Turtle Shell Copper

I wanted to expand my horizons with copper after getting inspired by people who do handmade copper spoons and bowls. Of course, I wanted to start small and decided to pound out some copper turtle shells for an upcoming project.

Copper sheets or old copper coins

Tin Snip

Pipe Cutter

Various hammers (I mostly used a sledge and ball peen)

Anvil (or something to pound on)

Wood

Drill press

Torch (or heat source)

Tongs

Buffer (or adhesive pad)

Files/sandpaper

Carriage bolt

Pliers or vice grips

I used a copper tube I had lying around and cut a section off using a pipe cutter. It would take more work and a pair of gloves, but you can just use snips. I use a 1-inch X 1-inch square (from pic 3, you see I get two out of it). I wanted the final piece to be round so I use my snips to make a circle.

Now you can start beating the devil out of it. I have a cheap anvil and a piece of steel (my original idea was to put the steel on top of the cast anvil but welding/brazing that requires way more skill and knowledge than I [currently] have), as well as a sledge hammer. I wanted to flatten out my copper disc first. Afterwards, I started rounding it out.

NOTE: After several blows with a hammer, your copper will start to get brittle and you risk destroying your piece and all of your hard work thus far. Many sources from jeweling videos and blogs stated that you need to heat your copper periodically. There is more metallurgy to my explanation but basically your copper becomes stressed and needs to relax. Just a few seconds with a torch or heat source (I used a propane torch) will get the grain structure back where it needs to be. Then you can start hammering it again. Think of it like your copper needing to chill out in the jacuzzi after a hard day.

I am not sure of the formal name for this piece of "equipment," but I drilled (using forstner bits) several steps into a scrap piece of maple and sanded it to make a little cup. The purpose of this is to start curving my copper disc into it’s shell shape (if you know the real name for this “cup,” please leave a comment below). I used some pliers (although use anything to hold it steady) to hold the copper in place and the ball peen hammer. After some coercion and heating (don't forget), it will start taking shape. I found that the initial pounding gets the main shape quickly and the detail work falls out and takes the most time for this step.

I also used the head of a spare carriage bolt held by vice grips. This helps a lot to make the curve/shell shape more defined and . . .well, curvy. Shell-y? You get it. This coupled with the heavy sledge makes for quicker work.

Once the shell shape took hold, I secured the round head of a larger ball peen into my bench vice. I used that and another smaller ball peen to further the curve of my shell.

Now, go with me on this next part because it’ll [hopefully] make sense momentarily. The information jewelers provide online to flatten your metals out as thin as you want sounded to me like flattening meats. Imagine you wanted Schnitzel or a paillard for supper. When you pound out your cut of meat you shouldn't simply drop your mallet at a straight 90 degree blow. I mean, you do, but you also want to “pull” or stretch the meat as your pound it. That’s how I related this to my metal working.

Still with me? Good.

Once the disc was cupped to my liking, I used the actual peen of the hammer to produce the turtle shell-like design. This is instantly gratifying due to the shell taking shape in front of your eyes. Each hammer strike yields another dent from which you can gauge your next strike from the last until you’re satisfied.

My crummy hands sullied my shell and is now in need of a good buffing.
I start with a brass wire wheel on my drill, followed by my microwave blower grinder/buffer (check my Instructable if interested on how I made that for next to nothing).

The final picture shows my progression for comparison sake: flat disc -> cup -> fully cupped
-> buffed shell.

My pic gives the progressing of flat copper piece to finished turtle shell.

At this point I called it finished and I liked the way it turned out. The buffed (even the unbuffed) look is very appealing to the eye, in my opinion. You could go a step further to give it more detail by adding a patina or using etchant solution to give it depth. Up to you how you want the final product presented.

Thank you for following me up to the end and I hope you have somewhere you can utilize these or that you gained some inspiration in some other way.