ONE: INTRODUCTION TO SILVERSMITHING
1 GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF METALWORK
Basic Exercises
Experiment A: Hammering with a flat, circular-faced hammer
Experiment B: Hammering with a convex, circular-faced hammer.
Experiment C: Hammering the central portion only
Experiment D: Hammering along the length with a rectangular faced hammer
Experiment E: Hammering along the width with a rectangular faced hammer
Hammers
Metal in Uneven States of Compression
Loose center 7 Tight center
A Metalworking Vocabulary
2 PROPERTIES OF METALS
Silver
Gold
Copper
Copper Alloys
Brass
Bronze
Copper alloys as substitutes for silver
Metal/Nonmetal Combinations
3 TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT
Measuring and Marking Tools
Holding Tools
Cutting Tools
Shaping Tools
Equipment
Electrical Tools
Supplies
4 CUSTOM-MAKING TOOLS
Working Tool Steel
Forging and shaping
Hardening steel
Tempering steel
Bending a mandrel
Tools to Make or to Alter
Chasing tools
Emery wheel
Making a lead pickle container
Making soldering clamps
Wire-bending jigs
Mounting a stake in a log
TWO: BASIC TREATMENTS
5 ANNEALING
Fluxing the Work
Types of flux
Procedures
The heat source
Judging annealing temperatures
Quenching
6 SOLDERING
Equipment
Heat sources
Solder
Flux
Yellow ochre
Other soldering equipment
Soldering Step by Step
Step 1: Good fit
Step 2: Clean metal
Step 3: Burning down
Step 4: Supporting the work and raising stitches.
Step 5: Adjusting the torch.
Step 6: Preparing the solder.
Step 7: Soldering
Common Soldering Situations
Seaming
Two flat pieces
Thin and heavy pieces
Base and bowl
Wire ring and bowl
7 PICKLING
Making the Pickle
Containers and Supplies
Pickling Step by Step
8 USING ABRASIVES
Aluminum Oxide Abrasive Cloth
Pumice
Scotch Stone
9 POLISHING
Equipment
Buffs
Polishing Step by Step
Step 1: Sandbuffing
Step 2: Buffing with tripoli
Step 3: Using white diamond compound
Step 4:
Polishing with rouge
An Alternative Polishing Procedure
Step 1: Using a Bright Boy wheel
Step 2: Bobbing
Step 3: Using red tripoli
Step 4: Polishing with white diamond
Matte Finish
10 CHASING AND OTHER SURFACE TREATMENTS
Chasing
Peparing and using a pitch bowl
Chasing the surface
Removing the pitch
Other Surface Treatments
Engraving
Etching
Oxidation and coloring
Repoussé
THREE: BASIC TOOLS AND THEIR USE
11 CUTTING STOCK
The Jeweler's Saw
Blade selection and uses
Accessories
Sawing stock
Aviation Snips
12 FILING
Types of Files
Recommended Swiss-pattern files
General Principles of Filing
Straight filing
Draw filing
Filing a flat surface
Filing a round form
Precision filing
Care of Files
13 HAMMERS
Seventeen Basic Hammers
Alterations to Hammer Faces
The planishing hammer
The raising hammer
The wooden mallet
The wooden raising hammer
The Bakelite hammer
Hammer Handles
14 STAKES, ANVIL HEADS, AND THE SNARLING IRON
Stakes and Anvil Heads
Hammerheads as anvil heads
The Snarling Iron
FOUR: GENERAL PROCEDURES
15 WORKING POSITIONS
Hammering
Raising
Planishing
Sawing
16 DESIGN, WORKING DRAWINGS, AND TEMPLATES
Form and Function
Making Working Drawings
Materials
Ellipses and ovals
Conical projections
Accurate Transfer of Drawing to Metal
Templates
Making a copper or cardboard template
Using a steel-spline template
Adjustable bevel gauge
17 SIZING A METAL BLANK
Raising
Normal proportions
Shallow proportions
Tall proportions
Oval objects
Free-form objects
A thickened edge
