|
A GLOSSARY of MILLED BANDS
|
|
| How to Post Photos |
REGISTER (click here)
|
|
A GLOSSARY of MILLED BANDS
|
|
| How to Post Photos |
REGISTER (click here)
|
|
 SMP Silver Salon Forums
 American Silver before sterling
 spoon-making
|
 SSFFriend: Email This Page to Someone! |
next newest topic | next oldest topic |
| Author | Topic: spoon-making |
|
akgdc Posts: 289 |
posted 02-28-2006 05:09 PM
  
How long would it have taken - more or less - for a typical 18th-century silversmith to make a spoon? Do any of our silversmith members have an idea? IP: Logged |
|
Scott Martin Forum Master Posts: 11520 |
posted 02-28-2006 08:46 PM
I don’t know. What I can tell you is that the demonstration Geoffrey Blake did for us while we were at ONC (see; Our visit to Old Newbury Crafters) was great. And it only took a few minutes of hammering before a small piece of silver began to look like a spoon. We didn’t have the time to witness all the finishing steps, which I think could have taken a little bit longer. Geoffrey paticapates here from time to time. When he sees this post I am sure he will give use the time line. IP: Logged |
|
argentum1 Posts: 602 |
posted 02-28-2006 11:17 PM
As WEV said it will take a silversmith to answer the question. I would think the timeline will vary considerably depending upon when the spoon was made. 18th century and your looking at melting silver, pouring it into a mould then hammering into a suitable size. Then comes the actual spoon making process. If a spoon of the 19th century then it is a partial to full machine manufacture process requiring much less time. It will be interesting to see what the answer is. An 18th century teapot made in williamsburg takes about one week. There is a website in which a silversmith at Williamsburg is interviewed. IP: Logged |
|
argentum1 Posts: 602 |
posted 02-28-2006 11:18 PM
Scott, please forgive my name mixup. Senility is finally catching up. IP: Logged |
|
argentum1 Posts: 602 |
posted 02-28-2006 11:26 PM
OK, I am back again. I just reviewed the Williamsburg site and the answer was - "If I worked on it 10 hours a day it would take about 200 to 225 hours or 5 weeks". I typed in 'how long does it take to make a silver spoon by hand' and the Williamsburg interview comes up but the teapot is the only item to be given a time estimate. IP: Logged |
|
agleopar Posts: 850 |
posted 03-01-2006 07:47 AM
James Potter and his son in London (they have since moved and I don't know if they are still in business) could make, start to finish, a ratail table spoon in one hour. That was about 1/2 hour for the forging and the rest for the finishing. When I make spoons it usually ranges from 2 hours to as much as 15 for a complicated one. But then I only make them occasionally and am not a full time spoon maker. Hopefully Tom at Old Newbury Crafters will give you the official story. IP: Logged |
|
akgdc Posts: 289 |
posted 03-01-2006 09:25 AM
Thanks for all the helpful responses. I was interested, per Argentum's question, in the pre-mechanized process of the 18th century, when a spoon would have been hammered out of an ingot, not stamped. An hour sounds plausible to me. I wonder if a maker would work on one spoon at a time, though, or - say, if he were making a half-dozen tablespoons - do them concurrently. Certainly many fulltime spoonmakers must have been quite fast. IP: Logged |
|
FredZ Posts: 1070 |
posted 03-01-2006 02:50 PM
I too amd an ocassional spoon maker and I can forge and finish a teaspoon in less than three hours. I spend much time designing as I forge and I do not have a spoon stake to form the bowl easily. ONC and other spoon makers use foot presses to form the bowl. This will reduce forming and finishing time substatially. It is most practical to forge several spoons at the same time. It helps maintain consitency. Fred IP: Logged |
|
middletom Posts: 467 |
posted 03-09-2006 08:28 PM
As Scott suggested, I finally read this thread. It takes us about 29 minutes to make a colonial style (read simple) teaspoon to the point at which it goes to the finisher. How long it would have taken the 18th century silversmith to melt silver and pour the ingot, I"ve no idea. The finishing process is basically the same today as then except that we have electric motors for the polishing and probably more advanced polishing wheels. Paul Rvere used pumice grit and then other compounds to follow, perhaps even tripoli as that dates back quite a way, I believe. The foot drop we use is old and the technology is basically that of the guillotine, so such a devise may have been available in a larger shop in the 18th century. The Revere house folks have told me that Revere did not leave behind a record of what tools he had in his shop, so we can't make a direct comparison. I would guess, the, that a teaspoon then might have taken closer to an hour. IP: Logged |
All times are ET | next newest topic | next oldest topic |
  |
|
Ultimate Bulletin Board 5.46a
|
1. Public Silver Forums (open Free membership) - anyone with a valid e-mail address may register. Once you have received your Silver Salon Forum password, and then if you abide by the Silver Salon Forum Guidelines, you may start a thread or post a reply in the New Members' Forum. New Members who show a continued willingness to participate, to completely read and abide by the Guidelines will be allowed to post to the Member Public Forums. 2. Private Silver Salon Forums (invitational or $ donation membership) - The Private Silver Salon Forums require registration and special authorization to view, search, start a thread or to post a reply. Special authorization can be obtained in one of several ways: by Invitation; Annual $ Donation; or via Special Limited Membership. For more details click here (under development). 3. Administrative/Special Private Forums (special membership required) - These forums are reserved for special subjects or administrative discussion. These forums are not open to the public and require special authorization to view or post. |
|
copyright © 1993 - 2022
SM Publications
All Rights Reserved. Legal & Privacy Notices |