Devices for artistic forging. How to make a homemade cold forging machine with your own hands? Principles of cold forging of metals

Forging machines are a good tool for artistic and creative people who have a desire to create something beautiful and individual in their home, to highlight the interior, or to make a good DIY gift for important people. There are two ways to forge metal. To forge something using the hot forging method, you need to make a lot of preparations and actions, so at home the easiest way to forge it by hand is to use the cold forging method. The learning curve for this process does not take much time, and there is a real opportunity to design a machine with your own hands.

The beginning of cold forging with homemade machines.

Cold forging with your own hands requires two mandatory actions - pressing and bending. To perform all these actions, it is not necessary to apply a certain temperature to the metal, but it is still necessary to carry out heat treatment.

To design something with your own hands, it is no longer necessary to have special machines for artistic forging; now you can create machines for forging metal at home. But you still can’t cope with such tools without experience. For all the work to be successful, you need to use metals of a certain thickness.

A homemade cold forging machine can easily be used to create structures that will be much stronger than those made by stamping. Do-it-yourself forged products will turn out to be of high quality when everything is done correctly and without errors, because it is very difficult to correct them. After a few jobs, thanks to the experience gained, you can begin to make excellent designs using homemade cold forging machines and fixtures.

When manufacturing a large number of identical metal structures, it is best to use drawings prepared in advance. Drawings for do-it-yourself cold forging machines are prepared in advance. In some cases, it will be better to warm up the part in order to get rid of defects in the future. Those who have recently started using homemade machines for cold forging should first think through a work plan, as well as acquire the necessary skills. The help of various video lessons on the Internet, as well as special courses, will not be superfluous here.

Machine components and necessary tools.

A do-it-yourself forging machine consists of certain devices. Among which must be:

gnutik;
snail;
wave;
globe;
twister;
flashlight;

These devices are best to use. You will need a do-it-yourself cold forging snail to weave steel rods. You can look at the photo to better see the design and an example of parts. Forging equipment for cold forging of metal plays an important role in the work. The main tool during the work will be a bender. This is a very simple element.

To process pipes with hexagonal and round cross-sections, a “wave” is used. A “flashlight” is used to bend metal rods, and a twister is somewhat similar to it, a very convenient device. A globe is made into a large arc of profile rods.

Cold forging machines are most profitable to do yourself, because not everything can be processed with hand tools, and the price for an artistic forging machine is very high. When a master, using his skills and equipment, creates a design, it will be unique and special, even if in some ways it will not be as high quality as the factory one. When manufacturing a large number of parts, it would be correct to create a coductor on an electric motor. This makes the work process easier.
A do-it-yourself cold forging machine must be suitable for types of work such as bending, twisting and drawing.

During the drawing process, the structure takes on a certain shape. Therefore, it must pass through the press, after which the cross-section of the primary material will become smaller. By flexible we mean creating a bend at the desired angle. For this you will need templates. Photos of drawings of forged products with your own hands are prepared in advance from which the template will be made. The curl is attached to the steel plate, and the sheet itself is secured in the machine holder. A slot is placed at the end of the workpiece, and the other end is secured in place. Using a lever, the end of the structure is influenced, which must be carried out along each bend of the plate, which is used as a template.

Video of a homemade machine for bending balusters.

Many experienced manufacturers assemble simple mechanisms with their own hands, which allow them to create unique designs. This is influenced by work experience. Drawings for do-it-yourself cold forging machines can be found in sufficient quantities on the Internet, as well as photos of cold forging products that can be obtained in the end. A photograph of such equipment allows the master to complete the drawing from scratch, if he has experience.

You can consider the “Snail” machine. Using it you can create various spirals or waves. To create such a machine, you need to have drawings for a do-it-yourself cold forging machine of this type, and also do everything in accordance with the technology. The working surface must consist of sheet metal. 4 mm thickness will be enough. Dimensions are set based on the size of the part. To give the shape, sheet metal 3 mm thick and in the form of strips is required. It is bent according to the template with pliers and a spiral is obtained.

