it on the aluminium sheet from the side with the foil. Then we drill holes in the case of cutting in the centre and all corners to make it easier to cut out with scissors. If you use a decoupage saw like I do, drill a hole in the middle. I used a decoupage saw mainly because the cut was beautifully clean and the parts were not bent.

I used the hook as in the picture, its diameter should be about 4 mm or a little more. I sanded the end of this hook a bit with a sanding wheel to help my thread cut better. I used a hook because it held my vise better than a bar.

I tapped the petals of the flowers on a beech log, but you can also use other hardwood or possibly an anvil. I do this wallpapering mainly because it gives the flowers a more realistic look. I knock out only from one side (on top). But due to the thickness of the sheet and the fact that it is quite malleable, the pattern will also show a little on the other side.

https://youtube.com/shorts/VEsB9SPoK4w?feature=share

It worked best for me to bend the flower petals gradually. More about the bending method will hopefully be seen in the photos.

In the end, we cut off the excess hook and sand the end. We bend the stems and weld them together. I used a classic MMA welding machine for electrodes, after welding I covered this part with TPU fiber. It's kind of like a rubber band. In this way, I covered the appearance defects of the weld. The bouquet can also be painted, I used gold paint.