Hammering Strategies for Cymbals

[Randy Ferguson]

I guess I need to learn to refresh before replying if I'm gonna leave the computer for awhile.

[oldgoaly]

This is a neat thread! As you work the center you can see how the outer metal deforms. Now do they normalize (smooth/flatten) the outer metal every few inches of inside metal worked, or do they work it all the way out to the edge then treat the edge? Wonder if that can effect the sound of the cymbals? tt

[ryanmark]

Today I hammered my cymbals around the bell area as Rod Doc had mentioned. Stretching the metal there allowed the rest of the blank to fall into a more even profile. Still not symmetrical, but the extreme stubborn warpage is gone.

An interesting thing happened when I annealed my big circle (gong). The center expanded more than the edge and the blank domed up an inch or so. It went back towards flat when it cooled, but not all the way. I could use this to my advantage in the future. I haven't started making the lip yet.

[ryanmark]

Here's a camera phone pic, works in progress.

[MetalMangler]

Those are looking pretty good, keep at it im sure youll figure it out soon.
How do they sound when you get them to that stage?

Matt

[ryanmark]

Thanks, Matt,

After I hammer them, they sound dead and clangy for a while. They gain some musicality and sustain after they've sat for a few days. The nickel-silver is warmer with a quick decay, while the stainless is bright and ring-y. Both are more "metallic" sounding than bronze.

[oldgoaly]

Makes you wish we had audio files to hear the difference! Do they sound they same in roughed out as they do when finished smooth? tt

[ryanmark]

Well, the gong didn't turn out so well. I ground a rounded V-shaped channel into a piece of oak and started hammering the lip. I worked it gradually, but noticed the sheet warping as I kept going. There is now indeed a lip, but the sheet is warped all over. I thought maybe I could stretch the rest of the sheet by hammering to undo the warpage, but I was unable. Now that I think about it, I probably wasn't stretching the body of the sheet, either. I ended up with two edge fissures on opposite sides, where the flex was (I stood on it a few times to try and straighten it).

I might take a hall-of-shame pic before I attempt to salvage the sheet by reducing the diameter a few inches and trying again. This 24x24x0.04" sheet was almost $100, at onlinemetals, which was the only place I found it. Not buying another one until I get this down with stainless, which is a third the cost. I have a stainless sheet, same size except 16ga.

Thanks for all the warnings and advice. I've accepted that this learning process could get expensive. I'm going to do it, though.

[ryanmark]

Oh, and I found this today: http://pathtobliss.com/gongs/paiste/

[ryanmark]

So, I think that the purpose of heating the outside is more than cosmetic. It looks like I need to hammer large waves into the edge and then smooth them in order to form the lip. What do you all think?