FAILURE AND SUCCESSES

It's been an exciting morning. I couldn't wait to try the three dies. I cut a 3" square piece of copper sheet (26 gauge) and ran it through the rolling mill with one of the brass texture plates I have. Next, the piece was annealed and flattened. It had to be trimmed a bit since the rolling mill stretched it.

Here are the three dies and metal ready to go. Will try the heart die first.

OH NO!!! Too many pulls of the hydraulic press lever, and the metal got pushed to the bottom! It even has an impression of the little hole in the bottom of the form box.

I didn't notice until I turned it over that the metal had actually ripped!

We're not done yet. Another piece of copper was textured, annealed and pressed. This time I pulled the lever three times instead of six. A perfect heart! How exciting!

I cut and textured two more pieces for the other dies.

Three pulls of the lever seems to be good. Should I try four? I love these pieces and want to make them into pendants. Will cut them, leaving an edge that will be riveted to a back piece. A successful morning! I'll try 24 gauge copper next.