How to Make an Aged Brass Sign?
July 24, 2024 6:12 AM Subscribe
In a world of mass manufacturing and artificialness, I've found myself fascinated by the work of artisans and crafters... people who work with their hands and know what they're doing. I recently stumbled upon some signs that are handcrafted, and I'd love to do something similar. But I have no idea where to start.
I love the hammered brass look.
I love how the brass is aged and has a patina.
I love how the sizes vary.
I love how there are holes for screws if needed.
It's all so handcrafted. If I wanted to do this myself, where would I start? What equipment would I need? How would I create the aged look? Drill holes? Cut the brass (I assume it's brass) to size? The edges aren't sharp so I assume there's some sanding involved? How would I hammer (I assume) the lettering? Could I create stamps (dies?) with more than a single letter? Sentences?
I'd love to learn how to do this; I think it'd be fulfilling for someone like me who rarely works with their hands and basically stares at a computer all day.
I love the hammered brass look.
I love how the brass is aged and has a patina.
I love how the sizes vary.
I love how there are holes for screws if needed.
It's all so handcrafted. If I wanted to do this myself, where would I start? What equipment would I need? How would I create the aged look? Drill holes? Cut the brass (I assume it's brass) to size? The edges aren't sharp so I assume there's some sanding involved? How would I hammer (I assume) the lettering? Could I create stamps (dies?) with more than a single letter? Sentences?
I'd love to learn how to do this; I think it'd be fulfilling for someone like me who rarely works with their hands and basically stares at a computer all day.
Best answer: What a great question!
I've never done all of this in particular, but I have done nearly all of the elements in a different but similar form.
What you want to google for is "letter punches" they're readily available in a number if sizes and fonts and are reasonably cheap. You set the punch on the metal and hit it a few times with a small hammer. Here is a short video on how to do that.
According to this video you'll need a hammer, masking tape, punches, and a metal block to put under the piece you're stamping. They use the tape as a registration point for the baseline. I wouldn't do this myself. I would be inclined to use a piece of straight scrap wood and clamp it to the brass. But then again, I've done this free hand too.
Drilling holes in metal: You will need a drill, drill bits (regular point not brad point - and since you're doing brass, the material of the bit doesn't matter - brass is very soft), and most importantly a metal center punch. These are very much like the letter punches but come to a point. You place the point where you want the hole and hit it with your hammer to put an indent. This is where you start drilling. If you don't do this, then when you try to drill, the bit will dance all over the place and won't go where you want. Put the metal piece on a sacrificial piece of scrap wood. You're going to drill through the metal into the wood. Be careful as you drill through as sometimes the bit will catch on the metal and spin the metal around which can be quite dangerous. You can put a drop of oil on the starting point to help prevent this, but consider wearing gloves. If you're drilling larger holes (1/4" diameter or more), you might want to start with a smaller size bit and scale up to your final size. Some people like to use "Step Bits" for this as well. After drilling a hole, you're going to be tempted to brush the metal chips and swarf away with your hand. Don't do this. Unless you like metal chips embedded in your fingers. Otherwise get a dustpan and broom.
Getting a browning patina on brass: put the piece in a tub of vinegar and salt and agitate now and again of several hours. If the brass has a coating, you'll have to clean that off first.
Cutting sheet brass: DON'T USE TIN SNIPS. They really ruin the piece. If it were me, I would look at getting a "metal shear". This is a device with a long level that is used to transfer force to a jaw that drives some shears. They cut clean straight lines. This will be your most expensive purchase. Smaller ones are under $100US, but they look really small. But you can also buy precut brass if you're OK with the size and thickness. The magic words or "sheet brass stock"
In terms of cleaning up sharp edges, I would start with a fine file (with a handle) and finish with emery cloth. You will almost assuredly want a vise to hold your piece while you file it and since you're working with brass, you'll want jaw pads on the vise to keep from marring the brass. You will probably want a cheap wire brush to clean the file. Here is a pretty decent video on how to cross file and how to draw file. You will probably be doing most draw filing. Finer grit emery cloth can also give you the scratchy finish. I would avoid using sandpaper to clean up edges. Emery cloth is more durable and is less likely to get cut by the metal.
EDIT: in looking at the pictures again, it looks like it was done in this order:
cut
file
drill
stamp letters
weather
light sanding or coarse polish to burnish the center but leave the relief and corners dark.
posted by plinth at 6:58 AM on July 24, 2024 [7 favorites]
I've never done all of this in particular, but I have done nearly all of the elements in a different but similar form.
What you want to google for is "letter punches" they're readily available in a number if sizes and fonts and are reasonably cheap. You set the punch on the metal and hit it a few times with a small hammer. Here is a short video on how to do that.
According to this video you'll need a hammer, masking tape, punches, and a metal block to put under the piece you're stamping. They use the tape as a registration point for the baseline. I wouldn't do this myself. I would be inclined to use a piece of straight scrap wood and clamp it to the brass. But then again, I've done this free hand too.
