Sheet-Metal Worker’s Guide by W. J. E. Crane, 1911

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Sheet-Metal Worker’s Guide
A practical handbook for tinsmiths, coppersmiths, zincworkers
Comprising numerous geometrical diagrams and working patterns, with descriptive text
By W. J. E. Ceane
(Author of “The Smithy and Forge”)

This is the sixth edition of a great book on metal working. Published in 1911 and 109 pages of good information. Chapters include: Sheet metal working, soldering, geometry as applied to sheet metal working, and patterns.

There is a lovely section on metal forming tools, pictures of hammers and tooling, stakes, die-sets for working sheet metal (quite unique-forgotten today in the jewellery world except in blacksmithing), joints and joining (a remarkable set of options are detailed in depth). The definitions for types of joints is really interesting and very thorough.

A section on making gutters out of zinc shows useful tooling, making circular mouldings and shapes. Dies for this are well diagrammed.

The chapter on soldering deals very well with hard and soft solders. The section matching metal types to solder types and fluxes is really well done, and more information on the subject than I have seen elsewhere. The types of heating for soldering employed include the term ‘Naked Fire’, as well as hollow furnace or muffle, immersion in molten solder, molten solder or meal poured on, heated iron not tinned, heated copper tool tinned, blow-pipe flame, flame alone, generally alcohol, stream of hot air.

All interesting and not seen elsewhere listed this way. Soldering procedures, especially soft soldering ones, are really well detailed. Hard soldering was often done on special charcoal fueled tables with an air blast, very similar to a blacksmiths forge but built for soldering objects rather than for heating iron. Blowpipe use is described, and the beginnings of gas torches lauded.

The chapter on geometry and layout is useful for any jeweler, goldsmith, maker. It covers all the basics, really clearly and strongly. This information is not seen elsewhere in this distilled, practical way. Excellent. Wonderful details on making geometric shapes and forms from sheet metal. You can make any crystal shape using these techniques.

There follows a chapter on patterns, for various problems, cones, tapered shapes, ovals, rectangles and more.

A really interesting book. It was groundbreaking in its time, and remains current, and fresh today.

Charles Lewton-Brain ©2012
File Size: 3.34MB, 109 Pages

Files Included:
  • SheetMetal_wmk.pdf