Marcus Hunt
~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Hi guys, this might seem like a dumb question to those fabricating jewellers amongst you but I'm only an engraver. I'm looking to get hold of and engrave some decent silver money clips but when I looked into the price of them I figured it couldn't be that difficult to make some myself.....could it? Any advice on how to make them will be very gratefully received.
Okay, so here are my questions. Firstly, is the silver difficult to bend whilst keeping the long flat side flat?
Secondly, how do you go about hardening the bend so it springs back and grips the folded bills? The only thing I can think of is hitting it with a rawhide/nylon mallet to try and work harden it.
Thirdly, have any of you used argentium silver to make money clips? Apparently it doesn't tarnish and can be hardened in an oven. When hardened, how does it compare to steel? Or is stirling silver best/better to use?
Last question, what sequence is best to use? Polish, engrave, bend, harden or polish, bend, harden, engrave or polish, bend, engrave, harden?????
As I said, any advice on the process whatsoever will be very gratefully received.
Okay, so here are my questions. Firstly, is the silver difficult to bend whilst keeping the long flat side flat?
Secondly, how do you go about hardening the bend so it springs back and grips the folded bills? The only thing I can think of is hitting it with a rawhide/nylon mallet to try and work harden it.
Thirdly, have any of you used argentium silver to make money clips? Apparently it doesn't tarnish and can be hardened in an oven. When hardened, how does it compare to steel? Or is stirling silver best/better to use?
Last question, what sequence is best to use? Polish, engrave, bend, harden or polish, bend, harden, engrave or polish, bend, engrave, harden?????
As I said, any advice on the process whatsoever will be very gratefully received.