Drilling holes in metal: You will need a drill, drill bits (regular point not brad point - and since you're doing brass, the material of the bit doesn't matter - brass is very soft), and most importantly a metal center punch. These are very much like the letter punches but come to a point. You place the point where you want the hole and hit it with your hammer to put an indent. This is where you start drilling. If you don't do this, then when you try to drill, the bit will dance all over the place and won't go where you want. Put the metal piece on a sacrificial piece of scrap wood. You're going to drill through the metal into the wood. Be careful as you drill through as sometimes the bit will catch on the metal and spin the metal around which can be quite dangerous. You can put a drop of oil on the starting point to help prevent this, but consider wearing gloves. If you're drilling larger holes (1/4" diameter or more), you might want to start with a smaller size bit and scale up to your final size. Some people like to use "Step Bits" for this as well. After drilling a hole, you're going to be tempted to brush the metal chips and swarf away with your hand. Don't do this. Unless you like metal chips embedded in your fingers. Otherwise get a dustpan and broom.
Getting a browning patina on brass: put the piece in a tub of vinegar and salt and agitate now and again of several hours. If the brass has a coating, you'll have to clean that off first.
Cutting sheet brass: DON'T USE TIN SNIPS. They really ruin the piece. If it were me, I would look at getting a "metal shear". This is a device with a long level that is used to transfer force to a jaw that drives some shears. They cut clean straight lines. This will be your most expensive purchase. Smaller ones are under $100US, but they look really small. But you can also buy precut brass if you're OK with the size and thickness. The magic words or "sheet brass stock"
In terms of cleaning up sharp edges, I would start with a fine file (with a handle) and finish with emery cloth. You will almost assuredly want a vise to hold your piece while you file it and since you're working with brass, you'll want jaw pads on the vise to keep from marring the brass. You will probably want a cheap wire brush to clean the file. Here is a pretty decent video on how to cross file and how to draw file. You will probably be doing most draw filing. Finer grit emery cloth can also give you the scratchy finish. I would avoid using sandpaper to clean up edges. Emery cloth is more durable and is less likely to get cut by the metal.
EDIT: in looking at the pictures again, it looks like it was done in this order:
cut
file
drill
stamp letters
weather
light sanding or coarse polish to burnish the center but leave the relief and corners dark.
posted by plinth at 6:58 AM on July 24, 2024 [7 favorites]
Could I create stamps (dies?) with more than a single letter? Sentences?
I'm sure you could, but once you put more than one letter's worth of bite at the business end of a punch, you rapidly start to need more force to push the punch into the brass than a hammer is going to give you, and more positional control too. Stamping a whole sentence all at once would require a heftier hydraulic press than any home shop could reasonably justify buying.
posted by flabdablet at 7:15 AM on July 24, 2024
I'm sure you could, but once you put more than one letter's worth of bite at the business end of a punch, you rapidly start to need more force to push the punch into the brass than a hammer is going to give you, and more positional control too. Stamping a whole sentence all at once would require a heftier hydraulic press than any home shop could reasonably justify buying.
posted by flabdablet at 7:15 AM on July 24, 2024
Drilling holes in metal: You will need a drill, drill bits (regular point not brad point - and since you're doing brass, the material of the bit doesn't matter - brass is very soft), and most importantly a metal center punch.
Drilling clean holes in thin brass can be tough as the bit wants to grab which can result in triangular holes or deformation of the sheet. I'd use a hand held metal hole punch for this. It'll be faster and you eliminate the risk of the metal being spun around. (Personally I wouldn't drill small pieces of metal like that without clamping it to a chunk of 2x4 or something).
Another way to cut the material to size would be to use a jig saw with a metal blade.
posted by Mitheral at 6:56 PM on July 24, 2024 [1 favorite]
Drilling clean holes in thin brass can be tough as the bit wants to grab which can result in triangular holes or deformation of the sheet. I'd use a hand held metal hole punch for this. It'll be faster and you eliminate the risk of the metal being spun around. (Personally I wouldn't drill small pieces of metal like that without clamping it to a chunk of 2x4 or something).
Another way to cut the material to size would be to use a jig saw with a metal blade.
posted by Mitheral at 6:56 PM on July 24, 2024 [1 favorite]
Best answer: You are never going to get the result in the pics you showed by hammering letters one at a time.
These were probably made by a machine called Engravograph. They used brass plates for characters, and a pantograph to resize to your target size, with a tiny router to cut into the plates.
Ebay has some, $200-300. I used one of these for years to make panel labels.
posted by Marky at 5:12 AM on July 25, 2024 [1 favorite]
These were probably made by a machine called Engravograph. They used brass plates for characters, and a pantograph to resize to your target size, with a tiny router to cut into the plates.
Ebay has some, $200-300. I used one of these for years to make panel labels.
posted by Marky at 5:12 AM on July 25, 2024 [1 favorite]
The Science Company has recipes and chemicals for Patinas for Metal Artists. You'll have to experiment with time as the first recipe I tried was initially disappointing but prefect after a few months.
For a bolder pattern you can also etch brass with circuit board etchant such as Ferric Chloride or Sodium Persulfate, etc. If a rough image is OK I have seen videos of transferring the toner from a photocopy to the metal as a mask.
If by chance we are neighbors, you are welcome to my extras... I'll MeFi Mail you
posted by tinker at 10:26 AM on July 25, 2024
For a bolder pattern you can also etch brass with circuit board etchant such as Ferric Chloride or Sodium Persulfate, etc. If a rough image is OK I have seen videos of transferring the toner from a photocopy to the metal as a mask.
If by chance we are neighbors, you are welcome to my extras... I'll MeFi Mail you
posted by tinker at 10:26 AM on July 25, 2024
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posted by Czjewel at 6:53 AM on July 24, 2024 [1 favorite]