One straight strip is the way to go. It will be an interesting experiment to see if Mac's technique is viable for a wider strip...the border for his PDB looked to be about 1/2", while this cuff is closer to 1-1/8".Measuring the circumference of the cuff at it's widest point tells me that I'm going to need a piece at least 16" long. Since my biggest piece of brass on hand is 12" long, and 24ga., I'll have to order some longer stock before I can make these.
That said, nothing ventured, nothing learned! It's worth the experiment, if only to try out the technique and see what the working properties will be.
To start, here's a shot of the "final" curve of the cuff, based on a tape pattern pulled directly from the gauntlet. You can see that the 6"x12" piece of brass it's sitting on, for reference.
Off to the races: one 12"x1-1/8" straight strip, to start.
From there, I went through five rounds of annealing and raising down the ribbon, based on the technique Mac described on his PDB thread. The first several passes were rather slow, likely due to the greater width of the starting strip. However, by the fourth round, it began to curve much more rapidly.
It's worth noting at this point that the thickness along the inside of the arc had only increased to .028" (23ga.), while the outside arc remained .025" (24ga.). The ribbon did exhibit a few other differences, though: while it had started out 1-1/8" in width, it was now 1-1/4" wide. Additionally, the 12" length had now stretched to 13" along the outer circumference. It's surprising that despite this drastic change in dimensions, it had not measurably changed its thickness.
A quick clean-up of the surface revealed a finish, not unlike hammered gold. This could have been entirely due to my work surface, however.
From here, I tried a few trial runs on decorative embossing on different substrates.
I found the steel supports highly likely to transfer harsh tool marks to the surface. Conversely, a wooden support did not provide a crisp enough mark, and allowed surrounding material to wrinkle. Of the three, the lead block struck the right balance between support and non-marring, leaving fairly sharp impressions. Perhaps going back over the dotted border with a rivet set to sharpen up the hemispheres a bit, but otherwise promising.
Finally, I tried my hand at some of the planned wiggle work that will go on the final piece. Turns out, candid shots in an ill-lit shop make capturing both surface topography and engraved lines a little difficult.
That's all from me for tonight. Certainly going to be a glitzy pair of gauntlets, once all this brass is in place.
