|
|
|
|
||||
© 2000 by Ron McIntyre. All Rights Reserved.
|
|
In Figure 10 (above) insert all 20 pins into the holes you just drilled and solder the pins to the hammered cooper. A heavy duty solder gun will do the job very well. An open flame torch will work, but it will have to be a very small one like a jewelers torch. I did not have one and therefore do not know the results of using one.
After you solder the parts together, cut all the excess pin length off and file smooth, but not enough to see the copper beneath. Make sure you leave the pins in the wooden block while filling. If you don't, you may bend the cooper and pins.
In Figures 11 and 13 I used a new 2 x 4 and fabricated swing clamps. These clamps can be the same used in Figure 9. The bending tool must be thin enough to fit through the pins, and will provide a positive bend for the length of the pins, as you do not want to kink any of the pins. I bent the pins to 45 degrees.
After bending all of your pins on all of your feathers you can now make your arrow shaft, and lay you feathers aside until later.
In Figure 16 I located scrap cooper tubing that was 1.25 inches in diameter and cut with a hacksaw down the center, then bent it and hammered it flat. I cut the tube 4 inches long and used the inside as it was scored by repeated use. Then I used an electric drill with a wire brush to polish the copper. In Figure 17 I made a paper pattern the same size as the finished flat copper and glued the pattern on to the flat copper. Keep the arrow head pattern to the bottom and edges as shown, then you will not have to cut as much. The extensions are to insert into the end of your arrow shaft and then soldered. The more you hammer and beat on the copper the better the texture will be, so hammer away!
Figure 18 shows the paper pattern going over the flat copper plate.
After cutting out your arrow heads you should take a file and de-bur and smooth the edges. Another way to polish your copper is to take a high speed tool, like a Dermal, and use the edge of the cutting wheel to give it a swirl effect as you polish it. Also you can use the edge of a grinding wheel in your hand drill.
The arrow shaft can be anything you want. I used 3/8 inch ridged copper tube that was scrap. I cut it longer than 18 inches and used a drill press and emery cloth to polish it. Also the notch in the end was cut with a hacksaw to about 3/8 inches deep.
Looking at the top and bottom of the shaft you will have to squeeze it down to fit to the arrow head before you solder it.
The front and back of the shaft was soldered and it is best to use a small propane torch as a soldering gun will not get it hot enough to solder.
The finished shaft before the feathers are installed is 21 inches in length.
As I was only using two feathers with the picture frame that I was making, I did not want the third feather sticking out. You can attach a third feather just as easy. You can spot both the shaft and feather with contact cement to hold them together while wrapping. I wrapped them with thin copper wire #14 stranded wire that was scrap. I then twisted the wire tight and soldered the wire together on the back side of the shaft. A soldering gun will work for this operation.
In Figure 26 the fountain fill I used was arrived at by
taking a digital picture of my finished hammered
copper and sampling 7 high and low colors using the
eyedropper tool in Corel PHOTO PAINT. Then I applied a
custom fountain fill in Draw.
Figure 27 shows the American Wire Gauge and the size in decimals. Although I used a .0625 (1/16) drill bit for the holes in the feather construction a number #49 or #50 drill bit will work OK also.
Since pi x D = C or 3.1459 x .375 = 1.1797 inches in circumference you can design your own paper pattern to wrap around your shaft to give it some artistic touch. It is best to glue the pattern to the shaft and let dry before you attempt to wrap it around. This way it will be tight before you glue to the back side of the shaft. I sprayed all of my finished arrows with a clear gloss spray so the copper would not dull over time.
In wrapping this article up, if you want to install your arrows to a frame as I did it is a good idea to install mounting pins to do the job for you. The drill points in Figure 29 are drilled .0937 (3/32) in. and the pins are #12 wire and .875 (7/8) in. long inserted to the bottom of the shaft and then soldered. The width on your shaft will have to be determined to your application.
I hope this article has given you all kinds of ideas, and gives as much fun as it has me. Included is a picture of the finished outcome of my project which inspired me.
The finished frame is 60 inches wide by 45 inches long, and the picture was printed on vinyl.
CD-ROM Labels: Design, Cut, & Install From Glossy Photo Paper · Postcards, QSL Cards, Books and the Duplexing Wizard · Use CorelDRAW to Produce Scrolling Text or Graphics From Screen Recording Software · Creating a Cross Stitch Pattern from an Original Scan · Making Those Fancy License Plates · Creating Stencils To Paint On T-Shirts · Constructing Isometric Grid Paper, A Computer Aid · Making a Full Sized Pattern From a Digital Photo · Fabricate Your Own Copper Arrows, Part I · Fabricate Your Own Copper Arrows, Part II
Copyright © 1995–2013 Unleashed Productions, Inc., All Rights Reserved.
