By this time you will have many pieces of scrap copper on hand. These
should be kept in a small box and used whenever suitable.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
_Material:_ A piece No. 20 gauge, 1-1/2 × 1/2 ins., is enough to make
the head of a hat pin. The pin part must be of steel, copper is too
soft. Buy any cheap hat pin in a dry goods store. (A cent apiece.)
Break the glass top or black top and use the pin for the copper head.
_Tools:_ One chasing tool, half moon; shears, dividers, planishing
hammer.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Designs for hat pin heads]
_Design:_ Hat pin with hexagonal top (6 sides) 1-1/2 ins. across. With
your dividers draw a circle on the piece of copper, having a diameter
of 1-1/2 in. With the radius of the circle, mark off the circumference
into 6 equal parts. Draw lead-pencil lines from one point to another,
just touching the circle at these points. With your shears cut along
these straight lines. Now you have a 6-sided piece of copper 1-1/2 ins.
across. Place this piece of copper on the flat end of the hard wood
block (the grain end of the wood), and make impressions on it with the
half moon tool like your designs. This tool you can make yourself.
Take a piece of steel, 5/16 in. square or round, heat one end to a red
heat and flatten it, like the flat end of a chisel. File the end just
flattened blunt and rounding. This end should be hardened to prevent it
from wearing rough. To do this heat it to a dark red heat and plunge
it into cold water. Place your tool on the upper sides of this plate
and drive it with a hammer into the copper, being careful not to drive
it through into the wood. If you drive the tool through you will spoil
the design and have rough edges. This makes a simple raised or embossed
design and is quite easily done.
[Illustration: Hat pin. Driving the design]
When this pattern has been stamped in, curve the piece of copper any
shape you wish by placing it in the depression in the hard wood block.
Place the embossed side down, and with the round end of the planishing
hammer, drive with light blows so as not to flatten the design. In
this way, you can shape it as you wish. The top could now be soldered
right on to the pin itself, but that would not make a strong hat pin.
It would be weak and too easily broken from the head. In order to have
a strong hat pin we make a little mushroom shaped pin holder which is
fastened on the under part of the head of the hat pin and in which
the pin itself fits.
[Illustration: A GROUP OF BOYS AT COPPER WORK