Flattening is a technique used to shape sheet metal.
Flattening is a technique used to bend and shape thin sheet metal parts. The process involves striking the metal with a specialized planing hammer while resting on a rounded stake to smooth out flaws and achieve the proper curve. Brushing is commonly done in auto repair shops, aircraft factories, and many other industrial metal fabrication settings. In the past, workers flattened the sheets by hand, but today most experts use pneumatic or electric machines to quickly and accurately shape metal parts.
Planing was used in medieval times to make armor for knights.
Metalworking has been a common practice around the world for many centuries, with blacksmiths using planing tools to create sword hilts, metal bowls, and bulletproof vests. Today, professionals plan sheet metal to make car fenders, gas tanks, aircraft bodies, and decorative parts like lamps. Many hobbyists and hobbyists also use the technique in their own workshops, while restoring vehicles or creating decorative jewelry.
Many hobbyists and hobbyists use the brushing technique when creating decorative jewelry.
After giving a sheet its final basic shape using rougher machining techniques, a specialist places the material on a stake or anvil and hammers out small imperfections. The planing pile is basically a small metal sphere on top of a rod that is attached to the ground. A number of different hammers can be used, depending on the type of metal and the level of perfection the worker hopes to achieve. Some experts use large wooden mallets and ball-peen hammers in their work, while others employ planing hammers that are specially designed for the task.
Small dents or raised edges on a piece of metal are tapped lightly with the planing hammer and smoothed out along the curve of the stake. It usually takes hundreds of strokes to work a sheet perfectly. By carefully aligning the part in the stack, a metalworker can achieve almost any desired shape. A professional can manipulate a blade to create a long, steady curve or almost round it into a perfect circle if he wishes.
Metal is machined in most modern auto repair shops and factories. A pneumatic or motor-controlled planer can make a more precise finished product in a fraction of the time and effort required with hand tools. A worker lines up the piece of metal and controls the hammer with a foot pedal or manual trigger. Using air pressure or electrical energy, the hammer lightly strikes the sheet several times per second. The worker simply has to push and pull the piece of metal by hand during the job to work the entire sheet.