CHAPTER VII 
filigree (continued) Grains—Bosses—Rings—Leaves—Filigree wire—Soldering—Boiling out— Filed solder. 

The principal " motifs " used in filigree and other jewellery, besides representations of the human figure or animals are 
(1) Jewels and their settings ; (2) Architectural forms, ships, crowns, crosses, shields and other symbolic or heraldic devices; (3) The leaves, fruit and stalks of plants; (4)Wires—plain, twisted or plaited; (5) Rings; (6) Bosses and 
grains.


We will take grains, the simplest form, first. They have considerable decorative value, especially if they are arranged in groups. Mr. R. L. B. Rathbone in his valuable book on Simple Jewellery illustrates many beautiful arrange ments. Grains also have an important constructional value, for when soldered close up to the point of contact of two other forms, the grain strengthens the joint considerably. 


If you put a tiny fragment of silver or gold on the charcoal, and allow the tip of the bright blue flame from the blowpipe to touch it, it will melt instantly, and run up into a ball, or " grain." This little bead of metal will be slightly flattened where it rested on the charcoal when cooling. If you wish to make truly spherical grains, and it is worth while so doing, first make a number of little pits in the surface of the charcoal block. These pits can be made by pressing the head of a round-ended repousse tool of the correct size into the charcoal. The pits should be about the size to take the lower half of the grain. Then lay the piece of metal which is to form the grain just over the hollow. When the metal melts it will form a practically perfect sphere and it will not run about, as a grain formed on a flat surface will. With a little practice you can make grains pretty quickly in this manner. But if you wish to produce hundreds or thousands of them there is another, much quicker method. Take some fine wire and make from it, in the manner described below, a sufficient number of little wire rings, all of the same size. Now these rings being all of the same diameter and from the same wire must have exactly the same amount of metal in each. Therefore when melted they will form grains of equal size. Take a little box made of sheet iron. Put a layer of powdered charcoal over the bottom of it. Then arrange rows of the little rings, side by side, but not touching each other. When the floor of the box is covered shake over the rings another layer of powdered charcoal. On that arrange another series of little rings. Go on with these alternate layers of charcoal and rings until the box is filled. Tie the lid on with stout iron wire, and put the box in the fire. Let it get bright red hot. Then take it out and cool it in water. Wash the charcoal away. You will find that all the rings have changed into grains. When you have made the grains it is well to boil them in pickle to clean them, then to wash them in water to get rid of any traces of the acid, and afterwards to keep them in a little tin box for safety. 

Grains can be made 1/8 inch in diameter or larger, but when big they use up so much material that it is better to make hollow bosses instead. Little discs of metal may be formed from grains by flattening them on a stake with the hammer. If the grains should show signs of cracking round the edges before they are sufficiently flattened for your purpose, they must be annealed. Then you may proceed with the hammer ing. Flat discs form a valuable contrast to more rounded forms in a design. But should you wish to do so you can boss them up in the doming block, or even in the lead cake. But to boss up flattened grains is to go a long way round, for if you have a set of cutting punches (see Fig. 36), you can cut the discs from sheet metal. If you have not got the punches you can cut the discs out with shears, and file them up truly. It is not always necessary to raise bosses very high. A slight convexity is often sufficient to catch the light. Concave discs also make an effective contrast with the wirework among which they are placed. 