To create a normal work process, you need to firmly fix one of the ends of the part. A rod equal to the width of the strips will help with this. To secure the work platform you will need to use a workbench. The main goal of everything is to give maximum immobility to the part, because during cold forging you need to put in a lot of effort.

Before starting the manufacture of any cold forging machine, using hand-made tools, you need templates, sketches and various drawings, including a drawing for do-it-yourself cold forging equipment.

You can make your markings more accurate by using graph paper. You need to draw a spiral on it, where the turns in the radius will increase. Equal distance must be properly maintained between them. This condition will be mandatory only for creating symmetrical patterns.

Machine design.

To create any machine, you can use several options to choose from - collapsible, monolithic or solid. It is recommended to weld small rods along the entire length of the machine. For this purpose, it is worth drilling special holes at the work site. It is necessary to securely secure the ends of the parts that will bend.
This forging method is very popular among blacksmith beginners.

Using a machine for cold forging of metal made by hand, an inexperienced craftsman will be able to make forged balcony canopies, handrails for stairs, various window grilles, fences, numerous home furniture, fences, various forged accessories and decorative items that complement the interior of the premises, on similar to grates for fireplaces. This is a good option for beginners.

Collection of drawings of cold forging machines.

Drawing for a snail with a ploughshare.

The drawing shows the device of a bending scroll with a plowshare and the rules for working with it.

Detailed drawing of a snail machine.

Drawing of a device for bending the “Clamp”.

Drawing of the Gnutik device.

Video of cold forging equipment for small businesses.

Looking at the fences, gates, gates of various cottages, a person who has no idea about blacksmith tools or work in a forge asks: where does this money come from? A person who understands blacksmithing will answer him that such things (metal furniture decorations, swings, benches) are made using devices for cold forging.

The cost of cold forging is not too high. This is due to low equipment costs and high processing efficiency. A blacksmith who does this type of work can quickly start making a good profit. Probably, some cottage owners make all the fences and gates themselves, because cold forging can be done in a garage or barn without having any special skills.

The main thing you will need is homemade equipment for cold forging. If you want to make various objects from metal, you will need five to seven types of equipment. You can make three to five cold forging machines with your own hands. Before you start crafting, you need to learn the basics of working in a forge.

Stamping, forging, bending

Cold forging differs from stamping in that the material practically does not flow under the influence of the tool. Look at a beer can or, for example, an aluminum/tin teapot. Their extrusion is carried out in 1 blow of the stamping device.

Cold forging differs from hot forging in that the part is not heated before processing. The workpiece is, as it were, riveted by hitting it many times. The metal structure changes significantly. The surface strength increases, and the middle becomes more viscous. Handicraftsmen really value tires for carriage wheels and parts of rails.

The metal is riveted using a conventional hammer. Making it yourself is easier than making a homemade cold forging machine. However, such forging still differs from cold hardening. When it is performed, the metal structure does not change much.

Currently, there are different types of cold forging machines. An electric drive is rarely used, because the increase in efficiency it causes often does not justify the difficulty of creating it and the expense of electricity. For cold forging, machines are divided into:

twisters - form flat spirals and other curls with a narrow middle;
torsion bars - make it possible to create a screw twist of a rod and parts from volumetric spirals (filaments);
stamping-inertial - with their help they perform splashing of shaped tips, stamping of decorative clamps to combine patterned parts, extrusion of relief elements on long products;
bending – processing is carried out by pressing, drawing or a combination of these methods. In the first case, waves and zigzags are made, in the second - rings and curls.

In various books, especially English ones, all homemade machines for cold forging with your own hands, which form products by twisting/curling, are often called twisters. Initially, the twister was used to wind springs. However, it is more correct to believe that a twister is a winding device, and a torsion bar machine is a torsion device.

Gnutiki

In a do-it-yourself cold forging machine, a bender is a device designed to produce zigzag elements. By replacing the roller/wedge, it is possible to change the zigzag angle within a certain range.

