Cold forging: photos, videos, how to do it at home

Cold forging allows you to create various shaped products without heating. This processing does not require large-sized equipment and can be carried out in a small workshop. For each type of decorative element, its own devices are used. They are simple to make and accessible to a novice craftsman who knows power tools and welding. To create a rolling machine, purchase rolls and some parts.

Fences, railings for stairs and balconies - you can also do it yourself

Canopy over the porch using cold forging

Porch railings are a decoration, not a purely utilitarian fixture.

You can make a gazebo and forged furniture

Gate like in a fairy tale

Do-it-yourself cold forging as a separate art form

Cold forging is a method of forming metal products under pressure. This method consists in the fact that the metal is not heated before deformation, but is bent using special machines. Forged patterns will decorate garden fences, stair railings, windows or entrance doors. Simplicity and low cost will allow anyone to quickly master the process and independently bring their ideas to life.

Using the cold forging method you can create incredibly beautiful products.

Back

A conductor is made from a 40x4 strip, 50 cm long, which allows you to create curls, volutes and spirals with reverse curl.
The strip is bent using a backing fork fixed in a vice, as well as a manual fork. Thus, a spiral is obtained, part of which is removed with a grinder.
The resulting part is welded to a small sheet of metal.
A square rod is heated, the tip is processed, and a curl is obtained. The workpiece is given a reverse bend using a hand-made pattern.

History of the forge: description of cold forging

Forging is a process of processing metal to give it the desired shape, turning a blank (blank) into a product. For people who are unfamiliar with the peculiarities of metal work, the word “forged” is associated with a forge, where a blank is heated from 800 to 1000 ° C and processed with a hammer to give shape. But in everyday life, items made by cold forging are more often used. Pots, teapots, patterns on gates and doors, metal stands are made by deforming metal under pressure without preheating.

Beautiful forged elements can be created even at home without the presence of special expensive equipment.

Cold forging is an easier, safer and more ergonomic processing method than hot forging. Main advantages:

equipment for cold metal forging is cheap and ergonomic;
low labor intensity;
quick job training, low qualification requirements;
the ability to create a unique ornament from basic elements.

The downside is the limited working surfaces and materials: rods, sheets and plates.

Cold forging is one of the ancient methods of metal processing.

Hand-made cold forging is historically older than hot forging. The first products were discovered in Egypt and Mesopotamia and date back to the 4th-3rd millennium BC. Initially, ore was used, which was deformable after being hit by a stone. Cold forging was used to make gold jewelry. Soft metal was easy to process with stone hammers. The oldest product was found in Egypt, it was made 8 thousand years ago.

Several centuries later, by observing volcanoes, people learned that high temperatures made it much easier to shape metals. They began to build blast furnaces and the profession of a blacksmith appeared. The Stone Age gave way to the Iron Age, and not only jewelry, but also dishes, weapons, and garden tools entered people’s lives. The principle of operation of the forge is still preserved, but the equipment for cold forging has been modernized.

Using modern equipment it is possible to create products with a large number of forged elements.

Recommendations

Special requirements are placed on the alignment of the rollers: they must be located in the same vertical plane and be strictly parallel. Any misalignment will lead to uneven compression of the profile, which will significantly reduce the quality of the rolled product.

A machine made at home specifically for strengthening profile pipes should not pose a danger to humans during operation. During assembly you should:

Fix all moving parts as reliably as possible. Prevent them from bouncing during operation.
Provide protective flaps.

Properly assembled home-made installations are not inferior to professional models in terms of the quality of their products.

Home page » machines for cold forging of profile pipes

On this page you will find information on the topic “cold forging machines for profile pipes”, as well as links to other pages of our website that are related to this topic. Read the detailed information below, to find out more, please follow the links that interest you; at the end of the page there is a list of pages with this label.

Machine "BLACKSMITH UNV-3-220".