Rings of wire have many uses. They are both decorative in themselves and valuable as a means of linking up different parts of the work. The rings can be made from wire of any section, plain or twisted. And the links themselves may be of round, oval, square, oblong, diamond, hexagonal, or almost any other plan. The usual way to make them is to take a mandrel, a piece of wire or tube, the section of which is that of the opening through the rings required. Thus, you wish to make a number of rings, oval in section, measuring J by X inch inside. Take a piece of steel, iron or brass wire of the required section, cut a strip of thin paper, § inch wide, and paste or gum one side of it. Wind this paper spirally round, the wire, taking care not to allow any overlapping. Next take some of the wire you are to use and, after seeing that it has been annealed, grip one end of it against the paper-covered mandrel with the hand-vice, slide-tongs or any other convenient tool. Then wind the wire closely and evenly upon the mandrel, turning the latter with the right hand, and keeping the wire tightly strained with the left. The wire should be wound quite straight round, not diagonally across, the mandrel. If the coils take this diagonal direc tion they will turn out larger than you wished. Wind as many coilson the mandrel as you wish to make rings. Then anneal the coiled wire while it is on the mandrel. The strip of paper will be burnt away in the process and the wire may be afterwards slipped off the mandrel without any trouble. It is not necessary to use the paper strip when winding small circular rings—they will generally slide off easily enough if you have not a very long coil. But with other shapes the wire is found to grip the corners of the mandrel so tightly that the coils can only be withdrawn from it with difficulty. So use the paper except for circular rings. 

You have now a close spiral of wire. To cut it into, rings you can either grip the coil in the clams, gently, not to crush it; or hold it in the hand-vice, first putting in a piece of leather to protect the coil from the roughness of the jaws, and then cut through one side of each coil with the piercing-saw. It is well to use a fine saw, 00. The rings, as they are cut through, may drop out of the clams. They are safer so, for they might otherwise get in the way of the saw. A quicker way of cutting off the rings is that of using the snips or scissors. It is only necessary to watch that you cut straight up the coil,—you might otherwise get more or less than a complete ring. The extremities of rings which have been cut with the snips do not come together quite so neatly as those of rings which have been cut with the saw. But if you are making the rings only to melt them into grains this will not matter. There is yet another way of cutting the rings from the coil. Take a piece of steel wire, the size of the mandrel upon which you wound the wire. Insert at one end a small piece of clockspring, leaving part of it, sharpened to a knife edge, projecting on one side. Slide the coiled wire down until its last turn rests against this spur. Put the other end of the iron wire through the small end of a hole in the drawplate, which will just admit it. One end of the coiled wire therefore rests against the drawplate, and the other against the sharp spur. If the iron wire is now pulledthroughthe drawplate, thespuronitsfurtherend will cut through each coil of the wire in succession. There are two precautionary measures which should be taken first, however. Slide a soda-water bottle over the coil of wire. The rings, when cut off, will fall into the bottle instead of flying all over the place. Put a brass washer on the wire before it goes through the drawplate. The washer will keep the spur from injuring itself against the drawplate when it has cut through the last coil. Rings other than circular should be cut through at some part of their circumference which will not show much in the completed work. 
The extremities of rings cut from a spiral coil do not quite meet. Before using them in your work, they must be 
straightened. Rings made from fine wire may be flattened by pressing them on a flat stake with the face of a hammer, but stouter rings should be gripped on either side of the joint by two pairs of snipe-nosed pliers. With a very little manipulation the ends may be brought opposite each other. If the ends do not quite meet, the ring should be gripped right across its diameter with the pliers, and a gentle pressure applied. This compression should be repeated in one or two directions across the ring to make it truly circular, care being taken not to press too hard, for the ring might then collapse entirely. The joints may now be soldered, though many Avorkers prefer to leave the soldering until the work is being put together. A large thin ring is more difficult to solder than a small one. The ring may be bent until its ends spring past each other, and so are able to hold together when placed in contact; or the ring may be stood up on the charcoal against some support, its ends resting downwards in a scratch made on the surface of the charcoal to keep them from slipping; or it may be soldered after being pegged down on to the charcoal. 
