![]() ![]() So, You wanna fix a barking seal (hollow spot). My preference is wood for the ease of workability and the shock absorbing characteristics. I’ve also seen smiths use a vice system to mount the anvil, which seems to work best for square shaped anvils. I’ve spent some time sourcing logs for my anvil bases, but another alternative is screwing and glueing 4 posts together. Alternatively, a central spike can fix the anvil to the timber base or, as is the case with one of my anvils, a brace can be made. You can hacksaw a few small slots in the base of the anvil and place screws through the slots and into the mounting timber. The anvil is then mounted atop any appropriately sized piece of lumber. It was then vacuum hardened by a professional tool shop to a hardness of around 62 Rockwell C. One of my favourite anvils was a 120mm diameter steak of D2 (around 2% carbon) steel which I spent around 8 hrs shaping with a belt sander and then sanding block, using progressively finer sandpaper grits. The face of the anvil is ground to a usable shape by a belt sander and then finished by hand with wet and dry sandpaper.Īny rough spots in the anvil surface will leave undesirable imprints in the hammered cymbal. Only steel which has the necessary levels of carbon can be hardened and tempered.ĭ2 tool steel can be shaped and then hardened (professionally by a machine tool shop) or you can use EN26 which is already hardened to a reasonable degree.ĭiameters and depths between 3 and 6 inches are most functional.Īnvil depth is also important as it stops the anvil ‘bouncing’. High carbon steaks from a steel round are used to make my anvils. The faces have differing degrees of curvature which plays an important role in the ‘drawing up’ of the bronze and the subsequent effect on sound. The weights are 12 oz, 16 oz, 24 oz, 32 oz and 40 oz. Progressively finer grades of sandpaper are used until finally, I polish the faces to a smooth finish by hand, with wet and dry sandpaper.Īt least 3 hammers of different weight and degree of rounded face are used in most of my modifications and custom cymbals from a blank. Most of my hammers are ball pein hammers that have had the faces rounded and shaped by a belt sander. But you can find and modify readily available products to perform the job. Unfortunately, you can’t just go down to the local hardware store to source tools specifically designed for modifying cymbals. Understanding the possible outcomes of different hammering strategies is complicated and can only be mastered through experience. Things such as where on the cymbal you hammer, the density and force of hammering, the tools used and whether you hammer from the top or the underneath of the cymbal, all impact on the final result in different ways. My strategy is to work with the existing SC’s (sonic characteristics) of a cymbal and fine tune Most cymbals have little or no ‘fine tuning’.Ī master-smith or independent cymbal-smith can, through carefully planned hammering and lathing strategies, alter the sonic characteristics and create a more musical instrument. Good cymbal-smiths can change the shape and the amount and distribution of tension throughout the cymbal, in order to achieve specific sound characteristic (SC) goals. Hammering is basically cold impact hardening of the bronze. CRAIG LAURITSEN AND/OR CYMBALUTOPIA ASSUMES NO LIABILITY FOR ANY PERSONAL AND/OR PROPERTY DAMAGE OR LOSS INCURRED BY ANYONE ATTEMPTING TO USE THIS INFORMATION.Īll of the heat work for B20 has been done at the foundry.Ī B20 blanks final heat treating process is annealing, which is locking the alloy in it’s softer phase so that it can be worked.Īpplying heat (over about 200☌) to a B20 blank will affect the temper and make it brittle and prone to cracking. Disclaimer: ANYONE CHOOSING TO ENGAGE IN ANY CYMBALMAKING ACTIVITY DOES SO AT HIS/HER OWN RISK. ![]()
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