Texturing Metal

[jamesp]

Laughing Jean. Sitting like that hurts to look at these days. I was going to say you being a bit older than me you are in much better shape:) guess i should be kidding

The hammer work is incredible. All of it.

[rockpickerforever]

James, I'll accept the compliment about me being in much better shape than you. (Although, as previously mentioned, that photo was taken quite a while ago, lol! However, I'm probably in better shape now than I was then.) But you forget that you are about eight months older than me! Selective memory?

I did take some photos of the treadle hammer, will try to get them posted tonight.

Edit - Nope, not tonight.  Took the photos, will get them up tomorrow.

[Deleted]

dang--------------->>

This thread has grown into a huge mountain of amazing!

Great job friends.

[Deleted]

RE: German Silver ---->

jamesp - Is this the stuff?? -> 60% copper 20% nickel 20% zinc?

Similar to today's nickels 75% copper 25% nickel --------------------

That's a hole pile of fun there!

[jamesp]

I think so Scott. The only german silver i ever worked with came out of those german trays. I learned on that material because it would rarely crack w/abuse(excessive hammering/stretching). They were so heavily silver plated. You can tell a lot about the quality of old silver plate by the thickness of the plating of course. Of the 8 german trays, two of them were a good bit harder to hammer form. They had the designation 18 8. Which is old for 301, and 18 10 is old for 316. Check it out:

"The 18/8 and 18/10 designations are older terms, and refer to the amount of chromium and nickel alloyed with the iron, to comprise the stainless steel. The 18/8 name has been pretty much replaced, in the States at least, by several other designations. 301 stainless steel has 16-18% Cr, and 6-8% Ni 302 stainless steel has 17-19% Cr, and 8-10% Ni 304 stainless steel has 18-20% Cr, and 8-10.5% Ni. That may explain your difficulty in finding information on these alloys. Similarly, 18/10 is usually referred to as 316 stainless steel, with 16-18% Cr, 10-14% Ni, and also 2-3% molybdenum, which greatly increases the resistance to pitting corrosion in seawater. Good stuff, that moly."

And a flat ware maker has this to say about 18 10 and 18 8:

"The difference is in the corrosion resistance (which I assume you're not interested in, since all will be fine for flatware) and in the ductility. A lower alloyed 301 has more ductility when work hardened than the higher alloyed 316. So after you stamp out your quarter hard sheet into forks, you can bend one of the tines more often, or farther, if it is of 301 rather than if it is made of 304 or 316, before it will crack."

Making the 18 8/301 friendlier on the anvil.

[jamesp]

To see the abuse test try wrapping a piece with copper wire and hammering the sh*t out of it. To get the softer flatter impression you can cherry red the copper and quench it in water and it will soften it a lot.
But leave it hard and it will split the sheet metal or crack it. You can wrap the sheet with solder, brass wite, twisted wire, ribbon wire etc to get crazy impressions. Sacrificial impressions.

[rockpickerforever]

Nov 25, 2013 0:07:47 GMT -5 jamesp said:

To see the abuse test try wrapping a piece with copper wire and hammering the sh*t out of it.

James, if you use a treadle hammer, all you have to do it hold it and let the machine hammer "the sh*t out" of your metal.  That way, you don't get a Popeye arm... 

Blacksmiths use them alot, but you don't have to heat the metal to beat on it.

I found out that the one we have was actually made as a punch press.  But it'd do the job.

Oh, and just like a large press, you can change the dies to affect different textures.

[jamesp]

When hammering that stuff i use 8,12,16,24,32 and 48 once hammers. And a 2,8 and 100 pound anvil.

Probably 80 percent is done with 12 once hammer and 8 pound rail anvil. Both polished to shiny(can sand 60-120-220-400-600+)

Ball peen hammer-flat side.

Wack away. Too much fun. ding ding ding ding-catch my drift? ouch, that was my finger !!

I don't have any neighbors to shoot me.....

[Deleted]

Nov 25, 2013 10:16:32 GMT -5 rockpickerforever said:

James, if you use a treadle hammer, all you have to do it hold it and let the machine hammer "the sh*t out" of your metal.  That way, you don't get a Popeye arm... 

haha. I don't think that's why he has popeye arm......................... - it's from crushing spinach cans...................

[jamesp]

I will never tell....

[jamesp]

Hodge podge of beginning metal work

[Deleted]

Jamesp - the king of etsy - you do sell all that stuff on etsy, dontya?

[jamesp]

Used to. Couple shops in Atlanta and one in Sacremento

[1dave]

Nov 27, 2013 19:54:54 GMT -5 jamesp said:

Used to. Couple shops in Atlanta and one in Sacremento

Shazam, you do get around!

[jamesp]

Here is the shop in Sacramento Dave
poshmark.com/closet/bowscollective

[1dave]

Nov 27, 2013 21:23:02 GMT -5 jamesp said:

Here is the shop in Sacramento Dave
poshmark.com/closet/bowscollective

AND a Fashion Expert!

[jamesp]

Well, they saw the jewelry on etsy and contacted me. i just beat on some metal and listed it. i am in no form a fashion expert. but i was impressed w/their fashion expertise!