In various metal structures, profile pipes - rolled metal, the blanks of which have a cross-section different from round (square, rectangular, oval). to increase the number of products manufactured using profile pipes. This section is dedicated to this list of equipment.

In addition, the following equipment is in use in cold forging technology for bending workpieces of different sections:

universal machines;
special machines (manual, hydraulic, electromechanical), among which devices (snails) for making workpieces in the form of curls and spirals, as well as benders for producing arc-shaped elements are in particular demand; with the help of conductors of different configurations it is possible to obtain elements of different shapes;
tools.

Basic tools for cold forging at home

The creation of a unique product always begins with material calculations and the development of a detailed work plan. The easiest way to think through the moves is to create scale sketches of forged products, write down the dimensions and select the necessary tools. The choice of material deserves special attention. The metal should be strong, but bend easily.

Note! Hardened sheets or rods cannot be used. Under the influence of temperature changes, the structure of the metal changes, it becomes brittle and can break under pressure.

There are two types of do-it-yourself metal forging - rolling (working with rods) and stamping (extruding sheets under a press). At home, the first option is more often used. To press sheets, you need to make a special blank for deformation. Common rolling tools: bender, snail, twister, wave and flashlight.

Cold forged elements can be used to decorate stairs.

A bender is a basic tool used for bending rods at different angles. The spiral elements of cold forging are twisted using a snail. For shaping, it is best to choose rods with a diameter of 10-12 mm. Choosing a material that is too thick can significantly complicate the work of the master.

A twister machine is used to twist rods along the longitudinal axis. The wave, accordingly, is intended to create wave-like elements. The flashlight tool is used to work with several rods at once. They are installed on the equipment and bent by rotating the lever.

Video: homemade electric cold forging machine

Spiral like a spiral

Device for winding spirals manually

In some cases, ordinary smooth, straight, ascending spirals are used as an element of artistic forging. Making a spring twister machine for this on your own is absolutely unrealistic. But remember: the spirals in a forged pattern do not need to be springy and can be wound from ordinary ductile steel using a simple device (see figure on the right). The pitch (ascent) of the spiral is determined by the horn of the gate (filled in red); By bending the horn up and down, you can get thinner and thicker spirals. A square bar is taken onto the workpiece or a round one, it doesn’t matter. You can also twist spirals from a rod twisted on a torsion bar.

Equipment for rolling at home

You can buy devices for cold forging yourself or make them yourself from available materials. Initially, you need to create 2-3 basic workbenches to process one rod. The design and complexity of manufacturing depend on the type of work performed. A thorough study of the process will allow you to make the equipment yourself.

To create complex forged products you will need more than one workbench.

Machine tools as an alternative to tools

If you plan to organize home production, and not perform one-time work, it is best to purchase a combined machine for cold forging. It will take up significantly less space than the equipment separately.

Most models have an electric drive, which speeds up the production process. Contents and functionality depend on requirements. The average cost of such equipment is from 60,000 rubles.

Gnutik: what products can be created with its help

It is not necessary to create bending drawings for cold forging yourself. It is enough to look at the principle of operation once to make the tool yourself. The machine is a steel tooling, which is divided into three parts. The middle element (lead) is movable; a central roller (wedge) is attached to it, which bends the rod. On the side plates, the rollers are made replaceable and inserted into the groove. By choosing different diameters, you can vary the bending angle of the rod or plate. A lever is attached to the top of the leash, which sets the structure in motion.

On a note! Bending a rod requires a lot of force, so attaching the workbench to a movable support will lead to incorrect bending and make work difficult.

The rollers should rotate freely in the holes, which will reduce the force required to bend the plate. Grooves for the rollers can be drilled in several places symmetrically to each other. This will allow you to quickly move the parts, varying the desired bending angle.

The bender helps bend metal rods at any angle.

Mechanism for bending metal with a bend:

a plate or rod is installed between the rollers;
using a vice, the central roller is pressed against the metal;
By rotating the lever, the plate moves along the roller, acquiring the desired bend.

