 |
| Janet Alexander |
Can fired sterling silver metal clay take the brunt of a hammer?
 |
| Design Template |
 |
| Spoon Plank |
I made two spoon planks rolling them out eight cards thick, and lightly
texturing the handle areas. I fired them per Mitsubishi's instructions
in the kiln.
I hammered the first spoon using a steel dapping block, which was too
deep to support the metal correctly. I promptly put a hole in it.
With the second spoon, I wanted to use a wood block but didn’t have one
the correct size. So, I made one out of a stump of firewood I found
laying outside the house.
 |
| Firewood |
 |
| Carved wood |
First I traced the bowl area’s outline onto the end of the stump. Then I
used a 10mm ball bur and my rotary tool to carve out a shallow area.
I hammered the bowl area with a rounded raising hammer on the carved stump.
After I got it somewhat domed, I annealed the metal.
 |
| Time to anneal |
 |
| Using a dapping tool |
I carved the hole in the stump deeper, and since my hammer was too big
to fit where I needed it, I used a dapping tool and a rawhide mallet to
forge the spoon’s end into the stump.
It worked fine so long as I stopped regularly to anneal the metal before pushing it too far.
 |
| Front side of hammered spoon |
 |
| Back of hammered spoon |
Success! Fired PMC Sterling can be forged and the spoon is ready for refining and finishing.
