Chasing and Repousse

Time to get back to making a few of my own tools.  While looking for ideas for shapes to make I came across several people who make beautiful chasing and repousse tools.  Above Knitsteel on Flickr.

 Anvil Fire

2MoonTools on Etsy

The Mettle Works

Victoria Lansford

 

Nechamkin Silver Studios

Stumped

A collection of jeweler's stumps used for supporting stakes, carved with concave shapes for forming metal and doubling as work benches.

Fisher Norris Eagle

She finally arrived!  After being stuck in limbo for two weeks at the local post office my 'new' vintage anvil was delivered yesterday on the front seat of Ruby the mail carrier's truck.  Excitement commenced with a happy dance and I met her at the truck for the hand over.  After asking Ruby for the last two weeks if she had a large package for me she knew when she received her distribution exactly where the heavy box was to be delivered.

Fisher Norris was the first large scale manufacturer of anvils in the United States.  Fisher Norris Eagles were manufactured from 1843 to 1979.  Their unique patent manufacturing process involved welding a tool steel plate onto a cast iron body in the mold when the anvil was cast.  This process also produces a much quieter anvil than other wrought iron or steel anvils which ring like a bell.

She is currently enrobed in black glossy paint and a previous owner ground a concave slot and two small dimples in her horn which I am sure will come to good use. She has two pritchel holes and no hardy holes (square).  The pritchel holes are used for punching holes through metal or holding tools that have a round shank.  Under her horn she is marked 4 for 40 pounds and stamped FISHER and on her side is the distinct Eagle mark can be seen in the last photo.  She needs a name and will soon get a make-over with a light grind and polish on top to get her ready for making jewelry. 

Hand Made Tools

Here are a few tools I made last year for jewelry work.  These were made with tool steel and hand filed with files and diamond bit files.  Each steel piece was heated several times to dull red then dunked in water to temper.

insectes éthérés

It arrived.  Last week.  The most amazing hammer in the world.  Okay that is a bit of an exaggeration but not by much.  What is it you ask?  Insectes éthérés is a custom engraved macro spiculum hammer for jewelery fabrication.

How did this happen?  It is sort of hard to explain how one falls in love but it went something like this.  I took a workshop led by NC Black, they teach micro forming for jewelry fabrication.  I made my first spiculum, then a furry bracelet and other cool shapes and jewelry bits.  The spiculum hammer was my favorite tool of the workshop.  I thought it was the most unique of the tools used for micro forming and when you look at the hammer shape you know it is something special.

Then I took an engraving workshop from NC Black.  While I did a good job for a beginner I am years away from being proficient.  The teacher, Les Byrant, was amazing.  An excellent, patient teacher with a great sense of humor and a huge amount of creativity and talent.  You can see Les' work on his website Le Graveur De Vol or on his etsy page Fluffy's Corner, be sure to check out the Bad Kitty cuff bracelet.

So I fell hard and wanted Les to custom engrave a hammer for me and I requested it to be in the theme of a cabinet of curiosities. 

If micro forming metal sounds appealing to you, I highly recommend NC Black's workshops and you can find dates for a workshop near you on their NC Black website or their updates under NC Black on Facebook.

So here it is, insectes éthérés with a beautiful Wenge wood handle, and the last photo is that of the first spiculum I made.

Jeweler's Bench Tips

Jette Sorenson submitted this winning jeweler's bench tip to Rio Grande's recent contest.  “When soldering small jump rings, a regular Third Hand [cross-lock tweezers] becomes a terrible heat sink.  A sharpened graphite stick, fastened in a Third Hand, will make the soldering much, much easier.”

Jeweler's Bench Tips

Making loops, quick jump rings, bends consistently the same size is important in fabrication of the earrings and the shepherd hook clasps I make. I have marked my round nose pliers with several permanent marker ticks. This way my loops and bends are always the same size.
 
Rio Grande Studio Blog  I entered this tip for their contest.

Special Delivery

Rio Grande's new Tool & Equipment catalog arrived recently.  Like a kid in a candy store and with my love for tools I found my self tagging a number of pages.  Looks like I will be placing an order soon.  I think the anvil will need to wait until I have a dedicated studio space.

I think I could have a lot of creative expansion with a wax gun.  

Hmmm... I just saw an email from Rio and it is on sale!

 

Safety is important.

 How could I imagine that I need another hammer?  Or two?

If I Had a Hammer

23.  Not my age or my favorite number.  23 Hammers.  That doesn’t include the one in my household toolbox that would make 24.

Made from wood, nylon, rawhide or steel.  Each with a different task for riveting, shaping, forming, raising, planishing and chasing. 

I can not explain how this gathering has happened, except to say that what one can do with a hammer to make a simple sheet of metal twist into a complex shape is awe-inspiring.  

My all time favorite hammers are from NC Black and designed for micro forming.  They teach amazing workshops not to be missed.  Tools and workshop schedule can be found on their website www.ncblack.com

But the one hammer that holds a special place in my heart is the one pictured above that my dad gave me.  It is just 8” long and 2” across, he made it himself when he was in high school metal shop.