Metal Work Ideas

Hammered Copper

• Create hammered copper sheets to reface cabinets and other furniture designs, or to create decorative wall art. Copper craft foil only 5 millimeters thick is one choice for hammered copper projects. Cut the foil into a sheet or shape that is slightly larger than the desired size of the finished piece. Hammering the metal causes it to shrink a bit. Place the metal onto a flat wooden surface covered with a few sheets of newspaper. The paper provides a cushion that allows the copper to indent with each hammer strike. Nail the corners of the copper to the wood, and then strike it repeatedly with a ball-peen hammer. Glue the hammered metal to the face of wood furniture or frame it and hang it on the wall.

Tin Punch

• Punch designs into tin cans or any type of thin metal sheeting or craft foil to create garden lanterns, inserts for cabinet doors and framed wall art. Trace the desired design outline onto the metal, then punch holes along the lines with a hammer and nails, an awl or a drill and 1/8-inch diameter drill bit. The drilling method works best on thick metal sheeting or cans. You can hammer the holes into the cans easier if you first fill them with water and then freeze them to create a solid mass inside the can. Hang flat metal punched pieces in wall frames or nail them to the stiles of a cabinet door.

Sculptures

• Old bed springs, nuts and bolts, and metal pipes are a few of the metal items you can join to create distinctive art projects. Solder or weld the pieces together to make shapes or objects. For example, an old bed spring could be a flower or a cat arching its back. Attach a metal rod to the bottom of the spring as a stem or attach four small rods to each end of the spring to make the cat's legs. A tin can works as the cat's head, with strips of wire for its whiskers. Clean the sculpture with a wire brush to remove the rust, scrape it with steel wool for better paint adhesion, and then paint the finished piece with an exterior metal paint or coat it with exterior polyurethane.

Cutouts

• Create decorative metal work projects from thin metal craft foil, such as copper, aluminum or brass. Trace designs onto the foil then cut the outlines with tin snips. Puncture hanging holes in the top center of the metal cutouts to hang the designs from tree limbs, wind chimes or garden stakes. Decorate the metal cutouts with acrylic paint or glue flat back stones onto both sides. You can also emboss the metal with a stylus, hammer it or punch out a pattern with an awl.