silver nails

[michael mott]

I have been working on a small project that required some small silver nails, these nails are 1/4 inch long and .035" at the largest diameter.

 

step 1 was to cut a wedge of silver from some annealed sheet silver, and using a tiny watchmakers hammer forge it roughtly into a rounded shape

 

 

step 2 was to clean up the long blank with a fine file

 

 

Step 3 using the same small watchmakers hammer to upset the head

 

 

step 4 back to the steel plate to tap the head into a round shape

 

 

step 5 with the rough nail in a pin vice a second peening to dome the head.

 

 

step 6 the top was polished with a leather polishing stick (Basically a strip of wood with some leather off cut stuck to it with double sided carpet tape)

 

 

The finished nails I actually had to make 2 of them.

 

 

 

Michael

[robnbill]

Michael, your techniques are always so instructive. Just like the tide, you lift us all.

[twintrow]

Nice job Michael...now what was the project??

Tom

[druxey]

Aren't you glad that you only had two to make? I'd have cheated and gone with the old 'cut nail' shape.

[michael mott]

Tom sent you a PM

Funny thing Druxey I had to make a couple more today and the last one was a devil.

 

Michael

[Bill Tuttle]

Wow!!  Beautiful work.  Nice pictures and instructions.

[michael mott]

Thank you Bill

and thanks for all who added likes.

 

silver is one of the most amazing metals that we can work with. it is the most electrically conductive, the most thermally conductive, and the most reflective metal according to the free encyclopedia.

 

It is also easy to change. I also needed a couple of pieces that were thicker that anything I had in the silver scrap box.

 

I took a small off-cut from a small silver map I made in the late 70's and melted it with the propane torch, it melted very quickly and cleanly into a small oblong blob.

 

 

This was then squashed and formed in the vice and with a polished small ball pein hammer using the flat side into a small wedge like shape.

 

 

Next this small piece was filed into a clean wedge and then using the jewelers saw (the thermally conductive part I can attest is very fast) cut a very shallow dovetail to lock the silver to a piece of Ebony.

 

 

This was then filed to form the final shape that I was after.

 

 

Michael

 

 

[druxey]

Silver is very malleable, but work hardens fairly quickly. However, it is easily annealed and worked further.