Learning with my son

From Ian Crafting

I decided that my son was mature enough to learn some basic metalsmithing.  I take a slow approach to learning and therefore to teaching.  I feel it's important that a person learn to understand how to shape a material, how it moves, what it can do.  I like to keep it simple and safe, with plenty of room to explore.  Throughout the whole process, I focus on safety, on always knowing where ones hair, finger, clothes, etc... are, especially in relationship to the torch flame and to any moving equipment.

To prepare, I cut up a lot of small scraps of copper and bronze and cleaned up any sharp edges.  I also pulled out some pre-sawn leaves.  I started off showing my son how to anneal.  We used a portable propane torch, because that's what I often have to use for workshops in non-metalshop spaces.  It's also what a lot of people start off with these days, as they learn from books or even youtube videos.  (I wanted to test out the propane torch for workshops in generic, non-metal, workspaces.)

Once he annealed the metal, I gave him several hammers, with different peen shapes.  I showed him how the hammer strikes both texture and strike metal, and how they work-harden the metal.  He spent quite a bit of time just hammering his scraps, getting the feel of the hammer and the metal.  I try to focus on proper hammer technique from the outset- letting the hammer do the work and using the hand only for control. 

After he had hammered all of his pieces, we did a few solder samples.  To keep it fun and casual, we used easy solder and focused simply on the idea of getting the solder to flow evenly on both pieces of metal.  I didn't worry about getting too much solder or about cleaning up solder blobs. That can come later.

He looked at all of his hammered pieces of metal and seemed to know exactly what he wanted to make.  He laid it all out on the table, then separated it so that he could solder it in sections.  I supervised him through each section, giving him tips on how to set it up and then helping him see the heating process.  One section popped off after he thought he had it all done, so he set it up and did it again.

I didn't think he was physically or mentally mature enough to handle a polishing machine.  Instead, I showed him how to clean his metal with a brass brush.  Then we let it run in the tumbler for 3 hours to work harden and polish the finished pendant.

Take a look at the slide show to see the sequence of events.  I had a lot of fun working with my son.  He had a good time, finished on a positive note, and ended up with a pendant that he is very proud of.