Sinking
Normal sinking
Shallow sinking
Forging
Stretching
18 STAMPING THE WORK
Handwrought vs. Handmade
Identifying Marks
19 REGULATING AND TRUING
Regulating
Truing
Raising low spots
Reducing high spots
20 PLANISHING AND BOUGING
The Hammers
Stakes and Anvil Heads
The Planishing Operation
Polishing
Restoring planishing marks
Bouging
21 REPAIRING WORK IN PROCESS
Cracks
Dents
FIVE: SPECIAL PROCEDURES
22 CURVING FLAT WIRE FOR GENERAL USE
23 MAKING A WIRE RIM FOR A BOWL
24 WIRING A ROUND RIM
25 WIRING AN IRREGULAR RIM
26 THICKENING AN EDGE
27 MAKING A BASE WITH FLAT WIRE
28 MAKING A BASE BY RAISING WITH CRIMPING
29 SEAMING
Cutting and Forming
Soldering
Finishing
Applying a Base
Completing the Creamer
30 CASTING
Lost-Wax Casting
Making the model
Casting the model
Casting duplicates
Sandcasting
Cuttlefish Casting
31 TAPS AND DIES
Equipment
Twist drills
Taps and dies
General Procedure
Cutting external threads
Cutting internal threads
32 MAKING A SPOUT
33 MAKING FERRULES
Making a Simple Ferrule
Making a Curved and Tapered Ferrule
Adding Two Ferrules to a Coffeepot or Teapot
34 PINNING A HANDLE
35 MAKING HINGES
Parts and Materials
Recessed Hinge with Lid Stop
Sizing and cutting knuckles
Soldering knuckles to box and lid separately
One-step soldering: an advanced technique
Silversmith's Hinge with Bearers
Under-the-Edge Hinge
Book
Hinge
Recessed Hinges: With and Without Removable Pins
SIX: PROJECTS
36 SINKING A BOWL
Preparing the Silver and Wood Block
Sinking
Regulating
Bouging and Planishing
Finishing the Bowl
Using a Dapping Die
37 SINKING A PLATE AND A TRAY
Equipment Needed
Making a Plate
Sinking the bouge
Correcting tensions in the first sinking
Second and subsequent sinkings
Final corrections
Making a Tray
Preparing the metal
Sinking the bouge
Correcting tensions
Final corrections
Wiring the rim
Finishing the tray
38 MAKING A BOWL BY RAISING WITH CRIMPING
Crimping
Preparing the silver
Dividing the blank
Crimping the silver
Raising
Hammer positions
Position of the hammer in relation to the stake
The first raising
Second and subsequent raisings
Setting the bottom
Raising Various Curves and Angles
Outward curves
Compound curves: angle raising
Small objects
Corrective procedures
39 MAKING A BOWL BY RAISING WITHOUT CRIMPING
Preparing the Silver
Raising
Trapping a wrinkle
The second through ninth raisings
Correcting and Planishing
Adding a Base
Finishing the Bowl
40 RAISING A CREAMER WITH SELF-SPOUT
Preliminary Steps
Raising at the Spout Level
Finishing the Creamer
41 CONSTRUCTING A BOX
Preparing the Silver
Scoring the blank
Cutting and filing corners
Bending and Soldering the Sides
Leveling the Box
Making the Lid
Making and Soldering the Bezel
42 FORGING FLATWARE
Forging Heavy-Gauge Metal
Tools and materials
Design considerations
Placing the hammerblows
Correcting warping or misalignment
Using templates
Forging a Spoon
Forging a Fork
Casting a Knife
Fastening a blade
Casting a spoon or fork in sections
43 FORGING A PUNCHBOWL LADLE
The first Forging
Sinking the Bowl
Raising and Forging
Final Shaping and Corrections
44 STRETCHING A GRAVY BOAT
The Hammering Process
Preparing the silver
The first stretching
The second stretching
Alternating forgings and stretchings
Raising the form
Adding a Rim, Base, and Handle
Gallery of Handwrought Silver
APPENDIX
Metal Wire and Sheet Silver
Tools and Supplies
Weights and Measures
A METALWORKING GLOSSARY