Metal working is an original art. The technical side of metal art is its solid foundation on which the art can flower. Silversmithing is the cold working of metal. Blacksmithing is the working of metal at hot temperatures. Sliversmithing means that we take a flat piece of metal (any shape) and by means of different hammers and other simple tools, transform it to the object of art. A sophisticated craftsmanship in silver and other metals allow us to create beautiful objects. Let's make an elegant tray.
Instructions
Hammer work
1. Understand that metal art depends on the reaction of metal to the forces applied to it. Each technique for creating a silver piece involves subjecting metal to hammerblows: the force of the blow, the shape of the hammer, the surface against which the hammering is done and the relative position of the points of impact between hammer and metal and backing surface vary. Thus the result will vary.
2. Use a planishing hammer with a flat face and a flat surface and beat the silver. This creates stretching by compression. As metal is compressed it becomes thinner, longer and wider. Tension is introduced whenever the hammer strikes the metal. The three factors at work there are "thinning", "compression" and "tension".
3. Use a planishing hammer with convex face, the arc of which is equivalent to section of a 2' circle. Hammer the silver remembering to aim the blows carefully. The curved face of the hammer drives apart the metal with greater force. The more convex the hammer face, the more the metal it compresses, stretched and thinned.
4. Hammer the central portion of the lead only. Hammer the surface with the slightly rounded planishing hammer, but leave a 1/2" margin unhammered. It is essential to aim the hammer blow accurately. The metal will curve upward on both its long and its short axes. The hammerblows have compressed, thinned and stretched the central portion of the lead. This is how you make trays.
