This technique is called raising. It is actually compressing the metal around a shape that generally makes it thicker. To visualize this one can think of how aluminium foil would wrinkle if formed over an egg. The wrinkles in the foil would fold over each other on the sides and be several layers thick. We don't want wrinkles in the armour so will need to move the metal, patiently compressing it where it would normally want to wrinkle.
The same visualization can illustrate the negative aspects of too much dishing. If one were to try to stretch aluminium foil over an egg without any wrinkles it would quickly rip where it was stretched.
Above picture shows a ball stake and a raising hammer. I honestly have no idea why this type of hammer works for this technique and others don't but that's how it is. I can raise slightly with a differently shaped hammer but it is MUCH harder.
It was awfully hard to hold the piece and hammer correctly while taking the picture. The trick is to strike the steel just offset of the curve of the stake. The hammer is striking just forward (closer to the camera) than the apex of the ball stake. This pushes the metal down. If you strike the metal directly where it comes in contact with the stake you will stretch and thin that spot of the metal which defeats the purpose. Striking too far off the metal to stake contact point deforms the metal too much in one strike and can cause it to wrinkle eventually. This takes some practice to get the feel of where the sweet spot to strike is.
I start raising circles around the centre and work outward with medium force hits. I usually stop slightly in from the edge of the piece before doing another pass. This can take many passes each one forming the piece a little more.
Keep making passes in rings out from the middle till it is the desired shape.
If the steel at the apex starts to look porous then you are striking too far off the contact point and too hard. This is a sign that the metal at the peak is starting to stretch and become thin.
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