Super Simple DIY Tools for Copper Work

I have really been getting into copper work lately, in particular, making super cool bracelets and tiny bowls out of scrap. However, the deeper I go down that rabbit hole, the more I realize how many tools I would like to have to help with the process of metalworking. With that being said, I prefer to make my own tools, as opposed to buying them off the shelf. So let's talk about how I make these and hopefully I empower you to make your own or at least gain some inspiration.

The bulk of this calls for various dimensions of copper piping / wire found commonly at hardware stores

Wood scraps

HDPE, melted into square/round "blanks" to form tools

Drill bits

Chisels

Cutting power tools, like a miter/table/band saw

Lathe (I used mine but things can easily be molded without one)

Al Foil

Pens / Marking Tools

Angle grinder with attachments

Sandpaper of various grit

Files

Wrenches &/or Vice

Torch for annealing copper

Water to quench

Round stock (even a large screw or nail would work) to wind wire

Safety gear, like eye & hearing protection

Here is a video to accompany this Instructable.

Here is my small "gallery" of work.

So far I have made textured and hammered pieces, usually taking me an hour or so to work.

Want to make similar objects yourself? Keep going to see how you can make your own tools (or buy the supply brand new).

These plastic hammers are ideal for shaping soft metals like copper and brass since it minimizes any marring and scratching of the surface unlike a common metal hammer.

Looking at this tool on the shelf at the hardware store, I thought, "That is just a piece of tapered plastic with a handle!"

With that in mind, I took some HDPE gallon water jugs and melted them down into a soup can . Once I had enough to fill it up, I compressed it and left it to cool overnight. I have more Instructables on how to recycle and utilize HDPE at home so please check those out as well in my main page.

After I had my round tin can HDPE stock piece, I released it from is confines and made the rough tapered shape on the bandsaw. If you do not have a bandsaw, you could stick it in a vise and use a hand saw. This stuff whittles pretty well so you could even use a knife to get the shape you want. Whatever method fits your workshop, be safe. Using power tools with a round spinning object can and has led to safety issues so use your best judgment!! I used a clamp to secure my round stock so that my fingers were clear from the moving bandsaw blade and it minimizes the potential for this round thing to spin away from the moving blade and risk hurting something.

This next part in my photos was overkill, but I used my new lathe to make the curved edges on the striking surface. This was followed by some sanding as well. Constant use of the hammer will shape the surface and it is just plastic after all.

Here you see me adding some curvature to my round copper disc. But we need to make the dishing tool...

This tool is used to create curves / domes, and shape metal. I guess the difference is how much effort you are willing to put into it. Mine leans on the side of dishing.

I have seen many iterations of these on the interweb. It seemed to me like the easiest way to recreate this was to use a big hunk of something and shape a "reverse dome" into it. I performed this by taking a scrap piece of wood and drilling out the profile I needed with forstner bits. Starting with the largest bit, I make a small indentation, move to the next smaller size and work my way down to the smallest. This will leave a jagged recess in the wood but I smoothed that out with a chisel followed by some sanding.

I have seen folks use stumps for this the most. Use a hard wood when making your own.

Alternately, I would imagine with some precision and patience, you could also make a deeper and smoother dish with a an angle grinder and the appropriate wheel. Something to think about for the future.

This tool will help make repeatable smooth bends and/or pieces to be linked for bracelets, earrings, etc.

Noticing the pliers this tool was inspired from, again I thought, "That is just a piece of plastic on pliers!"

I was wondering how to get the relative curvature of a wrist and simply bent a piece of aluminum foil to the general shape of my wrist. I then took that curve and carved out a rough outline on a spare HDPE block I had in my scrap stock bin (It is good to hold onto your recycled HDPE cutoffs for inspiration pieces such as this, hehe). The indentation left by my dividers was the right width for a fine point sharpie to follow. I once again took this piece to the bandsaw to cut my curve.

My idea to mimic the pliers was to clamp the metal in the bending tool via a vise. These would sort of act as "soft jaws."

Using a small spare vise I purchased for next to nothing, I was able to utilize this reproducibility with some spare copper piping.

I added some texture to the face of the curved pieces with my DIY metal texturizing hammers and then drilled the holes I needed to link them all up later on.

Tip: In Pic 14, I cut a similar curve in a scrap wood to "trap" and reproduce the holes I need to drill for the rings later.

Here I use this bending tool to ensure all 6 of the pieces are of the same bend. I simply pounded some common copper piping used for home plumbing

I have seen folks shaping soft metal with antler looking pieces of steel on anvils, stands, etc. Perhaps I will get inspired to mimic those in the future but in the meantime a simple rounded "anvil" will be this jumping off point.

I went to the hardware store and purchased a black iron pipe and its associated pipe cap. I attached the two, tightened them together, and removed the protruding metal on the cap that is used to secure it in place. This is way it will be smooth for shaping metal later on. I performed this with a cut-off wheel and my angle grinder followed by a smoothing pass with the grinding wheel, but you could use some hand files as well. Again, this was followed by some light hand sanding / smoothing.

I placed that in the shop vise and secured it in place. This is great for use in bowl shaping or rounding out curves. These are nice because they are inexpensive and easy to make in a matter of an hour or less. Also, you can buy various sized pipe and its associated cap and have a wide range of "rounding anvils" to work with depending on the size of material you plan to work with.

ALTERNATELY: While I was on an unrelated run to the tools shop I happened to pass by the trailer hitch section. This is essentially the same thing but with no added work. However, the only draw back is that the hitch that I saw was not rounded on top like a ball shape. In fact, it was flat. So you could work with that but if it isn't what you're going for then just keep that in mind.

Once I was progressing with my segmented bracelet build, I realized that I had no rings to connect the pieces together. I did in fact have some spare rings but they weren't copper and I needed them to maintain the same metal consistently throughout this piece. Frustrated by a trip to the craft store yielding no copper jewelry rings and too impatient to wait for online ordering (which by the way turned up surprisingly difficult for an amateur), I made my own rings.

For this I wound some solid scrap copper wire I procured from some ROMEX around a long rod. This could be as simple at a screwdriver (just don't go flathead) or even a nail. I did my best to keep this as consistent as possible when winding and then removed the coil from the rod. I drilled a hole down some scrap wood and made a side cut spanning the length of the hole (see pics to see what I mean). This way I can insert the copper coil and using a hack saw, cut the sides to make the individual rings. Keeping this from moving with the saw proved difficult so I jammed it in place with a smaller rod that easily slid in and out.

Once the rings were cut, I filed them smooth with a...well, a file. Since this was wound in a coil, your ring ends will be off the plane slightly. But hey, with a little coercion with the HDPE hammer this was easy work. These can now be used to secure my segmented bracelet together.

One caveat up to this point is that I did manage to find some of the lobster claw looking clasps to secure the bracelet to the wrist. Finding these in copper was easier than plain rings, weirdly enough. But just like the rings themselves, this could likely be easily hand-made as well. I was thinking of a hook and loop type of situation.

I made these hammers out of a railroad spike. These were used to help me add some more texture and personality to the bracelet.

I have a separate Instructable on those that you can find here: https://www.instructables.com/DIY-Metal-Texture-Hammers-From-Railroad-Spike/

There we go!

A couple of cool pieces that you can make yourself and with tools you can make yourself. How cool is that?!

I hope this gives you some inspiration and direction with this. I am liking metalwork such as this.

Until next time.