If you hold the end of a piece of fine wire near the tip of the bright blue blowpipe flame, it will melt and run up into a bead. This little mass at the end of the wire may be hammered out flat on the stake, and then filed into the form of a little leaf, the wire forming its stem. The end of the wire will melt easier if you dip it first into borax. To make a larger leaf, molt upon the charcoal a fragment of the metal you are using, and when it is quite liquid heat the end of a Avire in the flame and thrust it into the mass. Directly they unite, stop blowing. The bead of metal will remain molten for some seconds, so you have time to press it flat on the charcoal with, say, the flat side of the tweezers. This will save trouble in beating out. A larger leaf still would be made from sheet metal with perhaps a wire soldered on for a stalk. Branches can be made by uniting a number of leaves made as above, or by beating them up from a sheet of metal by repousse work. Fruit and flowers are made in 
^ 
a similar manner. The old method by which seed pearls are used to represent grapes is also worthy of remembrance. 
The making of various patterns of twisted wires is dis cussed in another chapter. It is not necessary here to emphasise the great decorative quality of this material, which is to be found on a large proportion of the objects made by jewellers and silversmiths. It is a pity, however, that of the many beautiful varieties of this work made by the old goldsmiths, so few, perhaps a dozen altogether, are used now. Wires used for filigree proper are generally flattened, not round, for wire which measures less in one direction across the section than in the other is easier to bend. It also keeps flatter on the background, if it has one. In filigree work a tracing of the design is fixed on to a flat stake with a few little pieces of wax. The wire to be used is bent to fit the curves with a pair of pointed pliers or tweezers. It is cut where required by resting it on a piece of brass, and then pressing the point of a very sharp chisel through it. The chisel cuts cleaner than a pair of shears or snips, however finely they may be set. Each piece of filigree wire after shaping may be stuck into its place on a thin piece of sheet iron with the gum solution. If, however, it is very important that it, or any other light piece of work, shall accurately retain the exact curves given it, it must be annealed before it is fastened into its place. This annealing is done either on or in a metal pattern made to the required shape. 
It is not very easy to put twisted wires on to work neatly, for the solder has a great tendency to run to the Avire and clog it. You must try to keep the flame from the Avire until the remainder of the Avork is hot enough to melt the solder. You manage this as a rule by applying the heat to the underside of the Avork, or at any rate in such a manner as to keep the Avire cooler than the part of the Avork to which it is to be soldered. If you allow the AAdre to get very hot it will stretch and refuse to go back to its correct dimensions again. 
If a ring of wire is put round a setting it is well to join the ends first, for it is easier to keep in place so. If it goes on a plain tube you may file a tiny groove round the tube first just to make a home for it. 
It is almost impossible to describe in general terms the manner in which the other motifs mentioned at the begin ning of this chapter are carried out for jewellery. The various forms may be stamped, forged, SAvaged, pierced out, cast, electrotyped, raised, worked in repousse or pro duced by a combination of several of these processes. Each fresh piece of work presents a new problem, and the ex perience of the Avorker must guide him in deciding which method he must adopt to solve it. To attempt here to grapple with all the problems which might arise would be futile. But in the various chapters in this book sufficient information may be found to enable the craftsman to do the Avork in a practical manner. 
It will be well, therefore, to discuss next the manner in Avhich the parts of a piece of jewellery may be brought together and soldered. Let us take first, as a simple example the soldering together of a group of tAvo, three or four grains. Arrange them on the charcoal block. But, as they will probably roll about more than you wish, you may fix them in position by pressing them a little into the block with, say, the flat side of the tAveezers. With the tip of the borax brush moisten each grain where it touches its neighbours. Then Avith the same tool pick up a tiny piece of solder and place it on the joint. See that the liquid borax quite covers it. Do this to each of the joints. Or, using a pair of finely pointed tAveezers, dip the paillons of solder into the borax and then place them in position. The solder for such small Avork may be rolled down to size 1 on the metal gauge, and cut into paillons as small as you like, perhaps ^.z inch Avide and long for a single joint betAveen grains, but larger for a joint where three grains meet. You must be careful to avoid the use of too much solder on this light work. Sufficient must, of course, be used to make a sound joint. But any 
surplus tends to make the work look heavy, and it is almost impossible to remove it afterwards by filing. Think first hoAA-much Avill be required to fill the joint and put on just that amount. It takes less time to cut a paillon of solder of the correct size than to try to remove any surplus 
afterwards. 
