Cymbals of Happiness bracelet by Sondra: stamped, textured and domed copper and brass disks make a tinkling charm bracelet.
It took me awhile to accept “dapping” as a real word. Even now that I am obsessed with dapping every flat piece of metal that crosses my path, I still find the term awkward. Spell check, ignoring the facts as usual, still doesn’t believe.
In jewelry making, dapping simply means taking a flat piece of metal and curving it into a dome with special dies and punches, called a dapping set. The dapping block (or die if you prefer) has a series of concave impressions that correspond in size with the dapping punches.
- Rings & Things #69-199 dapping set by Eurotool, and a variety of flat and dapped metal pieces.
Simply place your metal piece in the block and use a hammer (preferably brass) to repeatedly tap the punch into the metal. I say tap because your goal is to gently bend the metal into a smooth, even curve. If you just whack as hard as you can, the metal won’t shape up evenly.
The entire piece of metal needs to fit inside the impression, not sit on top like in this picture.
Here the metal pieces are inside the impressions, ready to be dapped.
Another tip: don’t hammer straight down on your metal. Hold the dapping punch at and angle, and tap tap tap with your hammer, turning your metal after every few taps to ensure that it is shaping up nicely.
For best results, keep rotating the die and the metal.
As you dap (tap, dome, whatever!), the height of the metal piece increases, while the width decreases. So after you’ve dapped as much as you can in one impression, you can move the metal into the next smallest hole and dap it with the next smallest punch to get a deeper dome.
Doming adds a professional quality to your work. Even just a slight curve instantly makes a metal disk reflect more light.
Just a few taps is all it takes!
Brass, copper, aluminum and sterling silver are all excellent soft metals to dap (most of my images are of raw brass blanks). Even copper coins can all be dapped, although coins are thick and will require you to apply a bit more muscle. If you want to stamp, texture, punch holes, or otherwise adorn your metal (and you will!) do all that before you dap for beautiful results:
Use stamps to monogram brass disks for easy, elegant earrings.
Dapped pieces can be layered too, like on my copper and brass ring.
One word of warning – you might need to upgrade your photography equipment to get good pictures of your dapped jewelry! I think the only way to get a clear picture of Mollie’s “God Save the Queen” necklace would be to use a professional light box. The domed Canadian penny is amazingly reflective. Since my photo-editing software lacks a “rhinestone-reflection remover tool,” this is as good of a shot as I could get. Believe me, the necklace is stunning in person!
A domed penny, brass filigree and snippet of rhinestone chain, all soldered onto a brass disk, forms the centerpiece.
I know you are quicker on the uptake than my computer: add dapping to your jewelry-making vocabulary today! ~ Cindy
PS: here are some handy links to some other how-to’s in the Rings & Things blog!
- How to wire-wrap a briolette
- How to use heat to patina brass charms & filigrees
- How to make interchangeable magnetic jewelry with 1″ buttons
- How to make polymer-clay pie earrings using mini bottle caps as pans
- How to get creative with hair sticks
- How to make wrapped leather bracelets
- How to get creative with hair sticks
PDF
Way to add value to pennies!
Very Cool Dave! Gonna order the wood one. Will that work as well? Tight budget
Hi Debbie! The wood one also works – you won’t be able to get a really deep dome with it, and you would have a tough time doming thick items (like coins), but on the plus side you can use slightly larger disks than with the metal set. Have fun!
Thanks Cindy. Most appreciated. I will also get the other one as the money pours in from my sales
http://etsy.me/eoTuKE
Flower & Bud Handcrafted Jewelry
Recently purchased a wood one until I can afford a better model. Thanks for the tips!
*drool* I am in love!!!!!
Awesome! Thanks for the great tips, Cindy!! I have a wood dapping set & am adding the R&T’s metal dapping to my wish list. Got my R&T’s brass discs so I am ready to dap-a-dee-doo-dah now
I wasn’t sure whether to stamp, punch, texture before or after dapping, thanks for clearing that up!
Great tutorial and ideas! I am addicted to my set, constantly liking for new things to done.
I have a hard time wrapping my brain around the word:) I’ll stick with doming ~ it sounds prettier!
Any chance of getting some hints on how to make that beautiful ring??? Thanks for this great post!
The ring uses a round bezel ring (#51-205-02-1) as the base – I’d been using the rings with resin and by chance discovered that dapping copper ring/washer blanks (#44-780-25 or -26) made them the right size to squeeze into the bezel. The brass disk and copper washer are glued to the ring base with E-6000.
Hope this helps! Happy doming
Thank you!!!
I am looking for instructions on dapping bottle caps……I’m not having any luck. My caps finish askew and scratched…..there must be an easier way. Thanks so much for any help.
Like Susan, I am after information on dappling bottle caps (also would you recommend a wooden or a steel kit for the purpose?)
Hi Rebecca! The darn spam filter must have eaten the reply I posted for Susan. Sorry about that. Anyway, for dapping bottle caps, I actually recommend using both the wooden and metal dapping sets! The reason is the bottle caps are too big for the metal set (at least for mine) and so I like to start with the wood set and then move to the metal. Steel on steel can mar the surface, so it takes practice to hit them hard enough to reshape them but not so hard that you ding them up. Hope this helps! Happy crafting