I had planned to visit the Future Makers exhibition in the Wandesford Quay gallery yesterday and tell you all about it but when I got there I discovered they only open from Wednesday to Saturday.

Anyway instead of going to the exhibition I came back to the workshop and began adapting some tools.

I got some punches in Aldi last month and they’ve been sitting patiently at the back of the bench waiting for me to customize them. I plan to adapt them into different shaped chasing punches. Chasing punches are used when chasing metal. This technique involves detailing the front surface of a piece by hammer striking these punches onto the metal.

The ones I got from Aldi are a bit bigger and heavier than you would normally use in silversmithing but at €8 a set I was willing to compromise!

I started by turning one of these flat punches into a curved punch. I have a set of old files that I use for this type of work so I began by filing the rough shaped curve into the punch. It’s a good idea to mark it out first but I won’t pretend I was that organised!

I used the side of my bench peg and some emery paper to take out the file marks. The curve on the side of my peg sat perfectly into the curve I had filed out. It was great for getting into the curve without distorting it.

As I was working I used a scrap piece of copper to test how the punch was turning out. Here’s a picture of the test piece. You can see how the curve is going from think and clumsy to more even and refined.

And here’s what it looked like before I gave it a final polish..

As well as relaxing during my holidays I also picked up some new and second hand tools.

I got some hammers that are in need of a good cleaning. I plan to reface these and alter the shape of them slightly to suit my needs. I’ll update this with another post as it’s a messy job and not one I wanted to start on my first day back!

I also picked up these punches and chisels in Aldi last week. While the shapes aren’t exactly what I was looking for it’s nothing a bit of filing and polishing can’t sort.

I’ve been looking for chasing punches and after having been outbid for a set on ebay I went looking for something I could adapt. These sets were €8 each in Aldi and are perfect for what I need.

These punches are used when chasing a piece of metal. This technique involves detailing the front surface of a piece by hammer striking these punches onto the metal.

 

I’ll post some more photos when I’ve transformed the punches and hammers…

 

I’ve been so busy using my vice I forgot to update you all on how it turned out when I gave it a make over.

Like all the best make overs it requires before and after photos. So here you go…

BEFORE

 

THE CLEANING

 

 

AFTER

And now here’s my vice all cleaned up and in use…

 

The photo above shows my vice in use. I know it looks like it’s growing a pair of white antlers but that’s actually one of my new stakes that I got in Birmingham. It was designed by Cynthia Eid (who taught the course I attended) and is used in synclastic and anticlastic forming.