George E. Gee

“ When a solution begins to plate of an inferior kind through the acquisition of organic matter, it will be better to abandon it altogether and make a new one, rather than to waste valuable time in repeated attempts at improvement, which seldom can be effected in solutions that have been employed for all kinds of work. The silver may be recovered from such solutions by means of the battery, by precipitation, and by evaporation; the first process, however, we have not always found successful, the solution in some cases refusing to give up its silver to the action of the battery. ”

“ We have used copper and spelter in our silver solders, because we have found from experience that the fewer number of times a solder is melted the better it is for all purposes. This result of our experience is in direct opposition to those authors who have professed to treat upon this subject, and who can have had but a small amount of real practical knowledge, for it is argued by them that the oftener a solder is melted the more properly does it become mixed, and, consequently, the more fit is it for the workman’s use. ”

“ Experience has proved, more especially in the case of plain and strong work (or work that has to bear a strain in the course of manufacture) , that the soldering is more perfect and more tenacious as the point of fusion of the two metals approaches each other; the solder having a greater tendency to form a more perfect alloy with the metal to which it is applied than under any other conditions. ”

“ It is almost needless to remark that wire-rolling requires some amount of practical knowledge to perform it properly. The manipulations indispensable to the art of silver working are so varied and so numerous that we are at a comparative loss which part of the process to consider first; however, if we follow the course of the workman with regard to the production of the various manufactures of his art, we shall perhaps not be far wrong in our desire to effect the purpose we have in view. ”

“ When silver and brass, or silver and composition, alone form the component parts of the solder, these metals may be put into the melting-pot together, well fused, stirred, and poured out as before.
Solders into which volatile metals enter, upon repeated meltings, become hard, brittle, and drossy, and are therefore not so good as when the metal has received only one melting; it is for this reason that we have always preferred to manufacture our solders from metals which have not been melted before, or from those which have gone through the process as few a number of times as possible. ”

“ The English workman believes that if the work is worth doing at all, it is worth doing well; and we have no hesitation in saying, that, if a good technical education were afforded, concerning the precious metal trades, he would scarcely have an equal, and certainly no superior, abroad, in art workmanship, both in respect to the display of good taste and judgment, combined with a knowledge of design, so far as the exercise of these qualities is compatible with the manufacture of articles specially designed for use and ornament. ”

“ In this branch of art the French workman might learn something to his advantage from the English style of work, which is the most durable of any nation in the world. French silver plate and jewellery of the best manufacture partake of the first standard; all other kinds are of the lowest standard. ”

“ Whitening silver goods then is nothing more than the removal of the base alloy from the surface, leaving the pure metal behind with its full rich colour. Therefore to be clear, the process of annealing in contact with cold air oxidizes the copper upon the surface, and the pickling mixture so dissolves and removes it, that it gradually undergoes a process of refining, and is ultimately made to represent the finest material in all its purity.
Sometimes silver work is to be seen having a brown colour upon it; this is produced when the acid employed for cleansing has been too strong ”

“ But then it should be remembered, that in India the natives work from the pure material, a point which they rigidly adhere to; whereas we are compelled in this country to manipulate in all sorts of qualities; and some of these require no little trouble and difficulty to bring back to the surface the snow-white appearance of the pure metal. ”

“ The admission of a current of air into the furnace oxidizes the excess of lead, in combination with the silver, producing litharge on the surface of the molten mass; the formation of the litharge takes place rapidly, and it is continually blown forward by the strength of the blast as fast as it is produced, running through a gap or channel specially made for the purpose in the mouth of the cupel into a movable iron pot which is placed for its reception. The continual oxidization and flow-off of the lead alters the respective proportions of the metals in the cupel. ”

“ With the charcoal flux we have referred to, very nice and clean bars of metal can be produced. This flux is always floating upon the surface of the mixture, and, with a little dexterity in the pouring, it can be prevented from coming out of the crucible with the metal; its proper place is at the end of the pouring. When tin is employed, either in alloys or solders, its treatment is similar to that described for zinc; such alloys should not be kept too long in the furnace after they have become fused, as they rapidly become oxidized, especially if brought into contact with the air. ”