For convenience, a dial (a tape with divisions showing the height of the angle) is placed under the central roller. It is used to produce parts with high precision that must fit together perfectly.

The bent rolling tool is quite easy to use.

Square pipe for fencing frame

A pipe with a square cross-section is used to make the frame of wickets and gates; the middle part of the plane is filled by welding the pipe and decor; to cover the canvas, sheet metal and transparent plastic are used. Forged decor is made from sheet metal by stamping and mechanical rolling to create texture, pipe and square. A pipe is an easier material to manufacture using the mechanical molding method, when a metal blank is given a certain shape by bending it along a rigid tooling.

To make decorative items from pipes, a pipe bender is used, as well as a specialized tool for making curls. This equipment usually allows you to bend entire rolled metal with a cross-section suitable for the size of the snail.

Using a pipe compared to a square is more advantageous for several reasons:

lighter weight and lower costs for purchasing material;
structural strength;
flexibility of the pipe in operation, which reduces labor intensity;

Collapsible forged decor is sold cheaper, but is not inferior in appearance and quality to a traditional square with a small cross-section. When making your own gate from a profile pipe with forging elements, a pipe profile of two sections (for construction and finishing) and optional forging is sufficient. If you have a welding machine, making a wicket, gate or fence with your own hands is not particularly difficult. You can look at the photo for options for implementing different artistic ideas with different costs.

Snail: a simple tool for creating curls

The second name is a do-it-yourself conductor for cold forging. For manufacturing, you need to familiarize yourself with the bending process, for example, watch a forging video. Then the design itself will not raise questions and will be easy to repeat. The workbench is a frame on which the main matrix or spiral module stands. A rod is driven into the snail and moved around with a metal roller, pressing against the arc. The frame must be made of metal, since wood quickly collapses after prolonged stress. A metal corner, thick-walled pipe or channel are suitable for this purpose.

The machine is designed for two tabletops. One serves as a support and takes on most of the pressure, and the second holds the shape of the snail. Two circles with a thickness of at least 5 mm are cut out. The first part is installed on the frame. The center of the circle is marked on top, and a three- or four-leaf leg is welded to distribute the load.

The upper part of the volute, on which the metal is bent, is called a module. It can be static or typesetting.

The snail tool allows you to create curls from forged metal.

A static module is a device for cold forging, designed for bending pattern parts of the same type. The bend radius or angle cannot be changed. Before starting to form the module, markings are drawn on the tabletop. A snail is assembled from metal plates (at least 0.6 mm thick) and welded.

The typesetting module consists of several parts. Its use is the most common for do-it-yourself artistic forging, as it allows you to create elements of different radii. Initially, parts are marked on the tabletop and the grooves are calculated. Removable parts of the snail are cut out of thick metal. Holes for fixing to the tabletop need to be cut only in the middle. Otherwise, the stress is distributed unevenly and the groove breaks faster.

The module for forging with your own hands can be made replaceable. A structure of the required radius is welded onto a metal circle. It is attached to the tabletop with grooves or bolts. To produce elements of different diameters, several modules are made that can be used on one machine.

The typesetting module will allow you to create curls of various radii from forged metal.

A rotating shaft and lever need to be secured between the tabletops. It is necessary that the distance between the roller and the module be at least 2 cm, and the shaft stroke must extend beyond the tabletop. A movable element is installed on the lever handle to adjust the radius of the roller stroke.

Wave: how to create and use this tool

Wave is a tool for forging lines like a sine wave. Two rollers are machined to the specified dimensions. The first roller is static (the rod will bend around it), it is fixed on a support. The second is the leading one, it is mounted on a lever and rotates when it comes into contact with the surface. Pressure is generated between the shafts, which acts on the metal and causes it to bend.

The static roller can be machined into the shape of a stepped pyramid. Thus, the radius of the wave can be changed by moving the lever and rod higher by a division. When using such a machine, one side must always be held in order to avoid damaging the bend. To more accurately repeat the wave shape, two static rollers are machined, one of which holds the rod in the desired position, preventing further deformation, and the second is used for bending.

