Making an 18th Century Sterling Silver Jefferson Cup 

+New Things Many Colonial silversmiths were also jewelers. With a smaller labor force in the colonies, tradespeople often had to wear multiple hats ;-).

+kate jackson Thank you! I enjoyed making the video. I've now worked at the Colonial Williamsburg silversmith shop and I hope to do an updated video in the future showing more traditional techniques ;-).

Since your comment, I worked in the Williamsburg silvermithing shop from 2014-2021. I now work at Jamestown.

Thank you very much! That means a lot :-).

@@ParkerBrown1979 are you still making things?

Thank you very kindly!

:-)

I thought about it while making this one, but I got lazy :-/. Maybe next time ;-).

Thank you :-).

Thank you. However, a beer stein would likely be far out of anyone’s price range :-/.

Parker Brown Great video! How much did the ingot weigh for the cup?

Maggie the Malinois The starting ingot was about 5 oz. (avoirdupois). Much of the material was lost when I trimmed it to the circular shape (not shown in the video). When working silver (or any precious metal), you try to minimize loss as much as possible. I recovered 1.7 oz. of material, so it worked out just right :-).

Fredrik Malm, I actually started with a smaller diameter disk of 12 ga. sterling which I hammered out into a roughly 18 ga. thickness. The diameter of your starting disk is the sum of the widest and tallest measures or, for a dome, twice the length from the dome’s highest point to the edge of the dome’s base.

I don't know the exact make and model of what's used in the video but the tool is called a stake. My thoughts would be a T Stake of some kind. Google Silver Smiths T Stake. The stake and the hammer face will have a very high polish so when raising the cup the hammer marks are smooth and even.

Dr. Guy Madison www.amazon.com/dp/0801972329/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_c_api_i_oWJuCb39E93AV

+damilla1958 The interior has likely been guilded with gold.

I’ve honestly had the best success with the cheap compasses they sell in the hardware section at Lowe’s with a sharpie marker taped to the end ;-). You have to dap a small dimple at the center of the disk before you begin. This gives an anchor point for your compass.

Well, fully captioning the whole video would take a bit of time, but the crockpot contains a mild acid called "pickle". It's used to clean off the oxidation that forms on the silver during heating.

cheers for that, new to metal working and that had me confused :)

I think this is the best and cheapest way to get a properly working pickling machine. What size is it? and also would like to know on what heat setting do you keep the cooker? thanks

@@TUSHARGARG9 Pickle should be warm, but not hot. It works even when cold, but works better warm, but you don't want a bunch of pickle steam. Generally, use the lowest setting available.

+happycoffee www.ottofrei.com/Store/Rawhide-Deadblow-Mallets-Nylon-Forming-Hammers-Outer-Space-Hammers/Deadblow-Cross-Peen-Delrin-Hammer-For-Raising.html I use these in my modern shop, but historically you would have used steel raising hammers. I've also used a rawhide hammer and even a rolled paper hammer!

+Parker Brown thank you !!

+Asad the great You would need to talk to an engraver. Silversmithing and engraving are closely linked, but separate trades. Hand engraving, like silversmithing, requires years of training to do properly. Unfortunately, I'm not a trained engraver, so I was not able to do that on this piece.

Parker Brown Oh I see, never the less, even making a cup like this takes real skill. Was really impressed at the workmanship of the finished product.

+Asad the great Thanks very much!

Take your time and don't push the metal too much too fast. I find that folding happens when I get in a rush ;-).

Love your work, awesome cups truly great work . Quick question, what size of the disc and the thickness of the disc did you start with? Is there like a general rule to follow ?

Hunh Rrrright striking the edges thickens the metal and helps ptrevent cracks

+Ascketism As stated at the end of the video, the finished weight of the cup was 3.3 ozt. Yes, it is possible to melt silver coins into an ingot, work it into a sheet and then raise it into a cup. However, be aware that most silver coins are worth much more as a collector's item than for the silver content. If you are serious about making a silver vessel, understand that it takes YEARS of training to competently produce an item. The reason why it's hard to find an affordable silver item is because of the hours of work required to produce it properly. For example, this cup took me 25 hours and 3.3 ozt of silver. Working MINIMUM WAGE, the cost of labor is $181.25. The cost of the silver is $47.85. So, without charging any overhead to cover the cost of tools, electricity, fuel...etc., this cup is worth over $229.10. Realistically, I would charge MUCH more for something like this.

silver is nonferrous and therefore doesn't harden when quenched

Thanks Eric, I actually started with a smaller diameter disk of 12 ga. sterling which I hammered out into a roughly 18 ga. thickness. The diameter of your starting disk is the sum of the widest and tallest measures or, for a dome, twice the length from the dome’s highest point to the edge of the dome’s base.

@@ParkerBrown1979 Thanks Parker for your quick answer. Here is my calculation based on Monticello's website: silver sheet diameter 5 5/128 inches; thickness 5/128 inch /weight 4,8 ounces. Do you think this is correct? Thanks for your help!!

They were likely made from gold amalgam using mercury gilding. It's a process that I don't have the proper safety equipment for.

What gauge metal would you recommend?

