Cold Forming Sheet Metal With A Hammer

Something like a sharpie to mark on the sheet metal.

Cold forming sheet metal with a hammer.

And some sand paper to smooth out the edges. This is a handy metal fabrication technique you need to learn. For this example we will hammer form some tank end caps. Follow along as i demonstrate how you can begin shaping metal with hand tools only.

You may want a smaller hammer for small shapes or a larger hammer for larger shapes. I used a 16 oz. You also have to grasp the fact that you can reduce the area of sheet metal by thickening it. Hammer forming is one of the oldest simplest and least expensive ways to shape sheet metal.

Something to cut the metal like sheet metal shears or tin snips. How can you go about shaping metal with hand tools alone.