How to Fabricate Sheet Metal
You've been metal-smithing and now have a collection of scrap metal. The clippings leftover from your projects and the childhood jewelry that broke or you dislike are sitting in a box. You can turn your unwanted jewelry and metal scraps into sheet metal. Even the smallest piece of metal can be collected, melted and made into usable sheet metal.
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Things You'll Need
- Metal snips
- Crucible
- Flux (such as borax)
- Torch
- Mold
- Rolling mill
- Pickle and pickle pot
Instructions
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1
Collect your scrap metal, and separate it by type. To maintain the integrity of metals, silver, gold and base metals should be fabricated into sheet metal separately.
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2
Cut your scrap metal into small pieces using metal snips. Be sure that you are working with only one type of metal. For example, if you are working with gold, be sure that you have included gold that is all the same karat. If you are working with silver, be sure that you separate between fine silver and sterling silver.
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3
Paint your crucible with borax to act as a flux. Place the small pieces of scrap metal into the crucible. Use your torch to melt the scrap metal.
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4
Pour the molten metal into a mold designed to create sheet metal. Allow the metal to cool.
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5
Roll the molded metal through a rolling mill to make the sheet thinner.
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Anneal the metal with your torch. Pickle the metal, if needed. Roll the sheet through the rolling mill again. Repeat until the sheet metal is the gauge you desire.
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