In the jewellery workshop: Hammer time
If you were to create the sound track of the London Jewellery School studios, hammering would definitely feature.
Hammers are an essential for silversmithing as well as being useful for other jewellery-making such as wire work. So here are a few that would be useful in any jewellery workshop.
Rawhide mallet. This studio workhorse hits your silver with less force than a metal hammer so is useful for shaping your pieces when you don’t want to damage the surface.
Texturing hammers do what they say on the tin. The ridged patterned ends allow you to make patterns on you metal. They come in a wider variety of patterns. Our beginners silver students usually enjoy testing out a range of these hammers on copper to see what they can achieve.
Ball-peen hammer. These all-purpose hammers can be used for flattening and shaping metal, removing dents and to drive chisels, punches, stamps.
Repousse hammers can be used for both planishing and forming metal into complex shapes and for light riveting. They can be used with a doming block, anvil or sand bag. The large flat surface reduces the risk you may damage your piece.
Riveting hammers are light weight and used for securing rivet ends. The heads are relatively small to allow you to be precise.
Hammers can also be in wire work to flatten and work harden your pieces. The Whammer pictured was designed by wire jewellery specialist (and LJS tutor) Linda Jones has a domed metal end for flattening and hardening wires against a steel block and a nylon end for working with coloured wires so that the surface isn’t damaged.