@@braydenlangham5154 I have been using anything from 12 gauge down to 26 gauge. I personally like the thicker metals, have to anneal more often but I like the thicker because it is not so fragile.

The starting sheet was 12 ga., but I hammered it out to approximately 18 ga. with the material being slightly thicker towards the center and the top edge. Rarely do you find historical work being of uniform thickness.

The initial disk actually started out as a ¼” thick ingot hammered out into a round sheet. At the point where you first see it in the video, it’s roughly at 13 ga., but not exactly. The finished piece was about 16 ga. at the top and base and about 18 ga. in the center. Historically raised pieces are rarely if ever a standardized gauge thickness.

Thank you. As stated in the end credits, the song is "Greensleeves" by Christopher L. Stone & The History Channel

Thanks, thanks, thanks! =)

Mikail Ahundov I love power tools to polish when necessary. Now, it is possible in my estimation to planish properly and avoid a lot of polishing.

Silver teacups aren’t usually a good idea given that silver will transfer the heat of the tea to the exterior and burn the drinker ;-).

@@ParkerBrown1979 oh so that's why they aren't being sold??? Thank you. I don't know why that never came to mind.

DeMarie Jones, it’s a common misconception that casting silver is faster and easier than forging. In reality, silver is an exothermic metal that cools too rapidly to flow into the narrow space of the vessel’s wall. Plus, the time needed to create the model of the piece, pour investment, let it dry and cure, takes in excess of 30 hours (I’ve done it before). What you get after all that work (if the silver actually casts) is something that’s not nearly as strong and still requires a massive amount of filing, stoning and polishing before it looks anything like the hammered piece.

Parker Brown thank you for explaining! You do some very amazing work.. I think a friend of mine has a christening cup that looks similar to this design...

As I seem to recall (bear in mind this was 10 years ago) I started with 18 ga. sterling silver.

Based on looking at how much flatware is it's at least $500

We charge approximately $800 in our shop for a piece like this. I has very poor wi-fi, but it IS gluten free.

The initial ingot was 1/4" thick, but hammering brought it down to between 18 ga. and 16 ga.

I was hammering the sheet out from a thicker piece of metal. This is how sheet was produced when a rolling mill was unavailable.

With present cost of materials ($21.67 per ounce as of March 14, 2023) a cup like this would come to approximately $950.00

@@ParkerBrown1979 more then expected , i see they sell whole water bottles 925 for 500 and even down to 250

@@Revelation13-8 They might have more affordable rates for Jefferson Cups. I do hope you find what you are looking for :-).

Most of the video content I'm currently involved in is on the Historic Trades and Skills Facebook page. Feel free to join so you can see more of what I've been up to these last two years!

Parker Brown Ok will check it out, just thought you disappeared or something.

AffordBindEquipment, yes except metal spinning technology wasn’t commonly used by American silversmiths at the time. However, neither were pressured gas torches and electric polishing wheels ;-).

They are sterling silver (.925).

silver combined with what? what is the other metal that take the .075 part?

Alexandru Ionut copper

I currently do not sell these as I work for Colonial Williamsburg and all sales of my silver work is done through the Golden Ball at Colonial Williamsburg. www.colonialwilliamsburg.com/do/shop/historic-shops/golden-ball/

ElGatoLoco698 Yes. That’s how you polish metals.

I thought you were trying to re-create the process like in Jefferson's time so I found it comical that you used a power tool to polish but not to hammer or shape the cup.

1) power hammers don’t work very well with silver 2) British 18th century silversmiths sent work out to professional polishers using water powered mill polishers 3) Colonial American silversmiths would have used the same compounds used in modern electric polishers, just would have been applied on a cloth by hand 4) the REAL inaccuracies in my process I the use of pressurized gas heat rather than a charcoal forge and bellows ;-).

The tumblers that we produce at the Colonial Williamsburg silversmith shop (where I work) is in the neighborhood of $800.

Parker Brown $800? Wow! I appreciate the amount of time you put in your work. You are somewhat of perfectionist 👍. I have a few questions. Do you mind answering them?

Joel Abramowitz Shoot :-).

Ok. 1. I noticed you trimmed the edge. Was that necessary? I agree that a fairly even edge is needed. Later on there is a lot of filing and sanding that evens things out. 2. Along the way do you strike the edge to thicken and compress the edge? 3. Why do you divide in quarters with your marks? One line down the side is usually all that is needed to keep your place to reverse directions. 4. What kind of hammers are you using other than metal? Wow. I like how you are moving the metal not using a metal hammer. You probably have to use more force though. Thx. Joel

@@ohev1 1. Trimming the edge is something I've learned how to minimize. This helps along with...2. striking the edge to thicken it (caulking). 3. I like to super divide my work into quarters because I'm somewhat OCD and do weird things ;-). 4. I prefer raising with weighted mallets made of wood, paper, rawhide and delrin. Delrin mallets are wonderful and you can easily make them yourself if you have access to a woodturning lathe....which I do.

These are older techniques and, yes, there are faster manufacturing methods used by modern production shops.

Do you have any working experience making silverware?

Оригиналы имели золотую пластину внутри.