Metal Rose

Construction Path

Rajan Brar

rajanbrar.weebly.com 2023
 BEFORE WE START 2023

Before starting the project, make

sure to keep these three key
safety items at hand as they will
be used throughout the whole
process.

1. Gloves
2. Eye Protection
3. Hearing Protection

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 Material List

1. Galvanized Steel Sheet Metal

(Petals and Leaves)

2. Welding Rod (Stem)

TIP: Make sure to engrave or stamp

your name into the materials to
prevent losing them.
Cutting Sheet Metal Squares

To start off, find a suitable piece of

metal to cut, or if you’re lucky, a pre
cut sheet. Also, ensure the sheet isn’t
too small or extremely oversized to
prevent wasting material that had other
uses. For this project, you will need 4
metal squares that are 3.5” by 3.5” in
dimension. These sheets are cut at the
metal shear, near the yellow welding
shield area. Ensure that the markers at
the back of the shear are both set to 3.5”
and that you have used the right edge of
the shear to cut a small piece off the
sheet to ensure it is straight. Now, the
shear and sheet are prepared. Push the
sheet into place, this may need some
downward angle at the start, and place one
hand on the sheet and the other at a safe
area of the table. Use one foot to stomp
hard on the shear while keeping the other
foot clear.
Naming and Drawing Outline

Now that you’ve made 4 metal squares,

you’ll want to ensure they don’t get
lost or stolen. To do this, use the
engraver, or in my case, the stamps to
put your name into the metal squares.
One mistake I made is location, and I
would suggest putting the name or
initials near the center where it may
appear across a petal so that it
doesn’t get cut off. Now that it has a
name, you need to find something with
a diameter of 3.5”, which in my case
was a Razer microphone stand. Use this
circle to draw an outline on the metal
square which will be used to cut out a
circle of a 3.5” diameter.
Cutting Sheet Metal Circles

Now that the circles have been marked

out and cross referred with peers,
it’s time to get the safety glasses
and gloves. This will prevent your
holding hand from getting cut, and
keep your eyes safe from the sharp
metal fragments. To cut the circles
out, use tin snips, and I suggest
using the red left turn snips if you
are right-handed and holding the metal
in the left. If you are left handed,
hold the metal in the right hand and
use the green right turn tin snips to
cut out the circle. Go slow to make
the filing process easier. Make sure
to clean up at the end, throwing out
metal fragments in the metal scrap
bin, and vacuuming the tiny dust and
hard to pick up pieces.
 Filing and Shaping

The circle that has been cut out is

most likely rough around the edges. To
fix this, place the circle into a
bench vise grip so that it’s held in a
corner so a majority of the circle is
out in the open. This makes it easier
to round it off and it also reduces
the noise to nearly nothing if done
right. To file it down, use a bastard
file and only go one way at around a
45 degree angle. If unsure of
technique, it may be worth referring
to 3 peers and if any of them have a
different answer, ask the instructor.
 Finding the Center Point

Finding the center point is

surprisingly simple. All you need to
do is get a metal scribe, ruler, and
any work bench corner. You’ll notice
that there is a raised edge on the
tables in the shop, so use that as a
square to perfectly slot in the metal
circle. Now, use the ruler to go
straight across from the corner of the
table, aligned with the inner corner
of the table edge, and across the
circle. Now just draw a line across,
rotate 90 degrees, and repeat until
you’ve got 8 perfect segments.
 Center Punching

Center punching the petals is fairly

straightforward. All you need is a
hammer and a center punch. Put the
petal on the flat part of the bench
vise and align the center punch with
the center of the circle which is the
point at which all of the previously
scribed lines meet. Give it one solid
hit and no second hits, this will
allow for the best results.
 Cutting Out 8 Petals

Using a pair of the straight cut

yellow tin snips and the required
safety items, cut along the previously
scribed lines to make 8 individual
petals. For this step, make sure to
use common sense and leave 1cm or at
the very least 0.5cm of space between
the center point and the petal cuts so
it doesn’t just separate the pieces
and fall off. Also, while you’ve
already got the preparation, use left
turn red tin snips again to add some
extra curvature to the individual
petals.
 Drilling Stem Holes

To drill the hole in the petal circles for

the stem, use a drill and not an impact
wrench, and make sure to set it to the
drill icon. Use a ⅛” bit and use the
previously made center punch as a pilot
hole. Do not clamp down on the twist of
the drill bit, only the blank clamping
area should make its way into the drill’s
clamp. Make sure to use appropriate safety
items which are glasses and hearing
protection, NO GLOVES. As for drill
safety, only drill on the table that has a
drilling block on it, and hold the metal
in place with a hand vise grip. When not
in use, the drill should be placed
sideways in the center of the table, to
avoid tool and personal damage. Only
charge the drill battery if it is down to
one bar, otherwise continue using it while
other batteries reach full bars.
 Detailing the Petals

Now that there are individual petals,

the petal circle is ready for fine
detailing. To do this, you will need a
welding/chipping hammer, hearing
protection, gloves, and glasses. Find
a bench vise and place the petals on
the closed jaw of the vise. Now start
adding in details using the vertical
line side of the chipping hammer.
Learn from my mistakes and use the
hammer lightly, even if it take more
time, as it saves it from needing
resharpening.
 Bowling the Petals

