Smooth the interior edges of the shape with a half-round file. Do not round the exterior edges of the mold. Smooth any rough patches on the mold with a small piece of sandpaper or an abrasive pad. Round the mold’s top and bottom edges just enough to eliminate sharp edges that may cut your metal, but not so much that you lose the design’s crisp edges.
Test the mold in the press with a scrap piece of 26-gauge, dead-soft copper. Smooth any edges that cut the metal. Mark the top and front of the mold with a marker, if desired, to keep your orientation.
Shape the copper vase. Place two 1/8-inch-thick (3.2mm) red urethane pads (95 durometer) on a 2-inch-thick (5.08cm) acrylic spacer plate. Place a textured, fully annealed piece of copper in the center of this stack. On top of that, place the vase mold, front side up (PHOTO 3). Insert this stack into the hydraulic press and press once to 5800 psi (2631kg). Release the press. Remove the copper and anneal it, making sure to quench it while it’s still hot.
Beginning with your acrylic spacer plate again, place a 1/2-inch (1.27cm) yellow urethane pad (80 durometer) on top. Fit your textured copper piece back into the vase mold, taking care to line up the edges of the copper with the mold (PHOTO 4).
Using masking or blue painter’s tape, secure the copper to the back of the mold. Place the piece—mold side up, copper side down—on top of the yellow urethane pad. Place this stack into the press and press to 3200 psi (1452kg). Remove the mold and copper from the press (PHOTO 5).