Although metalworking is often relegated to making utilitarian objects, you can just as easily create beautiful artistic pieces for your home or landscape, provided you have the right tools for the job. This piece, inspired by artwork from the movie Serenity, is a great example. Suitable for hanging on a wall in your study or family room or suspended in a garden as shown here, its intricately cut Chinese symbols add beauty and visual interest to its surroundings.
Creating artwork that incorporates cut designs requires a steady hand and the proper tools. Because of its ability to handle tight curves and to make plunge cuts, one of the best tools for such a job is a spiral saw outfitted with a special bit that can cut thicker metal — in this case, 18-gauge steel. I used RotoZip’s RZ2000 spiral saw outfitted with an XB-MC1 Xbit metal-cutting bit. Here’s an overview of my process; you can follow the same steps to create your own unique piece.
Make the disc
Start by purchasing a 4-ft.-square piece of 18-gauge steel for the gong. Spread a tarp on the floor of your workspace. Place two unopened 50-pound bags of play sand on the tarp to form a rough mound. Lay the metal sheet on the mound and randomly hammer it with a heavy mallet or maul to create a dimpled surface (photo 1).
Once you’re done hammering, clamp the metal to a sacrificial sheet of 1/2-in. plywood that will provide stability during the cutting process. Use a trammel stick to draw a 3-ft.-dia. circle on the metal sheet (photo 2); then cut along the outline (photo 3). Work slowly and keep a firm grip on the spiral saw, as it can wander if you’re not careful. Make sure to set the depth so that the bit just penetrates the metal and barely cuts the plywood — otherwise you’ll generate a lot of smoke that can obscure the cut line.
Cut the design
Begin by drawing your design on the metal disc. Because my project involved intricate Chinese characters, I first created a computer-generated paper pattern. I liberally rubbed the back of the pattern with charcoal; then I placed the pattern on the metal and firmly traced the characters, letting the pressure of the pencil transfer the charcoal from the back of the pattern onto the metal surface (photo 4). To ensure that I wouldn’t accidentally erase the design during the cutting process, I traced over the pencil lines with a permanent marker.
When you are ready to cut the design, once again clamp the metal disc to a sacrificial sheet of plywood. Use a spiral saw outfitted with a metalcutting bit and plunge into the metal. Carefully follow the lines as you slowly make your cuts (photo 5).
Be aware of any areas in your design that would be trapped by your cuts and fall away. For example, the right lower character in my piece has two sections that needed to remain intact, but if I had followed the pattern exactly, they would have been cut away (photo 6). To avoid this, modify your design to accommodate these areas as best you can.
After you’ve completed all of the cuts, use a rotary tool outfitted with a small grinding wheel to smooth the rough edges; then wipe the disc with mineral spirits to remove any oil or residue before painting it. I used exterior-rated yellow spray enamel for the main color and brick-red stone texture spray paint for the outer ring of color. Once the paint has cured, all that’s left is to mount your artwork on a wall in your home or in a prominent location in your garden.
To make a framework for hanging this piece in your garden, view the Metal Gong Framework article.