The “Wave” tool will help you make the rod wavy.

Flashlight and twister: features of these machines

A flashlight is a cold forging equipment for working with several rods and creating three-dimensional baskets. To avoid constructing a frame, you can use a regular vice to secure the tool. The tool consists of three parts: two dies and a roller. The matrix can be made of strong, preferably hardened metal 4-5 cm wide.

In each matrix, a central hole is machined into which the roller is mounted. Grooves are made on the sides for installing rods. The second matrix must move freely along the lever, since during deformation the distance between the working surfaces decreases. When the lever is rotated, the rods bend in a spiral, forming a structure similar to a flashlight. Do-it-yourself metal products, which consist of several rods, are secured by welding.

The twister machine has a similar design. However, instead of a shaft, a rod is inserted into the matrix, which is pressed with a plate or bolts. Between them you need to install a movable element that moves forward when the shaft rotates. The rod twists along the longitudinal axis, forming a symmetrical spiral.

You can create forged elements using the flashlight and twister tools.

Note! The running matrix should approach static with each rotation. If it is fixed in one position, the master will have to make more efforts to bend the rods.

Machine for strengthening profile pipes

Reinforcement means the formation of ribs at the corners of a square or rectangular profile during rolling on specially shaped rollers.

Pipes with a reinforced profile are characterized by high bending strength and are used to create curved structures of any degree of complexity.

The profile is strengthened using specialized equipment.

Application area

To obtain the desired configuration, profile pipes are sequentially processed on profile strengthening machines, a forging block and a pipe bender.

A pipe bender allows you to bend profile pipes along a longitudinal section along a given radius. Such products are used when installing canopies, gazebos, and canopies.

Reinforcement is a necessary stage in preparing a profile pipe for making a curl using the cold forging method. The forging block allows you to create decorative elements from pipes with a square or rectangular cross-section, curved in the most bizarre way. The resulting products are distinguished by their volume, lightness, and low price.

Design

The machine for strengthening the profile is in many respects similar in principle of operation and design to a conventional rolling machine.

In addition to the frame and the motion drive, the main components of the machine for reinforcing a profile pipe are:

Lower (support) shaft – 1 pc. It is leading, with its help the pipes move.
The upper shaft is a pressure shaft. Deforms the profile - presses the pipe against the lower shaft.

The supply and receiving shafts are securely mounted on a massive base (housing); it must ensure the stability of the installation during operation. The feed mechanism ensures the rotation of the shafts around its axis.

Process technology

The amplification process on the simplest machine is performed sequentially, with two pipe installations:

Step 1 – installing the pipe on the rollers.
Step 2 – rolling the first 2 symmetrical sides.
3rd step - reinstallation of the pipe (rotate 90 0).
Stage 4 - rental of the second 2 symmetrical sides of the profile.

Machine for profile reinforcement
Profile reinforcement is performed on a cold forging machine equipped with rollers for compressing the profile pipe before bending it into a curl.

Profile pipe

The rolling process depends on the wall thickness of the profile pipes and the grade of material from which they are made

Drive mechanism

According to the principle of operation, there are different types of wire mechanisms:

The manually driven machine has a simple design, compactness, and is designed for small volumes of work. Only a physically developed person can work on it. The metal will have to be deformed using muscle force.

An electrically driven machine for strengthening a profile pipe also does not take up much space. It is powered by an electric motor and has high performance.

Hydraulically driven equipment is too bulky. Allows you to roll profile products with maximum dimensions. Designed for large volumes of work.

Functionality

Multifunctional stationary modules, which are equipped with:

rollers to strengthen the profile pipe;
rollers for rolling out the ends of blanks in the form of artistic elements;
forging block for cold forging.

All operations are performed without readjusting equipment or changing tools. The modules make it possible to produce various decorative forged elements of different sizes and required shapes.

