You'll need a dishing hammer and a dishing stump. I use a modified 4 pound mini sledge. This is a pretty heavy
hammer to swing for extended periods of time and has made me into a mutant.
My right bicep is a full 1" bigger then my left. Modify this hammer by grinding one face into a dome with a diameter of about 3"
the other face leave about half of the face flat and grind the edges down into a
smooth curve. Once you've done your grinding it's a really good idea to polish your hammer.
You'll get much better results if you do. Polish the face by sanding by hand with
gradually finer grits of sandpaper. I start with 60 and go up to 1500 grit. (see also: Construction of a Sinking (Dishing) Hammer)
Now that you've got a dishing hammer you need something to dish into. I use a
cedar stump (the harder the wood the better, and any coniferous wood isn't
great because of the sap, but it does work). The stump is about 1' diameter and
the height is determined by where my knuckles are when I hang my arm down in a
relaxed position. You don't have to have something as big as this but it makes it
easier. You can basically use anything wood that's big enough for the dish. If
you use something smaller then attach it to something heavy. Make a depression in your stump that is approximately 3" across and 1" deep.
You can make this depression by beating your stump with the more rounded end
of your dishing hammer. (see also: How to Make a Sinking (Dishing) Stump)
Procedure
I am assuming that you are making your boss to an overall diameter of 8" with
a 1" flange all the way around, from 14 gauge mild steel. You could use 16 gauge but it will end up very thin and you run the risk of
tearing a hole through it while dishing.
It's a good idea
to wear some kind of glove to reduce the shock to your hand. Ear protection is
also a good idea. Those little earplugs work, as do the big earmuff ones. (see also: An Armourer's Basic Safety Guidelines)
Hold the blank in your left hand lightly. Holding the boss lightly is important. If you grip it hard you'll
hurt your thumb when the metal "kicks," so just hold tightly enough so that it doesn't go bouncing across the
room.
It's important to try to support the metal on at least three places on the wood when
you dish. If you don't, the boss won't be harmed but it will "kick" a lot and your thumb will
feel it.
Beat the metal into the depression and move the disk so that you dish the shape of
your boss. Don't dish the area where your flange will be. The flange area might
wrinkle a little and it will dish out a bit on it's own. I usually beat the wrinkles out
as they appear. Don't worry about making it pretty
right now. Don't be afraid to hit the metal. You won't hurt it.
Striking
with the dished edge close to you after the first pass moves the metal faster but makes
things lumpy. Hammer from within the flange area to the center in a gradual spiral pattern in
several passes until you get to the depth you want. Allow for the flattening of the
flange in your depth. A 1" flange usually takes 1/2-3/4" away from the overall
depth. Obviously a smaller flange takes away less.
Now that you've got your depth, you can strike with the flatter face of your hammer hitting
with the flat part in the same spiral pattern. The flat face of a similarly weighted hammer will also do if your primary hammer doesn't have a secondary flatter face. This will get rid of a lot of the
lumpiness.
For the flange, hold your boss so that the depression is pointing downwards and put the edge of the boss
against the outside edge of your stump. It's best to put the boss on the side of the stump opposite of you with the appropriate amount for the flange overhanging the edge of the stump.
Start hammering the flange down over the edge of the stump using the flat surface
on your dishing hammer (or with the flat face of a similarly weighted hammer). Start with a blow that hits the edge of the stump at a 45
degree angle and then a couple more blows until your striking flat on the top.
You have to hold the boss so that the soon-to-be flange is raised from the stump
and sitting on the edge. Move to the side of the area you've just hammered and
repeat untill you've gone full circle. You should now have about a 1/4" or a little
less flange. Repeat this process concentrating on the 45 degree blow until you
have the flange size you want.
Additional steps you could do to make your boss prettier
Bouging Bouging is the process of striking the metal with a soft hammer
against a hard surface. I use a 12 pound shotput on a stake and an ironwood
mallet for this. This process is for getting rid of the big lumps.
Planishing Planishing is the process of pinching the metal by striking it with a hard
hammer onto a hard surface. I use the same shotput and a lightweight autobody
planishing hammer for this. Basically you know you've finished planishing when
the entire boss is covered with tiny facets. This gets rid of all the small lumps.
Sanding and Finishing You can use abrasives to sand away the planishing marks and smooth out the surface. Successively higher grits will give a successively higher finish, and additional polishing can be done if desired. (see also: Building Spaulders: An exercise in basic hammerwork, finishing, and assembly)
The only thing left to do is to punch or drill some holes in the flange and rivet or bolt your boss
onto a wooden shield blank.
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