Volume 5, Number 1

January, February, March 2004

The
Traditional
Metalsmith
5 page pdf sample of the
16 page 1st issue of 2004

Our
5th
Ye a r!

Blacksmithing is not defined by time period or motif. Blacksmithing is defined by process alone.

Topic:
Repousse’
Tools & Process
Part 5

Motif: Hot
Chisel &
Chase

Tooling:
Historic Artist-
Blacksmith
Tool Styles

Architectural
Iron: Switch
Plates Part 1

Gallery:
European
Iron "A Bit of Everything"; Repousse', Chasing, Joinery
 Professional Smithing: Treadle Hammer
This new section, Professional Smithing,
will deal with the issues of making metalwork
of exceptional quality, in a modern shop and
business environment. While there are no
short-cuts to good work, there are some paths
which take longer than others and some tool-
ing solutions which save time without sacrific-
ing the unique quality of well made handwork.
In a sense, this section will address how a
smith can grow and prosper in our contempo-
rary, art and business world.
The end of the industrial age was also the
culmination of a technical age, in which tools
and technologies were designed to aid hand
work, not supplant it. The tools and shop- Fly Press Tooling
problem-solving approaches of a pre-WW2 Next Issue.
metalworker are more adaptable to the 'hand
made' art-metal shop (studio) now, than are the tools and technology of the
late 20th and early 21st century. Again, this is because the tools of today
replace hand work, while the tools and tooling solutions of 100 years ago
(and older) were geared to get the most out of hand work. Modern, machine
made, art metal work is as common as dirt; well executed, hand made, art
A pair of lights, set at metal work commands substantial prices. Professional smithing is about a
45 degrees, will elimi- shop approach in which the goal of making 'items and limited editions'
nate shadows cast by meets the 'thirty day business cycle' - with tool tips and safety topics as well.
tools and tool holder.
Wear Safety Glasses
There are two tools which a metalsmith can use in place of a
helper. The fly-press and the treadle hammer give the metal-
smith precision, control and an 'extra hand' in the shop like few
other tools can.
For centuries, a striker with a large, two-handed hammer 1 of 2 pages on Treadle Hammers.
was the extra power and 'third hand' of the blacksmith. It
is hard to overstate the advantages of striking, in a forge shop
operation. It is easy to imagine the cost (on payday) of having a
striker awaiting your needs and directions. As labor grew in
expense, the treadle hammer came into being. It's ability to act as
a precise, repetitious 'striker', can open the 'next level' of process
and productivity to a one-smith shop A treadle hammer, cou-
pled with properly shaped tools and tooling, allows a one-person
operation to experience two-person outcomes.
While a treadle hammer has limitations, especially in striking at Work smarter,
angles, the treadle hammer opens a range of work for a single- not harder......

To Subscribe, send payment to: The Traditional Metalsmith

1229 Bee Tree Lake Rd, Swannanoa, NC 28778
Printed Quarterly Rates: US & Canada $ 28.00 annually, Overseas $40, All payable in U.S. Funds Only
Written, illustrated and edited quarterly by George Dixon. Printed by Precision Graphics, Black Mountain, NC.
Published by NorDix Press - 1229 Bee Tree Lake Rd, Swannanoa, NC 28778
The contents of this publication may not be reproduced without written authorization from NorDix Press.
Metalwork can be very dangerous. Wear Safety Glasses. Be certain to know and follow safe shop practices.
Unless otherwise noted, metal work examples are by the author. Copyright 2004 NorDix Press The infor-
mation included in this publication is intended only for non-powered, hand tool applications.

The Traditional Metalsmith 2

www.traditionalmetalsmith.com - george.dixon@mindspring.com
 Motif: Variants on the Theme
Take a heat (yellow/white) and begin the
move the isolated band of metal at each of
the previously marked, layout location.
Work progressively along the bar. Do not
take any one 'wave' element too far ahead of
the rest of the effect. It is much easier to
notice and resolve errors in an evenly devel-
oping effect, than it is to undo one hard
swat.

1 of 3 pages on this motif.

Even depth cuts are the first hot

step. Evenly spaced cuts with a
curved chisel divides the bands.

Work evenly across the bar in, using very moderate force from
a hand hammer driving a ball-end tool, to push the heat weak- The 'wave' can be continuous or waves
ened bands of metal. A heat resistant glove is sufficient protec- can be stepped apart by even length,
tion for the hands, providing you are doing your own hammer- straight sections of metal band.
ing and tool holding yourself, otherwise, use a tool-holder

Kevlar gloves and

controlled, light, Here (upper and lower right) are
hammer strikes. two variants on the theme of 'isolated
bands of metal to manipulate'. Both
of the examples started with the same
outer lines.

