annealing | Eileen Moylan

Spoon Part 4

03.04.2011 by Eileen Moylan //

This is part four of a series on how to make a spoon.

Click on the links to see Part one, two and three.

The spoon is nearly finished, all the cutting and hammering has been done. All that’s left to do is file and polish the piece. In this post I will go through the different stages of finishing as well as the tools and products I use.

I begin by filing the edges to even out any roughness. Once I’m happy with the shape of the spoon I remove the file marks with emery paper. I use different grades of emery paper from 320 to 1000 so I have less work to do on the polishing lathe.

Then I polish the spoon on the lathe. This is done using two different mops. The first is a roughing out mop which takes out the scratches and marks. This mop is made from numerous circular layers of fabric that are stitched together at the centre. The mop is used along with a polishing lustre. This is an abrasive compound that comes in a bar and is applied to the mop. While this initial polishing removes marks left from the emery paper it doesn’t bring up a bright reflective finish.

The next stage of polishing on the lathe uses a softer mop which is made up of layers of soft fine fabric. This mop is used along with a polishing rouge. Jewellers rouge is a red coloured compound bar that is used in the final stages of polishing. This rouge like the luster is used on the wheel to refine the surface. The rouge helps to obtain a fine mirror finish on the metal.

Because of the shape of the handle I use a small mop on my drill to get into the areas that the larger mop can’t polish. Like the polishing lathe I use the same lustre and rouge to bring up the finish. Now that all the marks have been polished out and the metal is bright and reflective I can clean the piece in the ultrasonic.

I’m going clean the spoon and set it up to be photographed over the weekend so I’ll post the results on Monday.

Spoon Part 3

02.25.2011 by Eileen Moylan //

This is part three of a series on how to make a spoon.

Click on the links to see Part 1 and Part 2

The bowl of the spoon is nearly finished so I began working on the handle. The handle is going to be curved as this is a baby spoon. In my original sketches I explored the different options for the handle and have decided to curl the handle in a loop.

To get this loop shape I am using my ring mandrel on a vice to curve the handle. I have annealed the spoon so it will be easy to manipulate. Using my mallet I begin by gently curving the handle around the mandrel.

When the metal starts getting stiff I annealed it again so I can begin to planish and finish the entire piece.

Once the spoon has been annealed and cleaned I planish it on the ring mandrel. Planishing is the when you hammer the surface with a highly polished hammer on a stake. This is to refine the surface after raising or sinking.

To get the curve on the handle I use my saddle stake. When the entire surface of the spoon has been planished and I am happy with the shape I can begin finishing the piece. This will involve filing the edges and then buffing and polishing it on the lathe.

Spoon Part 2

02.16.2011 by Eileen Moylan //

This is part two of a series on making a spoon. To see Part 1 click here.

Having cut out my spoon pattern I take the rough edges off with a file. I also rounded some of the edges slightly.

Because I will be doing a lot of hammering and forming on the bowl of the spoon I annealed the metal so it would be softer. Annealing is the process of heating and cooling the metal to soften it and make it easier to manipulate. To see my video blog on how to anneal metal click here.

Once the spoon is annealed and cleaned it is ready for sinking. Sinking involves hammering a flat piece of metal into a concave shape which has usually been carved into a tree stump. The bowl of the spoon is held over the dip and hammered into it using a mallet. The mallet hammers the metal without marking it.

The spoon is now taking shape so it is then put on a spoon stake to give the bowl of the spoon more depth and form. This is hammered using a planishing hammer. This highly polished hammer face is used to refine the form and surface on the stake. The stake that I am using for this is called a spoon stake as it is the shape of the bowl of a spoon. This domed stake is held in a vice.To see my blog post on some of my other stakes click here.

The way I hammer the piece is to start in the centre and work clockwise around the bowl until I get to the edge. When the entire bowl has been planished on the stake it is time to anneal it again. After annealing the spoon I will do some more work on the stake and then begin work on the handle. Part 3 to follow…

Video Blog on Annealing

02.11.2011 by Eileen Moylan //

One of the basic techniques you learn as a silversmith is how to anneal metal. Annealing is the process of heating your metal to soften it after it has been work- hardened with steel tools. It is necessary to anneal metal through the different stages of making so you are not working with a piece of metal that is too hard. This could result in the metal cracking or if you have a solder joint in your piece this could split.

Most people think that you just need to heat your silver and then quench it in water to anneal it, but there are a number of things you need to do to correctly anneal your metal. Using a piece of silver wire I will show how to correctly anneal metal and the difference in the malleability before and after annealing.

In this video you can see the benefit of having your metal correctly annealed. Not only does the metal ‘behave’ itself but it also makes hammering the metal much easier on you and your ears!

Cake Slice Part Four

02.09.2011 by Eileen Moylan //

This is part four of a series on making a cake slice. Click on the links to see Part 1 and Part 2 and Part 3.

Having cut out and filed my cake slice I was short one tool before I could take it any further. Since I was making this for myself, it didn’t really count as a necessity buy. Well now I’ve got everything in order and am ready to plough ahead with the project.

The first thing I did once the piece was cut out, was to polish it on the lathe. I did this so I wouldn’t have to struggle getting into the hard to reach angles once I had formed the handle.

When the piece was cleaned and polished I began to mark out the dip from the handle to the base. The reason I do this is so I can have a line as a guide when I chase the lines into the metal. Chasing is a technique where you use a variety of punches struck with a hammer to create a design or detail. For my cake slice I want to create a straight line across the base so I can then fold the metal along this indented line.

The piece is then held in the vice to bend it into shape. I brought it to a 45 degree angle but this can be increased or decreased when I have the handle work done.

The next thing to do was to anneal the handle so it would be easier to manipulate. Annealing is the process of heating metal to a particular temperature and then cooling it quickly so the metal is softened. The metal is then cleaned in a pickling solution as all the impurities have risen to the surface when the metal is annealed. This cleans the metal so it can be used on your stakes. It’s really important to clean all metal that you are working with. Not only does it damage your tools it can also play havoc with soldering. A joint will not solder so easily if it isn’t clean.

Now that my cake slice is nice and clean it’s time to start hammering…block your ears!

Models for a spoon

01.24.2011 by Eileen Moylan //

At the moment I’m making a simple child’s spoon to give me the opportunity to try out and show off my new stakes. Through this process I will demonstrate the various techniques used such as sinking, planishing and annealing. The first step involves designing and making a pattern for my spoon.

As with all of my projects I start out by doing my designs on paper and photographing then to play around with the angles and the curves. I have decided on a simple spoon shape so these photos show variations of curves and handles.

Having decided on the design I will use this pattern to outline the shape on the metal. The next step is to cut out this design in metal and using a technique called sinking create the bowl of the spoon.