An example of a multi-purpose installation is a reinforcement unit with rolling crow's feet (PGL), produced commercially, adapted for several operations:

“crow’s feet” type reinforcement (squeezing, squeezing);
rolling out the ends of the workpiece.

After this treatment, the pipe is completely ready for making a decorative curl on a forging block.

Do-it-yourself cold forging under pressure: creating blanks for forming products

On wrought-iron fences you can often notice not only geometric patterns, but also flowers, butterflies, leaves and other decorative elements. They are also made using cold forging techniques, but by rolling rather than stamping.

Do-it-yourself volumetric forged products are made from sheet metal. Working with a press at home is less common than rolling. Extrusion of sheets under a press can be either manual (knocking and pressing) or automatic. At home, it is cheaper to use hand stamping. To do this, the master needs to make several blanks that will be printed on a metal sheet under pressure.

A drawing of the future forged product will greatly facilitate the work of the craftsman.

Metal forging equipment:

Punch (press stamp or cotter pin) is the upper part of the press, it pushes the sheet inward. The pressing side of the stamp can be drawing or smooth.
Matrix is an element that is made in the shape of the required object. The applied relief deforms the plate under pressure, giving it the required shape.
Press lever - a handle or relay for bringing the dies closer together and adjusting the force of the press.

Before starting work, you need to create a drawing of the future product. Sketches of artistic forging are transferred to the workpiece, it is cut and ground along the edges. You can use a regular vice as a workbench for pressing. It is most convenient to place them in a vertical position so that the plate lies horizontally to the plane. This way, the plate will be positioned exactly between the dies and will not slip out when the lever is rotated.

Different types of workbenches allow you to create unique forged elements.

Simple forging of metal at home can be done with a chisel and hammer. In this case, the chisel acts as a punch, the anvil as a matrix, and the hammer as a lever. To better print the design, you can put a plate with notches under the sheet. This way the relief will be clearer and more beautiful.

Note! The metal used for stamping must be softer than the punch and die. Otherwise, the tools will quickly break.

To make the “sheet” element, a blank of the desired shape is cut out of a metal plate 20-30 mm thick. A longitudinal line is drawn on it with a pencil in the center. The chisel striker is placed at an angle to this straight line. After hitting the handle, a line is imprinted on the plate, similar to the veins of leaves.

The cold forging method can be used to create three-dimensional elements.

You can use pliers to form the required volume of a cold forged product. The part is clamped between a vice and bent into the desired shape. This type of work is well suited for completing a small number of items for personal use. The process of beating a pattern by hand takes a lot of time, it is quite monotonous and requires great precision.

It is more profitable to purchase stamps for permanent work (in the form of leaves, petals, flowers, etc.), since accurately turning two identical elements is a very complex process. The main parts are machined from a blank or cast by hot forging. This type of work requires a lot of experience and high precision. The punch and die must match. With strong pressure, irregularities will be imprinted on the product. If the discrepancy is very large, then the press will crush the workpieces - and you will have to start work from scratch.

Advantages of forging

The designs have many advantages. The main ones are the following:

Original look. By using different forged elements, the gate can be given any look. But the most important thing is not to forget about combining the styles of various elements.
Strength. During cold and hot forging, the metal increases its strength. Therefore, the structures perfectly maintain their performance characteristics for 50 years.
Spatial rigidity. When combining various parts of forged structures, forge welding technology is used, so the possibility of deformation of the elements is excluded.
Corrosion protection. Forging technology involves processing all elements. This can be bluing - a chemical oxidation process, due to which the structure acquires a beautiful black tint. Or patination - a chemical procedure of metallization with copper or bronze.
Duration of operation. Forged products performed excellently in aggressive climatic conditions, when the temperature ranged from −30 to +30 °C. In addition, the structures worked normally during snowfall, constant rain, and high humidity.
Variety of different materials. Cold forging uses different types of aluminum alloys and steels (for example, with stainless properties). Also, forged structures can be made from bulk metal (rods with a hexagon or triangle cross-section) or from sheet and strip metal.
Wide range of design methods. Hot or cold forging technology does not have any restrictions. Any craftsman can produce original elements strictly according to an existing template or at his own discretion.
Versatile forged metal products combine harmoniously with stylish fences and gates. You can easily install an automatic opening system or a video surveillance camera in the gates without disturbing the design.
Huge selection of colors. The manufactured forged element can be painted in any shade.

