How to Make Shaper Cutters
- 1). Draw your design on a piece of paper, cut it out and tape it onto the sheet of tin. Trace around your design with the sharp point of the awl.
- 2). Remove the paper design and cut the shape out of the tin along the traced line. Flatten the tin with the rolling pin so the edges won't curl.
- 3). Outline the entire shape with a piece of string to measure the outer edge. Cut a strip of tin ¾-inch wide by the length of the string plus ½-inch.
- 4). Curve and bend the strip of tin to fit around the shape of the flat design. Use pliers to make sharp corners.
- 5). Clean the surfaces of the tin with the steel wool. This will help the solder to adhere better.
- 6
Better to be stingy with the solder and generous with the heat.soldering image by Bube from Fotolia.com
Apply flux to the surfaces you are joining and heat with the tip of the iron. Touch the end of the solder wire to the heated tin until the solder melts. Hold the tip of the iron so it touches both the surface and side of your shape to melt the solder between them. - 7). Remove the iron but still hold the two pieces of tin together. Wait a few seconds until the solder is cool and hard.
- 8). Continue to do this around the cookie cutter joining the surface to the sides. You don't need to lay a solid line of solder since you are not trying to make this form waterproof so small gaps are fine.
- 9). Overlap the ends when you've gone completely around your shape and join the sides. Snip off any excess overhang and solder them together.
