Various types of stakes are used to form the metal sheets in different kinds of shapes. The stake is a sort of anvil, which supports the sheet for sheet metal work. Stakes consist of a shank and a head or horn. The shank of the stake is designed to fit into a tapered bench socket. The head or horn of stake is available in a number of varieties of sizes and shapes. Working faces of stakes are machined to the required shape. With the use of tools like a hammer, operations such as bending, seaming or forming can be performed easily with stakes. Few stakes are made of forged mild steel faced with cast steel material. Whereas the better class stakes are made either of cast iron or cast steel material.
Below images show us the different types of stakes:
(a) Beak horn stake: Beak horn stake (shown in Fig. (a)) is basically used for forming, riveting and seaming articles made of sheet metal parts. It is not much suitable like blowhorn stake. The beak horn stake has a thick tapered horn at one end and a rectangularly shaped horn at the other end.
(b) Funnel stake: Funnel stake (shown in Fig. (b)) is commonly used for planishing tapered work and hand forming of funnels and similar conical shapes of sheet metal.
(c) Half moon stake: Half moon stake (shown in Fig. (c)) is basically used for throwing up edges of curved sheet metal work and for preliminary stages of curved wiring edges.
(d) Round bottom stake: Round bottom stake (shown in Fig. (d)) is commonly used for squaring up edges and setting up the bottom of cylindrical jobs made up of sheets.
(e) Bick iron: Bick iron stake (shown in Fig. (e)) is mainly used for forming taper handles, spouts and tubular work in general. The narrow flat anvil end of brick iron is useful for the rectangular piece.
(f) Hatchet stake. Hatchet stake (shown in Fig. (f)) is generally used to make sharp bends, bend edges, and form boxes and pans of sheet metal by hand. The Hatchet stake has a sharp straight edge beveled along one side.
(g) Creasing with horn stake: Creasing horn stake (shown in Fig. (g)) has a round horn used for forming conically shaped pieces in sheets. The other end has a tapering square horn with grooved slots for wiring and beading.
(h) Needlecase stake: The needle case stake (shown in Fig. (h)) is commonly used for bending sheets. The needle case stake has a round slender horn for forming wire rings and tubes.
(i) Candle mold stake: Candle mold stake (shown in Fig. (i)) has two horns for different tapers when forming, seaming and riveting long flaring articles made up of sheet metal.
(j) Blow horn stake: Blow horn stake (shown in Fig. (j)) is generally used in forming, riveting and seaming tapered articles such as funnels.
(k) Conductor stake: The conductor stake (shown in Fig. (k)) has two cylindrical horns of different diameters. Conductor stake is used for forming, riveting, seaming tubes and small-sized pipes.
(l) Double seaming stake: Double seaming stake (shown in Fig. (l)) consists of two cylindrical horns of different diameters. it is commonly used for riveting, forming, seaming tubes and small-sized pipes.