A bend for pipes and rods up to sixteen millimeters is cheap. It is difficult to make it at home, because it requires spot processing. Try using a regular electric drill to make a hole in the wrench. But the load in the bend is much greater. In view of this, it is easier to purchase a flex. It can be used both for forging with your own hands and for producing parts of welded metal structures and bending small pipes.

Twisters

Since ancient times, blacksmiths have made curls according to a mandrel template using a horn gripper-lever. This method is ineffective, but it makes it possible to create various bending mandrels from an ordinary metal strip without much difficulty and a lot of time. The persistent lever horn does not allow the template to move under the pressure of the part. The horn must be sliding and fixed. Processing will proceed more slowly, but with greater accuracy.

Another homemade forming device is a sturdy board with support pins. They can serve as ordinary bolts. It is possible to process a strip of up to six millimeters. It all depends on your physical strength. Bend the strip “by eye”. The process is quite slow, but it is possible to create a wide variety of patterns.

Snails

One of the types of twister (forging machine) is a snail. It is very common among people who do artistic forging. The snail has a simple design and can be created at home. In addition, it is easy to use and multifunctional. The snail machine is ideal for forging. It is a bending lever, which is slightly improved and mechanized. This equipment for cold forging of metal is divided into 2 types.

With ploughshare

The operating diagram of this device for cold forging is as follows:

The snail turns.
The workpiece is fixed on the device.
The roller is pressed against the part by means of a spring.
The cochlea is rotated clockwise (levers are used).
The fixation is removed, the cochlea rises, and the finished curl is taken out of the device.

The advantages of such a twister are:

It is possible to process parts without special equipment. This is due to the fact that the vertical load on the floor of the room is quite small.
The support is quite simple to make; you can weld it from ordinary metal profiles.
It is possible to work alone. Turn the collar with one hand and press the strip against the ploughshare with the other.
It is possible to make spirals with five turns.

Lever

These manual cold forging machines have a design similar to a pipe bender. They are less efficient than gated devices. The load is quite large. Because of this, a strong base made of special steel is required. After turning the lever until it jams, you need to move the pressure roller. You can create up to four curls on a snail. This manual do-it-yourself cold forging machine has the following features:

All elements, with the exception of the pressure roller, can be made of ordinary steel.
The pressure roller can be a standard roller bearing.
The machine base can last more than a thousand work cycles.
Bending can be done either using a template or using spacers.
It is possible to quickly change the shape of the manufactured product and make reverse folds.
The end of the workpiece can be fixed by placing it in a template recess. Widening is carried out by welding or bending.

Torsion bars

This cold forging tool makes it possible to increase efficiency and increase the quality of manufactured products. The working force is quite large, therefore a high-strength base is required. A backbone I-beam frame of one hundred millimeters or a pair of connected channels is suitable. The base must be securely fixed to the supporting surface by means of the paws attached to it.

The part (a square-shaped rod) is fixed with chucks and mandrels with sockets. Due to the fact that the rod decreases in length when twisted, the chucks in the spindle element and tailstock must be well secured with screw clamps. The tailstock must be sliding.

If the device is needed to make, for example, a small fence, then you can make a cold forging machine with your own hands from scrap or improvised means.

Electric drive

Working on a torsion bar with a non-electric drive is tedious. Good quality is almost impossible to achieve. This is due to the fact that it is difficult to achieve a uniform torque manually. In view of this, it is better to use an electric drive, which must be installed in the forging tool. The drive can be made from available means (axle drive axle of a rear-wheel drive car, gear differential pair). The engine is 1.5-3 kW, 900 rpm. You can familiarize yourself with other options by watching the corresponding videos on the Internet.

Wave and zigzag

How to make a cold forging machine, through which it is possible to create wave and zigzag elements? To do this, you will need rollers made of tool/chromium-nickel steel. Limiters are placed in the arc, making it possible to create an accurate wave profile.

