Need help with hammering/texture on silver

[Luann Udell]

I LOVE that handforged, sort of chunky-hammered look on sterling jewelry components--specifically, I want to make my own large flat jump rings that look hammered.

When I try to do it to ready made jump rings, I just get a ring that looks like a car drove over it a few times: Mostly flat, scratchy, rough.

OR after I flatten the ring, it's too work-hardened to accept more hammering.

I tried to search some of the other questions on hammering & texturing silver, but got lost in all the extra information offered! :^D

I've downloaded tutorials on hammered silver projects, and even checked out Tim McGreight's metalsmithing book. But can't find step-by-step instructions. They all just say, "Add texture by hammering." 

Oh, and if I hammer on a work surface, the front gets textured but the reverse side flattens out again!

I don't want a pattern---just that "definitely hammered, thick/thin" look.

Help??

[Polly]

Hi Luann,

What about hammering your jump ring on a textured surface?  Maybe select a portion of wooden bench pin, or get a wooden block of some type, and use a ballpeen hammer to beat the heck out of an inch or so of it.  That might help the bottom side of the jump ring receive/keep texture when you texture the top of it. (I suggest a ballpeen hammer from the garage, rather than one from the jewelry bench ... but it's only wood, so either should be ok.)
Also, I'm not sure how much the type/hardness of wood affects the texture. Is pine too soft?

I plan on making some large jump rings this week, to finish hooking a project together. And you know what? On my tester the other day I ran into the same problem you're describing.  So ... I'm hoping some others chime in on this too, with either some better advice or to agree that this works.

Or maybe we should just do 2 hammer marks on one side, flip over, do 1 or 2 on the other side, and repeat a few times?

--Polly

[Melan Designs]

Do you have a torch? 

[daverobertson]

There's some advice from Julie Levitt about this subject over at R&T's Bead Fans page...

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Spokane-WA/Rings-Things-Bead-Fans/86389526087

 

--Dave

[Rose Queen]

Once you get the texture you want on one side of your rings (using your hammer and a steel bench block), place a piece of chipboard or cardboard on the block, turn your rings over onto the chipboard, and hammer. The chipboard prevents the texture you put on the first side while you hammer on the reverse. Because jump-rings are so small, you might want to use a riveting hammer for your texture. Also, if you don't mind base metal, don't forget about your neighborhood hardware store -- washers are great subjects for texturing. I also love the copper washer sets you can buy at Harbor Freight stores or in their catalog - $10 for 110 washers. A little hammering and some liver of sulfur and, voila!, they have all the character you could want!

Hope that helps!

[daverobertson]

Nice tips, Rose Queen, thank you so much for joining in & sharing lots of expertise 

[Metalman]

All great ideas and suggestions above. Here are a few more.

• when you have hammered your metal to the point that it won't take any more makes - you need to anneal it. If you are annealing silver - you need to deal with flux, firescale prevention and pickling [McCreight's book should be a help here]
• You can get good marks from a cross peen hammer. To get it to mark both sides, get 2 hammers, put one in a vice with the cross peen up and hold the metal between and hammer away. You have probably noticed that the hammering causes the metal to distort its form. You can learning to control this.
• When you hammer to texture and shape thick material like wire - that's called forging When you hammer sheet stock up into shapes and forms that is called raising You can find further information in metalsmithing sources using these terms.
• Polly is on it with the 'hammering on a textured surface' but that surface needs to be hard [unlike most texture plates we have around] So - looking at old tools, pieces of railroad rail, big old hammer heads, old rasps and files. - lots of texture there. Using a grinder or die grinders you can/could make texture in various tool steel surfaces that you can then hammer into. Hard woods will work for some textures and acrylic sheet [1/4" thick] can be carved for textures as well. If your metal has been annealed and is soft enough - it should take textures just fine.
• Metalsmithing hammers tend to be expensive. You will want some of the good ones as you go along. I beefed up my hammer collection at the auto body supply sources - body working hammers frequently have the same shapes as metalworking hammers but are way cheaper [also not as well polished, etc but...]