“ We have said that previous to the year 1815 all was dark and obscure with the precious metal worker, but from that period the work gradually rose in artistic excellence, and the trade very slowly improved; the cause of this no doubt being due, in a great measure, to the security afforded as the result of peace, and with it a revival of the industrial occupations. With the increased industries of the nation arose the pleasures and pastimes of the people, and racing became a national sport. ”

“ For it should be borne in mind that silver, like gold, begins to lose, in one way or another, every time it is touched; therefore, carefulness and economy will be the characteristics of our teaching, so far as regards the present subject.
The vast majority of working silversmiths know very little of the physical and chemical properties of the metal they employ, and still less of the comparison it bears with other metals in the field of science ”

“ Saltpetre is a very useful flux in dissolving impurities, but in some alloys its presence is injurious. Sandiver will remove iron or steel from the mixture. Corrosive sublimate destroys lead and tin. We have found the sub-carbonate of potash one of the best fluxes for silver, when matters have not been quite so straight as they should be in the working of the metal; it is used in melting the difficult alloy of 18-carat gold, and is considered a secret not generally known to the trade. Sal-ammoniac is an excellent flux for producing clean and bright ingots and tough alloys. ”

“ All these circumstances connected with the process, together with others which we could detail, proving that it is an art only to be acquired by practice, must be considered enough; and we proceed to observe that the skilful jeweller in soldering a large piece of work will direct the flame of the gas jet to all parts of it, until it is tolerably hot, and then return to the spot to be soldered, and by a very dexterous movement of the flame, produced by the blow-pipe, increase the heat at that spot until the solder has flushed and the parts are rendered thoroughly secure. ”

“ Wrought work is produced by hammering and soldering the various pieces or ornaments together; and one of the very first things to be attended to in the production of this kind of work is proportion, a knowledge of which is indispensable to true art-workmanship; for the piece of metal which is to be operated upon by the hammer should be of the proper size, so as to require none to be cut off afterwards. ”

“ Solders are manufactured of all degrees of hardness; the hardest of all being a preparation of silver and copper in various proportions; the next being a composition of silver, copper, and zinc; and the easiest or most fusible being prepared from silver, copper, and tin, or silver, brass, and tin. Arsenic sometimes enters into the composition of silver solders, for promoting a greater degree of fusion; and we have heard of workmen actually refusing to work with any other solder. ”

“ It is, moreover, capable of a higher finish, and possesses more evenness of surface, together with a combination of strength, that admirably suits it for articles and utensils for daily use, and which causes it to be preferred before that of any other nation; and while France, Germany, and other countries may exhibit greater ingenuity, to England belongs the credit of producing the best finished and the most durable work of any nation in the world. ”

“ The object of the information we are about to supply is to enable the practical silversmith to become a perfect master of his art or profession; and such a condition, when once achieved, will be found of considerable assistance to him in the various kinds of manufacture that present themselves; so that he will know how to begin a piece of work and when to leave it off; be able to remedy a defect in the metal when required, as well as be in a position to form an opinion as to the relative treatment of its different alloys ”

“ By the application of the processes about to be described, the finishing touches in their relation to articles or wares of silver manufacture are effected. These processes, as adopted by the trade, are various, almost every firm having a specially prepared mixture and mode of employing it. We shall refer only to those which, from their practical utility, are likely to be of service to those workmen who have to do with this particular metal. The branch of the art of which we are now treating comes only into operation when every other process of workmanship has been completed ”

“ Those prepared from nickel are much more infusible than those made without it; consequently, if a piece of the nickel alloy, either by accident or design, gets intermixed with the other quality, in a subsequent melting, it will be found to float upon the surface of the molten metal for some considerable time, and thus retard the process. Alloys prepared in imitation of silver are harder and much more difficult to work than those of the true metal ”

“ Zinc is one of the more fusible metals, and is sometimes employed by the silversmith in his alloys, for the purpose of imparting a greater degree of whiteness to them, as well as rendering inferior silver more easily bleached or whitened; thus assisting to bring back the natural colour of fine silver to manufactured articles, which have partially lost it by the addition of alloy of some other colour. ”

“ If this process is frequently repeated under a great heat, each time the metal is operated upon it loses a part of its malleability and ductility, which are both eminent characteristics of the pure metal. Most of the ordinary acids act on copper but slowly in the cold, but nitric acid very readily dissolves it, even if largely diluted. Copper amalgamates with most of the metals, and its subsidiary alloys are very largely employed in the arts and manufactures of every kind. ”