iS 1 



ENAMELLING. 



rnitndling. the dies. The copper is then to be placed on the die, 

 y """Y"^' and the hole that lui.s been pricked, must In- placed ex- 

 actly over the hole that ha* In-en drilled in the tlie. A 

 smaller round inded punch should l>e ti;ed to bulge up 

 the hole, which is to IK- done in the Mime manner as 

 was directed for making the holes in the centres of the 

 plain coppers. The hole must ! finished by filing the 

 upper ! f u|x>n examination it does not corre- 



spond with the hole in the frame, it im.-t be made to 

 fit by placing it on the die again, and opening the hole 

 with the |K)int, bearing nioM on that side that is most 

 out of the centre. It should be observed, that although 

 the plate for a seconds watch is desired to be as flat as 

 possible, ret the copper should be set a little rising ; 

 for if it was not kept up a little in the centre, when 

 the enamel is put on and the plate fired, it would 

 sink in the centre, an imperfection for which there 

 is no remedy. We would recommend, that all cop- 

 per used for flat plates should be annealed and pla- 

 nished before they are put to the die. This may be 

 tlone on a piece of" flat marble ; and the hammer should 

 be made of elder, or hard boxwood, having a very 

 smooth face. The use of this operation is to take away 

 the cockling kind of spring, that is always left in the 

 copper when it comes from the flatting mills. To per- 

 form this nicely, requires much judgment in the opera- 

 tor ; for if the copper is promiscuously struck with the 

 hammer, it is ten to one but the imperfection is increa- 

 * sed ; therefore to proceed rightly, the copper must be ex- 



amined, and that part which is found to be the tightest, 

 or least stretched, and upon which the other parts will 

 appear to twist and play, must be hammered till an uni- 

 form flatness is obtained. The best method of ascer- 

 taining when the spring is gone, is to let the piece of 

 copper fall from a small distance upon the marble slab, 

 and if there is no vibration or ringing noise, we may 

 conclude that the operation has succeeded. We should 

 not have been so particular on this point, had we not 

 been convinced of its utility ; for if this is not done, the 

 metal will expand unequally in the fire, which will cer- 

 tainly cause the enamel to crack in the fire, or warp in 

 such a manner as to be wholly useless. We must not 

 omit the method of cleansing, "(or pickling the copper as 

 it is technically called,) it being necessary in all cases 

 where great nicety is required. This is done, by ma- 

 king a solution of the best double aquafortis and water, 

 about one part of the former to eight of the latter. Put 

 the coppers, as soon as they arc all soldered, into as 

 much of the solution as will cover them, and when they 

 have remained two or three minutes, let one of them be 

 taken out and washed in clean water, and brushed with 

 a soft brush and a little white sand. If the scale comes 

 all of, and the copper looks quite bright, they are suffi- 

 ciently clone ; if not, let them remain sometime longer 

 in the solution, and, when brushed as before, dry them 

 with a soft napkin. 



Dorription 

 of the tool? 

 lucd in cna- 

 moiling. 

 PLATE 

 CCLI I. 



9. 10. 



Description of the Took used in Enamelling. 



The first is an agate pestle and mortar to grind the 

 enamel. The best kind are those that are most trans- 

 parent, and free from opaque spots and veins. See a 

 section of this in Plate CCLI I. Figs. 9. 10. 



The second is a small hammer about an ounce and a 

 half in weight. One face should be flat, and the other 

 of the shape commonly used in riveting. 



The third is a flat spatula seven-eighths of an inch 



Fig. 18. 



broad, and a little thicker than those used for paint Knamcllin/t- 

 kni\, '""""Y"^'' 



The fourth is a spatula rather thi< kcr than the la*t, 

 but of equal breadth. One side of this should K 

 Will the other a little curved. This mu>t be ni.-nle <!' 

 good steel, and is used to spread the I ., 1 on 



the copper. See I'late CC'LII. Fig. ] 1. 



The fifth is the spatula, for spreading the h;.rd ena- P' ATE 

 me! on toe under nde of the copper. . :Ud u {if '" 



Lotlom spatula. The end of this should : 10 S ' "' 



as the end of the setting spatula tlc-i n!>. ' >> \'.-< rap- 

 per tool., excepting that it .should b e a liu'e bn. 



The sixth is a quill cut just like a k. This 



is used to clear the enamel out of the centre holes of the 

 coppers. 



The seventh are two damask napkins, for drying the 

 water from the enamel. These should be very clean, 

 and always kept separate. 



The eighth is a small bason with a cover, to hold the 

 enamel that is to be used for the tops of the tli.il plates. 



The ninth is a gallipot, to hold the enamel that is to 

 be used for the bottoms, or under side of the < 



The tenth is a cylindrical block of wood, to fix the 

 copper on when it is ready to have the enamel laid on 

 the top. This for common sized plates, may be about 

 an inch and half diameter, and about six inches long. 

 On one end of this some soft wax must be fixed, so that 

 it may form a kind of cap to the block, being about one- 

 third of an inch thick on the top, and the same on the 

 sides. See Fig. 12. 



The eleventh is a box to hold the plates in, when the 

 enamel is spread on them. This may be about Ki inch- 

 es long, and <) broad. The depth may be one inch 

 and a half; but it must not have any side under the 

 opening of the lid. 



The twelfth is a small steel-faced anvil to hold in the 

 hand, to break the enamel into small pieces. The face 

 may be about one inch diameter, the other part in 

 proportion. 



Method of grinding the Soft Glass Enamel, called by 

 Enamellcrs Glass. 



Take a cake of glass enamel, and with the riveting Method of 

 face of the hammer strike it as near the edge as possi- Binding 

 ble, holding, at the same time, the forefinger of the 'l le . 

 left hand just under the place where the blow falls, {j,^ 

 By this means, the vibration that would be given to 

 the whole cake will be prevented, and it will be bro- 

 ken into thin flakes. When thick solid pieces happen 

 to fall off, the anvil must be held in the left hand, with 

 the face upwards ; and the piece being laid on it, must 

 be broken with the flat face of the hammer, till it is 

 small enough to be ground. To prevent the enamel 

 from flying about, the anvil should be so held in the 

 hand, that part of the fore finger and thumb may form 

 a kind of rim. 



The centre is generally the foulest part of die cake, 

 and is often intermixed with black and red streaks. 

 When this is the case, the coloured parts should l>e re- 

 jected, as they would otherwise contaminate the whole 

 enamel. When the enamel is broken as small as is 

 necessary, no piece being left larger or thicker than a 

 small pea, the agate mortar must be set on a piece of 

 coarse linen cloth four times doubled, and made tho- 

 roughly wet with clean water. This should l>c laitl 

 on the work-board, and the mortar about half filled 

 with enamel, which should be nearly covered v 

 5 



