Scratches showing up on hammered textured pieces help very much needed!

[SJEgan]

I'm not a formally trained jeweller, but I am living off my my income as one and I'm having a not so little problem at the moment and I was wondering if you could help. I'm running out of ideas myself!

A lot of the pieces I make are a hammered texture (I've attached an example pic) and I have been making them for about two years, since November I have been having reoccurring scratching on the pieces when I make them, 80% of the time they are too scratched to sell, which made Christmas a nightmare! Originally I thought it was a scratched hammer and ordered new ones; several new ones many of which were visibly scratched when they arrived with me, but over the last few months I have ordered about 20 hammers so I don't think it can be the hammers anymore as I never had a problem with them before and I have tried 4 companies.

My process is to cut out the piece drill holes etc, sand it, rinsing off between each grit, up to 2000 grade, then anneal and rinse, hammer, anneal, hammer, anneal until the piece is textured, solder jump ring, pickle and then polish using my barrel. Am I missing something really really basic? I don't think I've changed any of my process! Many of the scratches are curved and they are quite difficult to see. I don't know whats happening since before this I only ever had a problem once replaced the hammer and everything was sorted! I was originally using repousse hammers now have also tried plainishing and blocking hammers.

Any help is much much appreciated! 4347

[mizgeorge]

Are you keeping your hammers polished up? Micromesh is excellent for this. Even the tiniest mark on your hammer will transfer to the work.

The other possibility is that the pins in your tumbler are causing the problem. I haven't experienced this myself, but I think that's because of the pins in my shot mix - I know others have had problems, particularly with shot bought here in the UK.

[trialuser]

Hi, I was going to suggest it may be the pins in the tumbler (if you have any)
You could try putting a blank pendant which has not been worked and has the film freshly peeled off through the tumbler.
If any scratches appear you have the culprit.

[silken]

I agree, I think you've found your problem! The pins in the tumbling media are designed for reaching into little gaps that the other media cannot get to mainly in more complex, curved pieces. However, for flat pieces they can cause problems when they come into contact with the metal. Their sharp points can scratch the metal and cause marks that weren't there before. You can buy stainless steel shot mixes without the pin shaped pieces (just balls, planetoids, etc) or you can (painstakingly) go through the mix and take out all the pins. Just out of interest, are you using carbon steel or stainless steel shot?

Also, you should make sure that the barrel is completely clean and free of any grit or anything else that shouldn't be there. Just a few little pieces of grit/sharp bits of metal can cause problems with scratching and marring.

I rarely use my tumbler anymore because I like to polish things with my flexshaft, I find it so much more controllable and the results are fab. I use radial discs and sometimes eveflex rubber cylinders to bring the metal up to a high shine then give a final polish with rouge on a soft mop/pendant accessory. This works perfectly every time for me :)

[Dennis]

Hello, SJE,

There is a saying, 'if you can't beat 'em join 'em. You have invested heavily in hammers, but for this traditional texture I have only ever used one ball-pein hammer and I use the ball end. The ball does have some scratches, which transfer in a random fashion, but I think the result is quite attractive. Recently I have sometimes used the reverse side, which picks up imperfections on my steel block as well, because I think the texture is much more subtle.

Although I have a tumbler, I don't use it for this, but simply brush up the piece with a wet jeweller's brass brush and plenty of hand soap. The result is bright and glamorous.

You might be putting the blame on your hammer or tumbler unjustly. Grit from sand paper and filings on your bench and bench-peg typically cause long, curved scratches. The remedy is to wipe down your surfaces frequently and blow away filings as you work. When piecing (sawing) I sometimes put masking tape on my bench peg, so that I can see filings more easily.

I have cross posted with Emily, but you notice we are both drawing you away from your tumbler. Dennis.

[silken]

Yep, ball-pein hammer for me too. It makes nice little concave indents :)

Dennis is right, it could very well be grit on your bench. If you support your work on the bench at any point and there is some grit there it is ohhh so easy to get your work all scratched. That said, I was convinced it was a tumbler issue because I've heard of a lot of people bemoaning the exact same problem and the tumbler pins were the culprit.

I hope you find the culprit! I know how annoying it is to get scratches all over your nice new work. I would definitely recommend polishing by hand/machine rather than barrel polishing though, it's much more fun if not rather messy.

[SJEgan]

Hey guys thanks for the replies.

I don't think it's the tumbler, I have tried several plain not hammered pieces that I've done everything else exactly the same with and they've turned out fine. All my shot is fairly rounded don't think I have these pins you're talking about, I have recently bought mops for my dremel though to start polishing some pieces that way so will be moving away from the tumbler.

I was thinking grit but I rinse off if not anneal and rinse off between most stages so I thought that would have dealt with that. All the scratches are confined to individual "dents" but not to every "dent" so think its the hammer but its not all the time which is confusing me. I think tomorrow the bench is getting scrubbed down anyway in an effort to see if it helps. I never had this problem before November! And finally up and selling a good steady amount of stock and really need to be able to make the pieces first time rather then 2nd 3rd or 4th!

Fortunately since several of the hammers definitely were scratched Cookson and Suttons have been very good about replacements and or refunds, cousins not so much!