If you install a special gate on the snail, you can create waves. The handles are the same. They are screwed into the threaded sockets on the gate head. It is recommended to place the main roller separately and attach it to the base with head bolts.

Forged products must be combined into one whole. The easiest way is to weld and then smooth the seams with a grinder and a grinding wheel. It is thicker than cut-off and copes with bending forces. Parts that are connected with shaped clamps look much better. Stamping is carried out from a strip of one and a half millimeters. The clamp blank is made in the shape of the letter “P”. Her wings are bent from the back using a hammer. Special enamels and paints for metal products are used for painting. Enamels with pigment are more expensive, but they are not prone to peeling, fading, wear and thermal deformation.

The loads endured by a cold forging press, especially impact loads, are quite high. This requires precise processing of the workpieces. In view of this, it is better not to try to make such a device using a drawing of a cold forging machine. You can only make a manual rolling mill yourself. However, steel rolls, shafts and bearing bushings will still need to be purchased.

If you seriously intend to take up blacksmithing, try making a twister or torsion device. The drawings of a cold forging machine are quite simple; even a person who is very vaguely familiar with blacksmithing can understand them. You can find machine drawings on the Internet or ask friends who are involved in blacksmithing. Of course, the profession of “blacksmith” today is less popular than the same “conductor”, but this does not mean that no one is engaged in blacksmithing at all.

We will tell you about the operating principle of the forging snail, its advantages and varieties, simple drawings and self-assembly technology.

Elements in the form of curls, made of rods, are widely used in the design of local areas and the interior of residential premises. Special devices are used for their manufacture. One of them is a snail. Home craftsmen often construct this device themselves from scrap materials. If you also want to know how to make a snail for cold forging with your own hands, then this article is for you. From it you will learn the operating principle of this device, its advantages and varieties, simple drawings and self-assembly technology.

A cold forging snail is a device for creating patterns in the form of curls from metal rods by bending them along the contour of the template. Deformation occurs due to rigid fixation of the working rod to the template. To do this you need to apply force. This is ensured by manual force or electric drive. When making a device yourself, the feasibility of using an electric drive must be determined by the master himself. It is necessary in case of a large volume of work. Mostly manual force is used.

The snail (conductor) can have a different design. It can be done:

in the form of a template stably welded to the working base;
in the form of dismountable removable parts that are attached to the base.

Manual drive can also be organized in different ways.

In the most primitive design, the rod is wound onto a template with simple manual effort or using any suitable device as a lever.

Also, the lever can be included in the structure of the machine and attached to the bed leg and driven by a movable bearing moving along the base of the scroll.

In more complex devices, the conductor itself rotates, which is attached to the shaft axis. It is driven by three levers.

You must determine the design of the machine in advance based on feasibility and ease of use.

A monolithic jig has a specific template shape, which serves as the only curl option. This is a disadvantage of this design, but it is not difficult to do it yourself.

The removable design is convenient because this machine can be used to produce curly curls of different sizes and shapes. But the design of the machine itself is more complex. In addition, with a removable device, the reliability of fixing parts of the template is worse than with a monolithic type. You will need to constantly tighten the threaded connections, as they may become loose during operation.

Making a simple snail with your own hands

If you settled on a simplified monolithic design, then you know that this device uses simple winding of a rod by hand or using a lever onto a form rigidly welded to the working surface. This machine can be used to create curls on rods of small cross-section (less than 12 mm).

