Folding a Rhombus Metal Weaving
Folding a Rhombus usually takes two people about an hour, including setup
The folds should never be more than 60 degrees – 50 is okay
The spacer templates are numbered 0 – 1 – 2 – 3 - 4 going from smallest to largest. 0 means no spacer
The Rhombus is on a shelf in the middle room
Roll out a sheet of mylar – lay the rhombus on top – cut the mylar to fit the rhombus – tape the mylar to the face of the rhombus – this is to prevent scratching the front
Pull out the Magnabender – use the dolley if possible - it needs to be situated between two rolling tables – the Magnabender will need to be raised up 12” on concrete blocks
Use small tabs of blue tape to mark the center folding line on the Rhombus – front and back
The folding starts with the centerline – lay the Rhombus flat on the Magnabender, line up the centerline – fold up 60 degrees – no more than 60, 50 is okay
When bending, you will need to use the longest metal bending template and two black Stanley clamps to hold the template in place
The top bends on the Rhombus alternate with a 0 – 0 – 1 – 0 – 0 – 1 pattern. The 1 equate to the two smallest size template
The center top has a ‘0’ spacing on each side of the fold, then the spacing proceeds with a 1 – 0 – 0 – 1 – 0 – 0 – 1 -etc.
Mark the spacing size on the front & back
the bottom bends on the Rhombus alternate with a 4 –3 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 3 - 2 pattern – this keeps it looking interesting and avoids the obvious fan fold
· the bottom center starts with a 4 on each side of the centerline, then proceeds with a 3-2-3-4-3-2-3-4-etc.
· it helps to mark the spacing size on the fronts and backs with a magic marker
Proceed until the Rhombus is completely folded
When finished, re-braze any welds that have popped up.
Now the Rhombus is ready for soldering on the back - that will take another hour or two
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