Using a Planishing Hammer Part One

I bought a planishing hammer, which has a rounded and perfectly flat end. This is a lightweight version, traditionally used for forming and flattening metal. You can create some interesting effects on the surface of the silver.

This 2.5 mm sterling silver round wire is tough to form with pliers. I had to anneal it a couple of times, heating it with the torch to bring it to a dull red colour. After soldering the wire shut, I was then able to round it on the ring mandrel using my new rawhide mallet.

Keeping the ring flat on a steel bench block, I began to flatten the wire using a steady pressure.

This is about halfway finished. I am going to anneal the ring again and see if I can flatten it further.