[Assignment 1]
BEIL0014 Digital Making has taught me with various techniques of how metals can be shaped in different ways using certain types of tools and strategies.
Throughout the semester, Assignment 1 was the most challenging and memorable, having to experience with particular shapes.
The bowl
I would have never imagined about a flat material to be transformed into a curve or arch using metal shears, wooden stump, mullet and english wheel.
These four simple tools created a bowl, just by hammering concentric rings from outer to inner rings.
Strengths: Constant hammering around concentric circle had stretched the metal and allowed it to curl upwards without any challenges.
Weakness: Choosing and adjusting roller dies on english wheel was difficult for me, even though all the tools I have used were unfamiliar but english wheel was something very new to me. I have firstly used the die that was in the middle range and it didn't create enough curves to meet the angle that I wanted. I had to re-hammer the bowl when english wheel flattened the curves beyond my expectations and had to experience with different size dies to shape the angle.
The Torus
Having to hold the metal right in the middle of rounded wooden stump was hard to manage on myself, when my partner was not in presence.
Strengths: Marking a line of approximate gap in the middle helped me as a guideline on where to hammer and stable hammering techniques gained from the bowl exercise were used. I was much more comfortable in hammering than previous bowl shaping.
Weakness: Hammering on metal horse smoothen the crinkled lines of the metals although, it did not create dynamic curves. Trial of extending the curves more dynamically took a while to achieve. Applying the metal on english metal was helpful to create more curves into the torus and I felt more familiar with english wheel from this exercise.
The Tray
Tray exercise involved many steps and templates compared to other exercises. I would say that, this was the most challenging exercise out of all four exercises. I have ended up making total of three trays due to:
Weakness:
2. The edges of each corner wrinkled in depths, I was not able to stretch the corners.
Strengths:
3. Learnt from trial and error of controlling the strengths when hammering each corners. It should be done steady and slowly and completing one corner before starting another corner, rather than hammering little by little on each corners and trying to stretch them all together did not balance the metal to be stretch equally.
The Blister
Strengths: By the time I have progressed to fourth exercise, controlling the strengths and knowing which tools to be used to create a line or curves were predictable. Since the templates were already cut out and ready to be used, it did not take long time to complete this exercise.
Weakness: The top of the edge was hardest to shape due to tiny space being seen, and most of
pre-made wooden blocks were thicker than I thought. Thin edge of wooden blocks chipped when being hammered against the metal and I had to replace with another wooden blocks.
Overall, above all of four exercises taught me the lessons of "slow and steady wins the race", that I've got to be patience with metal forming and prepared for repeating the same process of hammering from inside and outside to stretch out the metal. Visually seeing the metal transform into a shape has extended my knowledge of understanding about use of materials.
BEIL0014 Digital Making has taught me with various techniques of how metals can be shaped in different ways using certain types of tools and strategies.
Throughout the semester, Assignment 1 was the most challenging and memorable, having to experience with particular shapes.
The bowl
I would have never imagined about a flat material to be transformed into a curve or arch using metal shears, wooden stump, mullet and english wheel.
These four simple tools created a bowl, just by hammering concentric rings from outer to inner rings.
Strengths: Constant hammering around concentric circle had stretched the metal and allowed it to curl upwards without any challenges.
Weakness: Choosing and adjusting roller dies on english wheel was difficult for me, even though all the tools I have used were unfamiliar but english wheel was something very new to me. I have firstly used the die that was in the middle range and it didn't create enough curves to meet the angle that I wanted. I had to re-hammer the bowl when english wheel flattened the curves beyond my expectations and had to experience with different size dies to shape the angle.
The Torus
Having to hold the metal right in the middle of rounded wooden stump was hard to manage on myself, when my partner was not in presence.
Strengths: Marking a line of approximate gap in the middle helped me as a guideline on where to hammer and stable hammering techniques gained from the bowl exercise were used. I was much more comfortable in hammering than previous bowl shaping.
Weakness: Hammering on metal horse smoothen the crinkled lines of the metals although, it did not create dynamic curves. Trial of extending the curves more dynamically took a while to achieve. Applying the metal on english metal was helpful to create more curves into the torus and I felt more familiar with english wheel from this exercise.
The Tray
Tray exercise involved many steps and templates compared to other exercises. I would say that, this was the most challenging exercise out of all four exercises. I have ended up making total of three trays due to:
Weakness:
1. Mirroring the tray same as my partner. My partner and I made the templates together, but formed the shapes at our own convenient time, therefore I have mirrored and hammer the tray on the wrong side. If our chosen angles on four corners were equal it would have not matter, but as we chosen two angles of 50mm and 60mm to be adjacent to one another, I had to start all over again.
2. The edges of each corner wrinkled in depths, I was not able to stretch the corners.
Strengths:
3. Learnt from trial and error of controlling the strengths when hammering each corners. It should be done steady and slowly and completing one corner before starting another corner, rather than hammering little by little on each corners and trying to stretch them all together did not balance the metal to be stretch equally.
The Blister
Strengths: By the time I have progressed to fourth exercise, controlling the strengths and knowing which tools to be used to create a line or curves were predictable. Since the templates were already cut out and ready to be used, it did not take long time to complete this exercise.
Weakness: The top of the edge was hardest to shape due to tiny space being seen, and most of
pre-made wooden blocks were thicker than I thought. Thin edge of wooden blocks chipped when being hammered against the metal and I had to replace with another wooden blocks.
Overall, above all of four exercises taught me the lessons of "slow and steady wins the race", that I've got to be patience with metal forming and prepared for repeating the same process of hammering from inside and outside to stretch out the metal. Visually seeing the metal transform into a shape has extended my knowledge of understanding about use of materials.
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