Using the same safety equipment from

the previous step, pick up a round
mould from the cabinet near the
drills, it should have 3 numbers on
each side, and pick up a ball pein
hammer from the labelled drawers. This
step is fairly simple, just place the
petal circle in the round mould and
use the round end of the hammer to
lightly tap and mould the petal
circles into a bowl shape, starting
from the center and moving outward.
Continue until it fits the mould and
matches pictures.
 Drawing the Star

Now the petals are essentially

complete, and it is time to move on to
the star underneath all the petals. To
draw this star, you will either be
given a paper stencil to trace, or
shown how to make a rough shape and
copy it best as you can. Start by
using the same technique as the petals
to find the center using 2 lines but
with an appropriate small piece of
metal or scrap metal. Ask 3 or the
teacher For the actual star shape,
draw a rough design with
Cutting and Punching Star

Using straight, yellow tin snips, cut

out the star that was drawn
previously. Use eye protection and
gloves for this. Now use the same
trick as with the petals, the table
corner and 45 degree ruler, to scribe
two lines onto the star that will
determine the center point. These
lines should be 90 degrees from each
other, straight up and straight
across. Put on hearing protection
along with the goggles and gloves you
already have and use a center punch
and a hammer to indent the center of
the star. Make sure to only use one
solid tap, no more. Use punches at the
designated table only, do not take
them to bench vises.
Drilling and Detailing Star

This step is just like the petal drill

and detail. Using a ⅛” drill bit,
drill out a hole in the star where you
have center punched it. Use eye
protection and hearing protection, and
do not use gloves. To hold the star,
use a vise grip with the proper
clamping force set. Make sure there is
a piece of wood under the star when
drilling so you do not drill into the
table. Now that is done, put on the
gloves again and take a chipping
hammer to an anvil with the star on
it. Using the same jaw technique as
the petals, use the chipping hammer to
detail the star, but be careful to not
hit too hard. Once complete, use the
bench vise and needle nose pliers to
round and bend the arms of the star.
 Preparing the Stem

Now that the petals and star are

essentially complete, it is time to
ask the instructor for a stem,
otherwise referred to as a welding
rod, which is a copper coated metal
wire. Make sure to carry it with
fingers covering each end, as it is
easy to stab an eye with the thin
ends. Now use a ruler and a marker to
mark 12 inches on the stem right from
the end. Use linesman pliers to cut
the wire on the mark. Use gloves and
eye protection. Based on your
preference, use hearing protection and
the flat end of a ball peen hammer,
hammer the stem on an anvil to create
the look you desire.
 Assembling the Rose

On one end of the stem, which will be

the top, go about 2 inches down from
the top and create a simple loop. This
loop is what the petals and star will
rest on, blocking them from descent.
First install the star with arms
pointing down, then the four discs of
petals. Ensure that the flower is
sitting how you’d like it to, whether
that be straight up or slightly
tilted, and use a pair of needle nose
pliers to push the petals down to your
liking. More pressure will be more
solid, less pressure will be dynamic
somewhat like a real rose. Now use
another pair of needle nose pliers to
bend the remaining welding rod onto
the petals, locking them in place.
 Forming the Rose

To start forming the rose, watch a

demo done by the instructor.
Otherwise, start by bending one petal
up from the top set. Bring it as close
as possible to the middle loop, hold
it with one plier and then bend with
another. It’s very important that the
first petal is bent/folded as tight as
possible, otherwise the rest of the
petals won’t fit nicely and you will
have a worse rose. It should look a
bit like a burrito, and then all you
have to do is continue the cycle with
more petals. I suggest using lineman
pliers to compress the petals once in
a while, but it is not a substitute
for not folding the petals tightly as
squishing it all together at the end
won’t work.
 Making the Leaves

With the rose complete, the last

detail remains. Find suitable metal
pieces, roughly a couple inches long,
and use two for the leaves. Draw out
two simple teardrop shapes for the
leaves, and cut them out with tin
snips. Use gloves and eye protection
for this step. Next, go over to the
table with pieces of wood and chisels,
across from the letter punching table.
If there are no chisels, ask the
teacher or find them in the cabinet
next to the instructor. Using these
chisels and a hammer, indent a line
down the center of the leaf, with more
lines coming out an angle in a “V”
shape, just like a real leaf. For this
step gloves, hearing protection, and
eye protection are needed.
 Sand Blasting

With all the parts ready, they’re

finally ready for sand blasting, which
removes the coating and allows for
oxidation and airbrushing. For
sandblasting, you will need hearing
protection and the pair of sand
blasting vice grips, which will look
very dull and sanded compared to
others. With the equipment ready,
leaves and rose separately, hold them
with the vice grips and put them in
the blaster. Put your hands in and use
the pedal to control the flow of the
gun. Continue sandblasting until
you’ve removed all of the shiny
coating and achieved the desired
finish.
 Welding

With the leaves sand blasted, there’s

just one step left to do, and that is
to weld the leaves onto the stem. To
do this, you will need vice grips and
gloves to hold the stem and leaves so
that you don’t get burned. You will
also need teacher’s permission to do
so, or the teacher may weld it for
WIP
you. When the welding is complete,
turn off the gas and tape your name
onto the stem. That is it, the project
is complete.
 End Result

I think the end result came out nicely, better than my

expectations as I thought it would be more difficult.
2023
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Photos:
⌂ Me
⌂ Myself
⌂ I

Presentation: SlidesGo.com + Rajan