Monolithic non-demountable snail

It is made like this:

First, a diagram of the future template with the required dimensions is drawn on a sheet of paper (sometimes the template diagram is applied directly to the base of the conductor). This must be approached responsibly, because after welding the finished form, it will not be possible to correct errors. The thickness of the outline of the form in the drawing should be the same as the thickness of the metal strip used for its manufacture. It should be at least 3mm. The coils must be placed at a distance of 12–13 mm from each other, so that a 10 mm deformable rod fits into the groove between them.
The base of the snail (preferably round) is cut out of a steel sheet with a thickness of at least 4 mm, the diameter of which is determined in proportion to the size of the template spiral and be larger than the size of the snail. Typically the diameter of the base is within 70 cm.
In accordance with the drawing, the desired curl shape is made from a 3mm thick metal strip. To do this, it is better to calcinate the workpiece so that it is easier to machine. After making the mold, the excess end of the strip is cut off, and the edges of the snail are cut into a cone and cleaned.
The finished form is welded to the base, which is mounted on the frame. Sometimes a template welded to the base is fixed to the frame using yews installed on it. To do this, a piece of timber is welded to the back side of the base of the form for gripping with a yew.

With the option of fixing the conductor in a yew clamp, you can easily change the templates and obtain different shapes of curls if you make several types, monolithically welded to the base of the devices.

Removable design

On the working base, first draw the contour of the snail with a mark along the contour of the holes for attaching the template.

Based on the sketch, a template is made from a thick steel strip and holes are drilled in it. It is attached to the base with bolts.

Forging a twisted shape should begin from the central curl. The end of the workpiece is inserted into the groove of the first curl of the form and pressed tightly against it. You can use a small clamping tool to secure the fixation. With force, the free part of the rod is screwed onto the template using a device - a lever. Advanced designs use a lever driven by a moving bearing mounted on it. The lever is made of a rod with a diameter of 20 mm.

You can watch the making of such a device in the video:

Collapsible snails with rotation

The snail template can consist of several parts, and the deformation of the rod occurs by rotating the conductor. This machine consists of the following elements:

thick metal base in the form of a disk or square;
a collapsible template fixed to the base area;
rotation shaft;
lever to drive the shaft.

The working base is made of metal, with a thickness of 4 to 10 mm.

The prefabricated template may consist of several parts that are connected to each other by hinge pins inserted into the holes of the lugs welded to the ends of the elements. Together they make up the outline of the cochlea.

To attach such a snail to the working base, you need to drill holes in it to fix it to the surface in a certain position. By changing the position of the prefabricated parts on the base, you can obtain different curvature of the curls and their shape. The size of the arc of the shape is regulated by special screws attached to the connecting hinges.

It is quite difficult to make a composite volute with hinged joints yourself. Typically, craftsmen purchase a stamp made in an industrial environment and attach it to the bed.

You can make a simpler collapsible template device yourself without using hinges. To do this, you need to make a sketch of the prefabricated parts of the snail with the locations of the holes. If you prepare several sketches and, in accordance with their contours, drill holes in the base in different places, then you can attach templates with different radii to one base. To do this, you will need to bolt the contour segments where the holes of the template and the base coincide.

For example, you can do this:

A device with removable parts of the volute and a rotating cylindrical shaft driven by a lever is shown in the video:

Drawings of a snail for forging

Beginning craftsmen often do without a drawing, drawing the contours of the snail on the base itself without any calculations. For the first time this is acceptable, but if you want to make a high-quality snail machine for cold forging, then you still need to use drawings in which all the parameters are calculated. Depending on the chosen type of snail design, there are different versions of their drawings, according to which these devices are made. For example, a diagram of the device of the snail shown in the photo is shown below.

The diagram also describes the operating principle of such a machine, which uses a drive using three levers that rotate the shaft and volute.

Bending is carried out after rigidly securing the end of the workpiece to the first curl of the template shape using a clamp and then winding the rod around the rotating spiral template while the shaft rotates.

Forged metal products add color to any interior and look very aesthetically pleasing. But not every home or dacha owner wants to have the standard solutions that the market offers. In addition, forged decorative elements are very expensive.

Hot forging requires serious skills, equipment and work space. The ideal solution for realizing your design fantasies are cold forging devices. Not everyone can afford to buy such machines, but making the device yourself is not so difficult.

1 Advantages of cold forging

When processing metal using this method, heating is not required. Consequently, no furnaces, no temperature control, no skills in working with hot metal, no special work areas, etc. are required. In addition, there is no danger of serious burns.

