die for stamping beltplates

[Matt Lukes]

Well if you're trying to make raised rings, it's necessary to anneal the brass well and have a good, solid backing material- otherwise you will end up with the center of the ring being raised too. One way I've found that works well is to take a scrap of hardwood like oak, and hammer the socket or steel tube into it a few times to create a ring indentation- this becomes your negative die. Of course you have to mark position lines well so you can repeatedly put the ring in the right place on the metal. A scrap of heavy leather would work too, but you can't really hammer in the same place too many times- wood is much better. You can also flatten the middle of the plate out again by hammering a smaller diameter socket or piece of pipe/ rod on the front face of the plate.

Matt