[Goldsmith]

You need a bench mounted polishing motor, then you can polish the hammer heads rather than asking for replacements. Also a bench polisher fitted with a bristle brush using something like Tripoli and then finishing with a soft mop coated with rouge will polish the hammered surface nicely. I polish my hammer heads using my bench mounted polisher fitted with a stitched calico mop coated with a steel polishing compound which is usually a white block, Silverline make one. See;
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Silverline-White-Polishing-Compound-500g/dp/B002QRYFP6/ref=sr_1_23?s=diy&ie=UTF8&qid=1361004687&sr=1-23

Here is a good value bench mounted polisher kit, all for £50 and free postage;http://www.metalpolishingsupplies.co.uk/silverline-bench-grinder-polisher-with-pro-max-30pc-jewellery-polishing-kit/

James

[SJEgan]

Ooooh James thats a very very interesting idea! And such a good price! I think you may have sold me on it :)

[Goldsmith]

Ooooh James thats a very very interesting idea! And such a good price! I think you may have sold me on it :)

With a price like this you cannot go wrong, the motor also comes with a 3 year warranty if registered online. When making single items, hand polishing is the best way to go. I can polish items in a few minutes with my bench polisher and you can see the progress while doing it. I also shape my own hammers using a grinder and polisher it's amazing how many shapes a standard small hammer can be shaped into.

James

Some of my hammers, some as bought and some reshaped.

43504351

[SJEgan]

Do they take forever to be shaped though? I'd imagine its a long process! I'd also imagine you can get some nice interesting shapes!

[Goldsmith]

Do they take forever to be shaped though? I'd imagine its a long process! I'd also imagine you can get some nice interesting shapes!

If you do treat yourself to the grindstone polisher I mentioned, then small hammers will only take minutes to shape on the grind wheels. When they are shaped they will last a lifetime. I also meant to say that you can get many types of textures using chasing punches and doming punches.

James

[SJEgan]

Thats my new toy bought! You're a bad influence James ;)

[Goldsmith]

You can never have too many tools in your workshop, sooner or later they will pay for themselves.
I have tried many variants of texturing during my long career. In recent times I have used a hammer head attachment on my flexshaft slip joint pendant drill, with this attachment I have detachable screw in hammerheads that I have ground to various shapes for texturing.
I have posted this photo before,sorry to those who have already seen it, but some newbies may not have seen it.

James

4352

[SJEgan]

Some interesting looking textures there, does the attachment work like a jack hammer or something?

Ye I (like I imagine most of the people on this forum) have a serious tool problem! It takes all my will power not to spend every penny I make! But stupid bills do need to be paid. I've wanted a proper polisher for a while now anyway so that machine will defo get used, just got to figure out where to put it! Unfortunately my workroom is the spare bedroom in a rented flat so I don't have much space to play with, and can't attach things to the walls. Still trying to figure out somewhere to put my rolling mill so I can actually use it properly :( Some day I'll have a proper studio! Hopefully some day soon!

[Goldsmith]

It's not great trying to adapt a small space for a workshop, have you considered using a Black and Decker Workmate as a folding bench to support your mills and polisher? a friend of mine uses one to great effect in her spare room studio, when not in use it folds flat and is easily stored away. She has blocks of wood bolted to her polisher and small rolling mills, which she grips firmly in the Workmate's large vice grips when in use.

The hammerhead attachment is like a rapid mini jack hammer, by twisting a control band on the handpiece you can alter the hammer pressures.

James

[ps_bond]

Some interesting looking textures there, does the attachment work like a jack hammer or something?

Pretty much, yes. It's very handy at times for setting work - means that you don't need to hold a hammer in one hand, a punch in another and the item you're working on in another...

I'm a bit ambivalent about surface textures - peined is fine, but any of the deeper textures are a bit of a swine to clean. Shallower ones like sandblasting look great, but wear off quite quickly. Which is not to say they don't look nice, it's more the after-care that bothers me.

Have you seen the stunt of mounting your rolling mill on an Ikea kitchen trolley?

[Tabby66]

Have you seen the stunt of mounting your rolling mill on an Ikea kitchen trolley?

I am now the proud owner 0f 3 (VERY very) sturdy Ikea kitchen trolleys, making up much of my workspace.........hard to beat at the price [-o<

[Dennis]

I'm a bit ambivalent about surface textures - peined is fine, but any of the deeper textures are a bit of a swine to clean. Shallower ones like sandblasting look great, but wear off quite quickly. Which is not to say they don't look nice, it's more the after-care that bothers me.

One finish which is not given the credit it deserves is done with a medium frosting wheel for flexshaft. It can be added as an afterthought, right at the end of the making process and is great for disguising blemishes, or finishing the whole of the back if it looks a bit untidy.

Parts can be masked off with masking tape, even to create a smooth frame, and it is relatively safe on fingers if not run very fast, but eyes need protecting against possible moulting wires. Dennis.

[Goldsmith]

This was a little silver gorilla brooch that I made for a friend, nothing special as it was a freebe for his daughter,but it was made from flat sheet silver and textured using my hammerhead attachment. I do not have a photo of the finished brooch as my friend was going to set stones in the eyes and then get the brooch coloured like a silverback gorilla at his electro platers and I am still waiting for him to send me a photo of the finished brooch.

James

4353

[medusa]

One finish which is not given the credit it deserves is done with a medium frosting wheel for flexshaft. It can be added as an afterthought, right at the end of the making process and is great for disguising blemishes, or finishing the whole of the back if it looks a bit untidy.

Parts can be masked off with masking tape, even to create a smooth frame, and it is relatively safe on fingers if not run very fast, but eyes need protecting against possible moulting wires. Dennis.

I use the brown or green small radial disks to get a matte effect. If you just do it one way then it's brushed, but if you cross hatch it, it gives a fairly uniform matte look.

[SJEgan]

That gorilla is stunning! I have a feeling spending time in these forums is going to end up with me buying a lot of extra tools!

I've never heard of this Ikea kitchen trolley idea, I'm off to google!

[snow_imp]

I have 2 Ikea kitchen trolleys in my kitchen - one for use with food preparation and the other is my "workbench" for jewellery. Love them both although cleaning the workbench always takes longer to do.