Cold forging devices involve bending and pressing of metal. Machines for performing these processes can be either electric (you will need an electric motor and gearbox) or manual. They are easy to make with your own hands and easy to maintain. The design of the units themselves is absolutely elementary, but it is worth knowing that the process of hand forging itself requires considerable effort from the worker.

Unlike decorative elements obtained by processing hot metal, a cold forged product can always be remade if necessary. It unbends as easily as it bends.

The method of creating decorative elements from metal without heating is very convenient when you need to make many of the same ones. In this case, a homemade device is made for a specific design with specific dimensions and template actions are performed.

A bending machine significantly saves time, effort and financial costs on equipment of the premises and the metal processing work itself.

1.1 Purpose of the device

The cold forging device allows you to perform absolutely all work, which is performed by a blacksmith in processing hot metal. Hand tools will cope perfectly with the production of such decorative elements as:

window grilles;
constructive for handrails of stairs, benches, chairs;
legs, frames and other elements of home furniture;
design of various fences, gates, wickets;
flower stands, fireplace grates, shelves and much more.

In the cold forging process, exclusively soft metals are used, such as aluminum, duralumin, steel, copper, brass, magnesium and nickel alloys.

1.2 Types of units

To create a decorative forged metal interior, you will need several types of parts. Among them are spiral-shaped rods, arcs, spirals, and various sheet metal parts.

It is almost impossible to make a universal machine for cold forging with your own hands, so to create each element you will have to make a separate device. Such devices include the following units:

Gnutik. Allows you to produce metal arcs curved at a certain angle.
Snail. This device is designed for bending reinforcing and profile bars into a spiral.
Twister. A tool for bending a rod into a spiral along its axis.
Wave. A device designed for bending a reinforcing or profile rod into a wave element.
Ring. For making rings and ovals.
Press. A device designed for flattening metal products.
Hammer and anvil. Very useful universal tools that allow you to correct defects.

All units designed to perform the above tasks can be either manual or electric.

To operate the latter, you will need an electric motor and gearbox. Electric machines, having a motor and a gearbox, perform work much faster and make the lot easier for the worker himself.

2 How to make a cold forging machine at home?

Making a machine of any of the above types with your own hands at home is very simple. You don’t need any fancy tools or expensive mechanisms and materials for this. Everything you need for such a device can be found in almost any garage.

2.1 Materials and tools

Regardless of what kind of device you plan to make, you will need the following materials:

sheet metal 4-5 mm thick;
reinforcing bars, profile bars or profile pipe;
stable bed;
If we are going to make an electric bending machine rather than a manual one, we will need a low-speed motor and gearbox.

To organize the process of manufacturing a unit for cold forging, you need to stock up on the following tools:

“grinder” for cutting metal elements (if you don’t have one, use a metal saw);
welding machine;
emery stone and sandpaper;
vice and pliers;
paper, pencil, marker;
tape measure or centimeter.

2.2 Manual machine “snail”

Spiral-shaped elements are most often used to create a “forged” interior. Therefore, we will begin our consideration of the production process with the snail machine.

A homemade electric unit will require, in addition to the usual set of parts, the use of a motor and gearbox. The gearbox is used to reduce engine speed. But we'll talk about this later. For now, let’s look step by step at how to make a hand-held device.

We also note that one machine can make spirals of different diameters, but for this you will need a removable volute. This can be achieved in two ways: solid metal removable circles with a welded scroll, or one circle with removable parts of the spiral.

The homemade apparatus for cold forging is ready. You can lay the rod, fix it, rest against it with a bending barrel and walk around until you get the desired product.

2.3 DIY cold forging machine 3 in 1 (video)

2.4 Electrical analogue

The only difference is that the engine must rotate the working circle through a reduction gearbox. The bending barrel is welded directly to the circle without affecting the gearbox. Otherwise, the manufacturing principle of the unit is absolutely identical, and the gearbox and electric motor only complement it.