Styles and elements of patterns: photos of artistic forging

Creating a beautiful pattern begins with a forging sketch. The master must have a clear idea of the picture he wants to make. Initially, a drawing is drawn, materials and the number of necessary elements are calculated, machines and equipment are selected. In order for the product to look beautiful, it is better to immediately choose the style in which it will be made. Looking through photos of cold forged products, you can easily notice which direction the pattern belongs to.

Beautiful forged products can be made in various styles.

There are several styles of forming a forged pattern.

The Romanesque style is characterized by severity and symmetry. On the fences you can see a dense arrangement of spirals in the same order, the details are often repeated and of the same type. This is a monumental pattern using the volute element (C-shaped twisted one-sided curls).

Gothic ornament . Few people know that modern fencing and fences are most often made in this style. A characteristic feature is upward striving. The rods are pointed and end with tops in the form of arrows, spears or sharp spikes. The spiral elements used in this style are called perforations, and they look like a stem branched in different directions. For variety, lanterns or voluminous spirals are added between the straight rods.

Products in the Baroque style are the most common.

Renaissance is very rare. In this style, pointed charcoal elements are practically not used. The basis is round arcs, spirals and waves. The branching metal rods are decorated with leaves or flowers; graceful curves take the shape of a figure eight. Characteristic elements are notch, spiral, volute and figure eight. The style is very harmonious, the details are installed symmetrically in the form of intertwined lines.

Baroque is the complete opposite of Renaissance. The style is openwork and very lush. C-shaped spirals, volutes, curls, curved lines and intricate patterns are used. Three-dimensional leaves and flowers are added to the weaving, creating a dynamic shape.

Rococo . This direction is characterized by the use of thin rods and double-sided curls. The rocaille ornament creates constant movement and is distinguished by filigree and three-dimensional patterns. In the photo of cold forging, asymmetry and fractional patterns are noticeable. The use of straight rods and flat gratings is unacceptable.

The classic style allows you to combine various forged elements.

Classicism . A beautiful, albeit simple style that brought symmetry back into fashion. To create an ornament, curls, perforations, spirals and straight rods are used. Another element is introduced into use - a meander (broken lines or rods bent at right angles). Vertical architectonics are always strictly maintained in fences.

Empire style is characterized by the presence of geometric patterns and long smooth rods. The main element (volute) is modified: an elongated straight line with one-sided curls at the ends. The main thing for this style is strict simplicity, symmetrical geometry combined with spiral elements.

Art Nouveau , or Art Nouveau , added biological motifs to artistic forging with one's own hands. The style does not use straight lines, only various bends, meanders, curls and spirals. Symmetry fades into the background. The ornament repeats the silhouette of a person or animal, leaves and flowers are added. The pattern is constructed in such a way that the curls evenly flow into each other throughout the entire ornament.

It is difficult to create a beautiful forged pattern without a drawing.

If a person starts work without a preliminary drawing, he will quickly get confused in creating a cold forged product. Each pattern should be thought out as much as possible, and it is better to immediately transfer edits that are made during work to the sketch in order to clearly understand what the result should be.

On a note! Even if you have photos of forged patterns, you need to make drawings and markings to accurately place all the parts.

Profitable, beautiful and durable

In private construction, the most popular use of a 25x25 mm pipe profile in the installation of fences. Moreover, we are talking about both a supporting structure and a decorative one with forged decor. This type of rolled metal is produced with different sections, so it is possible to vary the fencing both in terms of rigidity and possible loads, as well as in appearance and cost.