To solder the Avork. Bring a very gentle flame near it, and apply the heat so that the borax boils up very quietly, without disturbing the grains or throwing the solder off. A sharp blast would almost certainly cause one or other of these troubles. When the borax has settled doAvn increase the heat a little. But notice that the pieces of solder, being smaller than the grains, get red hot first. If you allowed them to melt they Avould run up into little beads themselves and perhaps stick on to one of the grains. But they would not be likely to make good joints betAveen the grains. If, hoAvever, you are careful to heat up the grains first, and to let the heat reach the solder, sufficiently to melt it—only after the grains are red hot •—then the solder may run between and solder them together. For solder will ahvays Aoav to the part of the work which is hottest (if it is boraxed, of course). If the solder gets hot too soon, and it may, move the Avork aAvay from the flame for a second or two to let it cool. Then bring the flame to bear on the work in such a manner as to get all the grains equally hot. The flame should come almost directly doAvmvards on to the group. When the temperature of the work has risen sufficiently high, the lumps of solder will suddenly collapse and the molten metal run like Avater into the joint. Cease bloAving instantly, and let the work cool doAvn. It Avill be found that it is easier to unite tAvo smaller groups to make a group of four or more grains than to solder them all at once. 
The heat being applied to the upper surfaces of the various parts of the work, they naturally get a little hotter than the undersides, Avhich are in contact Avith the charcoal. The solder, therefore, Avill have a tendency to spread over the upper surfaces. To overcome this diffi­culty it is Avell, when possible, in soldering bosses or flat discs or other pieces which might be injured by the solder getting on them, to turn them face doAvmvards and to do as much of the soldering as possible from the back. Of course, j| / keep all borax aAvay from a surface on Avhich you do not 1 , Avant the solder to run. 
It is usual to " boil out " the work in pickle after each soldering. This process dissolves all the fused borax on the work, and it makes the surface of the Avork clean again, ready for the next soldering. You Avill remember that gold I and silver, as generally used by jeAvellers, contain some alloy,' usually copper, and that some of this alloy gets burnt out from near the surface of the metal each time the work is made red hot. And that until the burnt matter (usually sopper oxide), is removed from the surface, the Avork cannot be properly soldered again. The solder also generally contains some zinc,—a fusible metal, some of Avhich is burnt out of the solder each time it is made red hot. It will be seen, therefore, that " boiling out," or scraping the surface must precede any subsequent solderings if they are to be successful. 
In soldering a fresh joint near one previously made it is usual to paint the old joint Avith the borax solution; and the solder in the joint runs when the Avork is heated again. But should there be any danger of the Avork falling to pieces, and you decide that it Avould be better not to alloAv the solder in the earlier joint to melt again, you must cover it up with a thick layer of rouge, loam or Avhiting, mixed Avith Avater. This Avill protect the solder from the heat and prevent it from running. But you must be care ful to keep every speck of these materials away from the joint, and from your borax-slate. For the solder will not run properly AA'here they are. The pickles used to clean your Avork Avill not dissolve them either. It is necessary, therefore, to scrape or wash off this coating before " boiling the work out." You must also remove all the binding AArire before the Avork is put into pickle. For if you are using a 
copper pan to hold the acid solution a thin film of copper Avill be deposited on your silver, and this film is difficult to 
remove. 
Instead of forcing the grains into the surface of the charcoal block for soldering they may be kept together in another manner. Make a solution of gum tragacanth and fasten the grains or other small pieces into their places Avith it. It will be found, however, that a small piece of thin sheet iron forms a more satisfactory surface on Avhich to fasten them AAdth gum than the charcoal block. The iron has this advantage also, that should you Avish the work to be curved from side to side, or in any other direction, the thin iron plate on which the various parts are stuck can be made beforehand to take that form. When the grains or other pieces of the work are fastened in their places Avith gum, the work should be dried in a gentle flame before the joints are painted with borax or the solder applied. It is a good plan to keep a lump of gum tragacanth on the borax slate, and to give it a rub in the borax solution occasionally. It prevents the solder from moving about so much. When the work is meant to be kept flat, after it has been boiled out, it may be placed on a steel stake and carefully tapped level with a horn or boxwood mallet. Or a piece of work which is flat may be placed on a sandbag and bossed up by gentle bloAvs from a convex-faced hammer or mallet. 
