Hammer Forming and Sandbagging.

Playing around with something new here.  I've been reading about metal forming processes, and this one has intrigued me.  Finally found an excuse to try it out, even though I don't have a stump with bowls cut in it to form with or a fancy sandbag.  I did, however, have a zip log bag full of brass shavings I'd been saving- just in case.  Yeah, I'm that bad.  Used it as a sandbag, found a scrap of aluminum, and went at it.

First attempt.




Blasted some old solder with the blowtorch, and dumped it in.



Only took a few seconds for it to cool.  Turned out okay.



Tried it again with a softer piece of aluminum and a custom built planishing hammer for the job and got much better results.




The final product after some polishing:




Its a custom cast weight for MY pinewood derby car.  Going to see if I can beat my boys- we have an "adult" pinewood derby coming up this weekend.  Pics to follow, of course!