Inexpensive and attractive fencing can be made from pipe at a fairly low cost. The simplest version is a fence made of a profile pipe with forging elements, which involves welding the supporting structure with pillars made of a 25x25 mm pipe and connecting metal slats. Then a vertical pipe with a square cross-section of up to 10-15 mm is welded at a distance of 10-20 cm.

The only drawback of this type of rolled metal for the manufacture of fences and gates is its key feature - it is a hollow structure. The result is a fence that is lighter and less expensive than products made from squares, but it has the disadvantage of corrosion that occurs inside the pipe.

In this case, this issue is resolved through decorative finishing. For example, using standard decor such as peaks, which are welded onto the end of the pipe, and then the entire product is covered with a protective decorative coating.

Fastening the pattern elements: final metal processing

After all the necessary elements of the ornament have been created, its formation begins. The appearance of the pattern may differ slightly from the sketch. To identify possible errors, you need to conduct a preview. Initially, the pattern can be laid out on a flat surface without fastening its parts together. In this way, you can evaluate how successful you were in bringing your idea to life, as well as correct shortcomings in your work. You should not start forming a pattern without first viewing the result.

Products look more complete if the elements are connected by welding.

There are two main types of connections:

Weld;
rivets (or artistic clamps).

It is useful to use a welding machine in places where the joint seam can be easily cleaned or will be invisible. To preserve the aesthetics of the ornament of a cold forged product, you can put figured rivets. They will reliably hold the components together and complement the decor.

The ornament is connected gradually, depending on the number of parts. Initially, small elements are held together, notches, twisted lines and monograms are formed. Welding is used. The seam is smoothed with a grinder using a 0.6 cm thick sanding wheel. It easily goes around bends and irregularities. Large parts are connected with curly clamps. The rivets are placed symmetrically to each other to complement the pattern. At the end of the work, the ornament is passed around with a cleaning or polishing wheel.

Cold forging allows you to create beautiful and original products with your own hands.

Artistic forging is not only a business or a job, but can also be an entertaining hobby. Even a novice craftsman can make cold forging equipment with his own hands from scrap materials. Cold forging specialists can easily be called artists, as they create beautiful ornaments from rough rods, pipes and sheets. Such hobbies require full dedication and considerable expenses. However, all the invested funds and efforts will bear fruit if they are supported by the desire to create beauty.

Snails

The snail twister machine is the most popular among those involved in artistic forging: its capabilities, in comparison with the simplicity of the design, the ease of making it yourself and the ease of operation, are amazing. Actually, the snail machine is a slightly mechanized and improved bending lever, but this “little” made it possible for beginners to work on it. Snail machines are, in turn, divided into machines with a collar and a rotating plowshare and lever machines with a fixed template and a deflection roller.

Snail with ploughshare

The device of a bending scroll with a plowshare is shown in the diagram below; The technology for working with such a machine is also described there.

Schematic diagram of a snail machine for cold forging

The advantages of this type of twister bending machine are as follows:

It is possible to work on a scroll with a rotating share and a collar in an unequipped room: the vertical component of the workload is negligible, and its horizontal components are partially transferred to the support.
Due to previous point, the supporting structure can be quite simple and light, welded from ordinary steel profiles.
We can carry out the work process alone: turning the gate with one hand, we press the rod or strip against the template plowshare with the other. As its links bend, they will fall into place on their own.
Using a cold method, you can twist spirals of up to 5 turns on a snail with a rotary plowshare.

Drawings of a snail machine for artistic forging with a specification of parts are given in Fig. We’ll talk about the dimensions of the links (segments) of the folding share later, but for now pay attention to the steel grades: the share bears heavy loads. If you make it from ordinary structural steel, the template will lead to the middle of the gate or fence section.

Drawings of a snail machine for cold forging

Note: for more detailed drawings of a snail machine of a similar design with description and detail, see the link: https://dwg.ucoz.net/publ/osnastka/instrument_dlja_kholodnoj_kovki/5. There you will also find drawings of a homemade bender and a device for bending rings.