The difficulty of applying borax and solder in the ordinary way to extremely minute Avork has led some goldsmiths to use them in another form. The difficulties are, of course, that the borax may displace some of the work Avhen it boils up, and that it is almost impossible to cut the solder into small enough pieces for the purpose. The Etruscans in the fifth century B.C., formed patterns on their goldwork, Fig. 377, from grains measuring one hundredth of an inch in diameter, yet not a trace of superfluous solder can be found. Work as fine as this is seldom met with iioav. But very small Avork can be done hi the following manner. Put some borax on a metal plate and heat it until every trace of 
moisture has been driven off. The borax will, of course, boil up, subside, and finally melt. Grind the hard glassy material left on the plate, in a mortar, to a very fine powder. Take a piece of the solder you are to use and reduce that to a poAvder also—by filing it all away. All the parts of the Avork having been stuck into their places Avith gum traga canth or rice-paste, sprinkle over them a sufficient quantity of the powdered borax and solder. This may be done with a spatula, or by means of the little vessel shoAvn in Fig. 48. It is shaped like a garden watering can with a straight spout. The upper side of the spout-stay is roughened by making a number of little nicks across it with a file. Equal parts of the dried borax and solder are placed in the vessel. The little can is then taken in the hand and the nail of the fore finger repeatedly drawn over the roughened surface of the spout-stay. This sets up a slight vibration, which causes the contents of the can to be discharged in a thin stream. The heat should be applied very gently, and from beloAV if possible. There Avill then be less danger of blowing any of the fine particles out of their places. To avoid this difficulty the late Signor A. Castellani, the Roman goldsmith, who first successfully copied the almost inimitable Etruscan gold grain work, Avas led almost to abandon the use of the gas jet and blowpipe. 
The plan given above does very well with work which has to be soldered on to a background. But with open work much of the solder and borax Avould fall through and be Avasted. A little vaseline or paraffin may, however, be mixed Avith the melted borax when it is being ground up. They may then be applied to the workin the form of a paste, by means of a spatula or brush. The solder may be mixed with it, or added afterwards. Melted borax prepared in the manner described first above, soon absorbs water again. And as the whole point of this method lies in the avoidance of moisture (which would cause the borax to boil up when heated), the borax should be used when freshly dried. But the best method for filigree work is that in Avhich the parts are stuck in their places with gum tragacanth and a little borax. The work is then annealed. Then a good coating of borax is put over all. The Avork is annealed again and the solder applied, in very small paillons, of about size 1 on the Birmingham Metal Gauge in thickness. The joints being Avell boraxed in this manner, the solder will keep in then and not Avander over the background. 
In repairing work keep a sharp look out for soft solder. Remember that you cannot use hard solder on any Avork on Avhich there is any trace of soft. For the latter, when heated to a temperature sufficient to melt the hard solder would penetrate deeply into the work and " burn " bad holes in it, and it Avould form a hard, very porous alloy with the gold or silver. You must remove every trace of soft solder first, or give up any idea of using hard solder on the Avork at all. Soft solder may be removed from gold or silver articles Avithout injuring them in any Avay. Scrape off all you can. Then take 8 ounces of hydrochloric acid, and one ounce of crocus powder. Mix them thoroughly in a bottle. Of this mixture take 1 dunce and add it to 4 ounces of hot water. Put the work in it, and keep hot until all the soft solder is dissolved. Another method is given on page 40. Remember also to leave a small hole in any hollow article for the escape of the air Avhen you solder it. If you do not, it may explode.