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Copper and Brass Tube Drawn from Strip
Forge

Created by

Forge

11. October 2026NO
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Copper and Brass Tube Drawn from Strip

Jewellers make tube from flat strip: the strip is curled into a gutter, then pulled through the shrinking holes of a drawplate, which closes it into a round tube with a seam along it. Drawn over a steel rod, the bore comes out the rod's size. The seam can be silver-soldered for a sealed tube. Copper and brass are both drawn this way, annealed between draws.
Intermediate
Half a day

Instructions

1

Strip width

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2

Cut the strip

Mark and cut a straight strip of annealed copper or brass sheet to the width, and taper one end to a point over 2 cm. File the long edges square.

Materials for this step:

Copper SheetCopper Sheet0.01 sqm
Brass SheetBrass Sheet0.01 sqm

Tools needed:

ScriberScriber
Tin SnipsTin Snips
File SetFile Set
Digital Caliper 6-InchDigital Caliper 6-Inch
3

Curl it

Lay the strip over a groove in the swage block and hammer a steel rod down on it so it curls into a U along its whole length; close the tapered end round the rod by hand.

Tools needed:

Swage BlockSwage Block
Steel Mandrel RodSteel Mandrel Rod
Ball Peen HammerBall Peen Hammer
4

Draw it closed

Wax it and pull it through the drawplate with the seam facing up, starting in a hole that just takes it. Go down the holes until the edges meet; draw over the steel rod to size the bore.

Materials for this step:

BeeswaxBeeswax5 g

Tools needed:

Steel DrawplateSteel Drawplate
Draw TongsDraw Tongs
Bench ViseBench Vise
Steel Mandrel RodSteel Mandrel Rod
5

Anneal between draws

Anneal at a dull red and quench whenever it stiffens.

Materials for this step:

WaterWater5 liters

Tools needed:

Propane TorchPropane Torch
Fire BrickFire Brick
Blacksmith TongsBlacksmith Tongs
Quench BucketQuench Bucket
6

Solder the seam

For a sealed tube, flux the seam and run silver solder along it with the torch. Pickle and rinse.

Materials for this step:

Silver Solder Set (Easy/Medium/Hard)Silver Solder Set (Easy/Medium/Hard)2 g
FluxFlux5 g

Tools needed:

Propane TorchPropane Torch
Fire BrickFire Brick
Safety GlassesSafety Glasses
7

Trim and measure

Cut off the tapered end, file the ends square and measure the outside diameter.

Tools needed:

File SetFile Set
Digital Caliper 6-InchDigital Caliper 6-Inch
8

Troubleshooting

Tube drawing troubleshooting.

Flow

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Materials

6

Tools Required

15

This blueprint makes

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Copper Tube

Free

248
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