A Pair of Coined Silver Dolphins Fresh From the Press

[george wilson]

I did the chiseling of the die with die sinker's chisels that I also made. I got interested in chiseling back in the 70's,for decorating flintlock pistols.

The metal for the dolphin scene is sterling silver.

I don't know who could or would provide the service of chiseling a die like this commercially.

Yes,it takes all of my 242# to bear down on the handle,but it is probably good exercise for me anyway. My wife weighs 110. She would not be able to coin the dolphin. Besides,I have to do things right so as to not crack the die. Sometimes I have to press,anneal,and press,anneal and press again to get a full impression on a heart die which is a little larger than the dolphin. By the time I press it,the silver is fully hardened again.

There is an extension of the jack handle somewhere that I could use,but haven't bothered.

The top of the press is nearly 4" thick mild steel. I have a little square rod of precision ground laying across the top. The jack can bulge that top!. When there is 1/32" of light under the ends of the steel rod,I back off! If I went too far,the top would not spring back flat.

I have gotten a 100 ton Enerpac jack,with a hydraulic ram to pump it up. I need to make a better cage to house it,designed better,now that I realize how much pressure these tons of force can warp steel. The jack even moves the large threads a bit sideways that those 2" hardened steel nuts are holding onto! The threads are cold rolled steel,not hardened.
12 TPI is the strongest thread. Next time I'll use 12 TPI. Those big hex nuts are kind of expensive since you need 8. I found a place called York Bolt Co. near here,where they can be had for a fraction of what MSC or other companies want.

I'm always hoping that Chinese jack will not pop a gasket and squirt hydraulic oil all over the walls! So far,so good.

 

[davidh]

is that called die-sinking, when you cut the dies? do you start with an artist drawing ? sheesh you must have eyes of a hawk. and steadyness besides. thats great work and looks very enjoyable besides. and you answered my question about material, "silver". thanks very much for sharing.

 

[randyc]

Beautiful, absolutely beautiful craftsmanship and design !!!

 

[george wilson]

I wear 4x drugstore glasses when I do that work. Still had cataracts when I made that die!! Now have new lenses in my eyes.

4x glasses are hard to find around here. Most only go up to 3.75, One drugstore sells 4x. I can't stand to wear optivisors.

 

[pebbleworm]

Thank you for the picture of the press, and the tip about the ground rod across the top. I will have to do the same! My press is made from the frame of an 8" tie rod hydraulic cylinder with a 30 ton Torin jack squeezed inside. I'm using 90 durometer urethane as the force, 30 gauge annealed brass sheet and original dies from eBay. Results are pretty good, considering. Your posts have given me a lot to think about with the press!

 

[george wilson]

When I make the heart pendants,I use a brass form of a swelled heart placed behind the finished silver heart,and press it into a block of 80 durometer urethane. Sometimes I have used a block of nylon,but that is a bit too hard.

Here is the first heart and earrings I made from the die. There was a purchasing secretary retiring who I felt I had put to a great deal of work ordering things for my shop.

I asked her what she would like and she said a heart shaped pin and earrings.

I decided to have some fun,and stayed home for a week,making this die. The heart and earrings are 22 KT. gold. This is before gold went crazy. I think the gold was about $125.00 at the time.

To tell the truth,I doubt the secretary comprehended the work that went into this,but several other hearts have been made with the die. I think my journeyman made hearts for all the women in his family!!

Note the little center punch looking mark in the lower left hand side of the die: It is where I checked the hardness of the die with my Versitron hardness tester that I had at work. The die has to be hard enough to not deform when silver is pressed into it,but tempered a little softer so it doesn't shatter under the extreme pressure of the press.