The material for the folding rotary share, as well as the complexity of its manufacture, are not the only weak points of the snail machine with a collar. An even more serious problem is the articulation of the ploughshare links (shown by red arrows in the figure on the right). The joints of the share segments must:

Design of folding ploughshare of snail cold forging machine
Be accurate enough to maintain the shape of the manufactured parts;
When pressed from the outside, the joints of the segments should become dead center, creating a stable configuration;
Upon removal of the working load, the joints should self-weed;
The design and material of the joints of the rotary share must ensure repeated repetition of the cycle according to paragraphs. 1-3 under significant alternating operating loads without the appearance of significant backlash.

It is difficult to fulfill all these conditions together in a well-established and equipped industrial production, so the resources of folding templates for cold forging are generally much less than their material would allow on its own. Poor use of material properties is a serious drawback. In addition, for the same reasons, another weak point of the snail-type machine with a collar is the eccentric clamp of the part. Therefore, novice homemade blacksmiths work more successfully with homemade snail machines for artistic forging, made according to a lever design.

Snail with lever

The lever volute for cold forging is designed similarly to the well-known pipe bender. A homemade lever-type snail machine with a fixed template is significantly inferior in performance to a snail with a collar. The working load in it is more fully transferred to the base, so a strong frame made of special steel or a thick plate of ordinary steel, securely fixed to the supporting surface, is required. As a result, a workshop or outdoor production area is required. Work on the lever scroll progresses slowly: after turning the lever until it jams, you need to move the pressure roller. It is possible to curl up to 3-4 turns on a lever volute. Nevertheless, the advantages of a snail lever machine for home craftsmen are significant, especially when working for yourself:

All parts, except the pressure roller, can be made of ordinary steel.
It is possible to use a standard roller bearing as a pressure roller.
The use of the material properties of the parts is almost complete: the template and frame made of ordinary steel can withstand more than 1000 working cycles.
You can bend either according to a template (pos. 1 in the figure below) or using spacers, pos. 2 there.

Snail cold forging machines

When bending along spacers, you can quickly change the shape of the resulting part and create reverse bends, which is basically impossible when bending along a plowshare.
Securing the end of the workpiece in a cold forging machine
To obtain products of the same quality, the manufacturing accuracy of parts of a lever volute can be an order of magnitude lower than that of volutes with a rotary share.
The end of the workpiece can be secured by simply inserting it into the recess of the template, see fig. on right. The end to be fixed is widened by welding or bending in half.

In addition, the snail lever machine allows the use of a technological technique that is considered the prerogative of industrial twister machines: the template is shifted to the side, and a spacer is placed in the center, pos. 3 in Fig. This creates a small reverse bend in the core of the curl. The part looks more impressive and, when working for sale, the product is more valuable.

Flat bending of steel strip

The lever snail has another rather fat plus: on such a machine you can bend flat curls with a small core from a strip laid flat. The snail with a collar and a rotating plowshare gives up completely here: the workpiece will go in a vertical wave. Wide curls and rings from the strip can be bent flat on a broaching machine with rollers in which grooves are machined, see fig. on right. But the drawing speed, so that the workpiece does not lead, requires a significant one, so you won’t get a narrow curl core.

On a snail lever machine, this problem is solved by installing a pressure roller with a height equal to the thickness of the strip and with a flange (edge), like a railway wheel, only wider. Bending using this method takes a lot of time: the lever must be applied a little at a time, otherwise the inner edge of the workpiece will wrinkle; The flange does not help from this. But it is impossible to obtain a curl from a flat strip with a narrow core in a handicraft production in any other way.

In general, at the start of blacksmithing and artistic activities or when making a forged fence, gate, gate, bench, swing, gazebo, etc., arranging a garden for yourself, it is still better to use a lever-type snail machine for cold forging. Moreover, it can be made from scrap materials without accurate and detailed drawings, see for example. next video.