Stamping

The easiest way to relief work metal is to stamp the decoration on, provided the metal is at least 1/10" (2mm) thick. Draw a design on the metal, and stamp it in using metal punches. ‘Ring and dot’ marks were popular and can be made by using a small hollow tube and punching a ring into the metal; the 'dot' is put in the centre of each ring with a simple centre punch.

Stamping the metal may distort the shape slightly and so the work may need to be reshaped after completion. The work will not necessarily have to be re-hardened after completion, as working the metal hardens it, also metal that is too hard becomes brittle and may break.