When a person learned to work with metal, he radically improved his standard of living and changed it thoroughly. This was felt not only during the war, but also in everyday peaceful life. She became much more comfortable and beautiful. Through cold forging, craftsmen make amazing things from metal.

Which, in principle, is very simple. It is enough to have the desire, experience and special equipment.

Cold forging products

Essentially, this is bending and twisting metal products without heating them in a forge. For this purpose, various machines are used, differing in size and purpose.

Using them, you can use cold forging (bends, kinks, twists) to create anything you want with a metal rod, fittings, strip, pipe, and produce various decorative items.

In particular, through artistic forging you can make:

Fences;
Decorate living spaces with fancy ornaments;
Apply twisted patterns to the gate;
Protect stairs and balconies with metal ligature;
Make backs and armrests for chairs, armchairs, garden benches;
Decorate gazebos and street lights;
Make various gratings.

To easily do all of the above, in most cases, a manual forging machine is sufficient, which is quite easy to make with your own hands.

Classification

To work with metal you need equipment. Also, for the manufacture of certain products with a rather complex configuration through cold forging, various drawings and quality control measuring instruments will be needed.

Without any problems, if you have all the necessary tools, you can make the following types of machines:

"Snail";
Torsion bar machine;
"Gnutik";
"Wave";
Press.

Let's briefly look at the features of each machine and the assembly features.

"Snail"

This machine is designed for bending reinforcement, pipes, strips and other metal workpieces in the form of a spiral. During the manufacturing process, it is enough to have an idea of how the device works in order to design it correctly.

During the installation process, you should pay attention to the following points:

The supporting frame (table) on which the workpieces will be bent should be made of metal (channel, thick-walled pipe, corner), but not wood. Since most of the load will be placed on it during operation, it must be durable and not fall apart at one point!

Tabletop. It is cut from a metal sheet with a thickness of 4 mm or more, and has a round shape. On top of it, the same snail with all the segments is cut out and laid, on which the blanks will be bent.

It is worth noting that you should not save on the thickness of the tabletop. It bears all the dynamic load. The thicker the sheet of metal from which it will be cut, the better.

Main articulated shaft. It is made from pipes with fairly thick walls. Placed along the central axis between two tabletops. Attached to the base with four rectangular corners (triangles).

Lever with roller. It is attached to the shaft, carrying out rotational movements around it during the process of bending the metal.

This is the simplest version of a do-it-yourself cold forging machine, accessible for installation without much effort. If you need to make more complex products, it will have to be modified.

Torsion bar machine

Designed for twisting loose parts. Has the following assemblies:

Frame (base, support frame);
Movable and static clamps (vise);
Handle for turning (twisting). The longer it is, the less effort you need to make. On the other hand, nothing prevents you from connecting an electric motor to the movable clamp, so as not to twist the metal by hand!

"Gnutik"

Designed to bend the workpiece at a certain angle (usually straight or sharp). Its design is simple:

Tool steel plate;
Movable stop (wedge);
Support shafts (2 pcs.);
Lever arm

In order to understand how to assemble it correctly, you can look at the photos that show various machines for cold forging and the features of their installation with your own hands, or a video that is freely available on the Internet.

"Wave"

The machine allows, due to controlled shafts (disks), to perform various zigzag and sinusoidal bends (it all depends on the design).

As in the previous design, there are static and moving parts. One disk rotates along an axis around the other due to a lever (knob). When the distance between them changes, a wave of one configuration or another is obtained.

Press

Its task is to form the tips (“leaf” and “crow’s foot”). Essentially, it flattens the end of the workpiece, giving it one shape or another. The most complex of the designs, components for which (especially the firing pin) will have to be purchased separately.

Sometimes it makes more sense to purchase the entire machine rather than assemble it in parts. But this is easier and more financially profitable for everyone.

Artistic cold forging is an art. Basically, it acquired a purely decorative color, without losing practicality and expediency. You can make amazing things from metal rods, fittings and other materials.