[Jewelry making - Article 00073] - Re: [Orchid] Re-plating a water pitcher

[David L. Huffman]

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>         Hi David: You must have owned or worked in the plating field
>     to have all that knowledge of it. My name is Raymond Cutuli  owner
>     Trio Silversmiths www.triosilversmiths.com 

    Hi Raymond; You're pretty close.  I once worked for a company who
    took in silver plate and sub-contracted it out to a plating company. 
    It was the main source of income for the firm, and we had a room full
    of the stuff most of the time. We also did a lot of the repair and
    prep work ourselves.  The real sterling stuff we repaired ourselves,
    removing the bezel on the bottom and melting out the pitch to repair
    cracks and holes.  We used a "snarling iron" to remove dents.  Most
    people don't know that the hefty feel of a silver candelabra is
    mostly due to the pitch or plaster it is filled with and that the
    metal is really paper thin.  They twist the candles to tighten them
    in resulting in the candle cups getting all twisted and cracked at
    their bases. Personally, I have done a lot of raising the old way,
    forging, sinking, raising it in courses, planishing, thickening the
    rim or forging/rolling it over a wire, etc.  I used to use the
    reflection of the flourescent light tubes on the ceiling to guage the
    eveness of a raising through the many courses it took to bring it up
    and close it in.  Anyone that can get ahold of and view a film called
    "The Silversmith of Colonial Williamsburg" will appreciate what goes
    into the making something in this manner.  Now I think most folks
    would prefer to use hydraulic deep draw methods, but I still long
    sometimes for the sound of a raising room. 
    Thud-thud-thud-thud-CLICK! 

David L. Huffman


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