The leg (lower right) had curved

chisel cuts spaced vertically on the
isolated, larger band (unsplit). The
same curved chisel was also used to
cut the increments, of the interior
band on the leg (drawing, top right).

The Traditional Metalsmith 6

 The goal of this series on repousse' is to
illuminate the range of process, styles and
tools involved. "Beginner" is a misleading
term. Once a person has a grasp of the
basics of the tools, blanks, process and
variants, they are no longer a "Beginner".
Nor are they a "Master". Between the
basics and mastery of a type of metalwork
lays the vast realm of practice and experi-
mentation. That realm is where the serious
learning happens.
The basic concept of stake repousse'
involves a patterned piece of thin sheet
metal (20, 22, 24 gauge), cut and annealed.
Above and below: two sides of the
same formed leaf veins. Use stakes
and hammers to create the 'hills &
valleys' of a stylized leaf surface.
Topic: Repousse’
A basic leaf form, made
with stake and hammer.
Wear Safety Glasses
The blanks (leaves or geo-
metric forms) are given vol-
ume from the back (hammered
into lead, wood or a metal
form), annealed again, and
then chased and detailed, from
the front, on a series of stakes
using hand-held hammers.
The hammers have varied
faces and sizes. They are
selected in conjunction with
the stakes, based on the
requirements and shape of the
pattern.

The leaf drawings show that

Stake repousse’, next issue.
'volume' (doming from the
back) and 'chasing' (details,
usually driven down, from the
front) are simple 'fullered lines'
in appearance.

This starts the 'stake repousse' segment of the Traditional Metalsmith

Repousse' Series. In that the magazine has other segments and only so
much room, it will be necessary to spread the process, patterns and tools
over several of the upcoming issues. Some of the tools and patterns of the
process begin on the next page. Start making tools and by the next issue,
process will make more sense.

Architectural Terms
from the 1888 edition of
A Concise Glossary of Architecture
Vignette: (French - also called Trail) a
running ornament consisting of leaves and
tendrils.
The front legs of the book stand on the

7
cover have a vignette in a panel, framed
between them.
 Tooling: Historic Artist-Blacksmith Tool Styles Historic Tool Series

1/2" to 1" x 1/16" to 1/4"

The repousse' stake tools shown here are drawn
from the Samuel Yellin Tool Collection. They are
shown life size. However, there are versions of
every tool shown here which are either smaller,
larger or both. So, making tools of these shapes and
in a range of graduated sizes, is the direction you
may wish to take toward making a set of tools.
There are more stakes, more specialized shapes,
which will be covered in this segment of future
Traditional Metalsmiths.

Tool dimensions are given for a The working ends

range tools made in the illustrat-
ed configuration. The dimen-
sions of the 'working end', as
blade length, is followed by
blade thickness:
1" to 1 1/2" x 1/8" to 3/8"
1" to 1 1/2" 1/8" to 3/8"
of the tools are made
in the same manner
as their smaller coun-
terparts; chisels,
fullers and ball tools.
The tooling is
forged, then filed, as
are most of the work-
ing ends depicted. See past Traditional Metalsmiths
for the blank shapes and forging steps which apply
to these stake tool ends.

1" to 1 1/2" x 1/8" to 3/8"

1 of 3 pages on these tools.
For the next few issues, this
segment will convey the the
range of stake shapes and
sizes which will then be used
in the concurrent repousse'
segments. The more special-
ized stake tools will be last.

3/4" x 3/4" to 1 1/2" x 1 1/2",

always a square back with a
Front and side view of a stake rounded front
end made for vise-mounting.

Tapered stake
end for swage
block mounting.

You have to decide how the stakes will

be mounted in your shop. A 'Wally Yater'
style swage block set has a pair of tapered
holes, made to receive tapered-base stakes.
If the stakes are going to be set in a vise,
be sure to forge solid, stepped shoulders which can rest on
the top of there vise as the jaws hold a 'tang'. Otherwise,
vise jaws almost always allow some slippage, which scores
the tool shank held in the vise.

The Traditional Metalsmith 8

 To Subscribe online: www.traditionalmetalsmith.com

To Subscribe by surface mail for 2004, send $28.00* to:

The Traditional Metalsmith
1229 Bee Tree Lake Road
Swannanoa, NC 28778 (USA)
Please print your postal information clearly.

Name:______________________________________________

Address:____________________________________________

City:_____________________ State/Province:______________

Country (if not USA):______________________Zip:________

The Traditional Metalsmith 2004, 4 issues, 20 pages per issue!

*US & Canada - Overseas Rate: $40.00

*U.S. Funds Only

Free art-blacksmithing how-to can be found at:

www.artist-blacksmith.org