Back to Bottle-Capping...

A couple of posts ago, I showed a bottle cap snake I had made for an ebay contest.
It was kind of fun to do, but I have now started hammering the caps flat for projects and I find the process much more fulfilling. At first I thought I could pound them flat on a piece of wood, but no, that doesn't work so well. Our garage is equipped with a couple old large vises and I found that setting the cap on the anvil part of the vise is perfect. It really only takes about three mild 'bamms' on each side with a regular hammer, but be sure to start with the front of the cap if you want the edges to mainly turn under to the back. For a couple seconds after they have been flattened they are quite warm and I think that makes it easier to shape them if desired. I used size 18 5/8 in. wire nails to attach the caps to the wood part of the fish which was once a cutting board.

I was about to put the finished piece in my etsy shop for sale, but my husband saw it and said "I want it" for his little cabin downstate. So now I just have to find out if he is kidding or serious because he has never really taken an interest in the junk, I mean folk art I do.

If you click on the finished fish you can actually see the detail of each cap. I think the Leinie's Big Butt caps my sister sent me are my favorite so far. But then the Bell's Oberon (yellow sun face on orange) ones from my son Max are pretty cool too.