Forging precious metals
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Forging precious metals is no other thing than beating on it with a hammer. Suitable for forging are the metals finegold, finesilver, platinum, 14 carat and 18 carat yellowgold and sterlingsilver. Precious metals get forged cold, but they have to be annealed before being forged. |
< Exercise 1 Flatforging Take a small piece of silver or gold and put it on a flat piece of iron (or an anvil). Use a 500 g hammer to beat(smite) on it. When it became thinner and flater you stop. Then anneal it again, dip it into water and dry it again. Then you can start to forge again. Repeat this four or five times. The easiest metals to forge are finegold and finesilver. |
< Exercise 2 Formforging Take a piece of sterlingsilver (a sheet of about 1mm thickness) and forge it with a bullethammer. For the base use a curved piece of hardwood or a wooden ball). After having annealed it again, put in in water and dry it. Then you can forge it again. |
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Here you can see a woodball clamped in a vise.
Hold the silver sheet over it.
Then forge a curved form in the silver with a bullethammer.
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