Help with making a silver inlay

[Doc]

I am going to try to tackle making an inlay for my new build.  Was watching the TV show "Iron and Fire" about the mountain gunsmith.  He heated the silver coin to glowing and then stuck it in water to "anneal" it and make it workable.  Would that not quench it and make it harder to work?  Or is silver different than steel?  I would think letting it cool slowly would be better to soften it, or am I over thinking it?

Do I need to worry about it or just hammer it out and start cutting?  Any help would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks
Doc

[wormey]

Non ferrous metals including silver and brass soften when heated and cooled quickly.  wormey

[tallbear]

Doc

Silver is different than steel but I would avoid quenching the silver when red hot.It can crack.To anneal heat up to an orange heat and let cool and it will be soft.Then you can work it cold.if it hardens while hammering it cold after a while re anneal.

Mitch

[davec2]

"Noble" metals (like silver and gold....also copper and brass) heat treat completely differently from most other metals.  To anneal copper, brass, gold, silver, etc, the metal is brought up to various higher temperatures (like higher than 1000 degrees or so) and then quenched....or cooled quickly in air.  Smaller items will cool quickly enough in air to anneal.

[Doc]

Ok thanks guys,  always learning in this hobby.   

[David R. Pennington]

Heating with nonferrous metals will anneal them. Doesn't much matter if you quench them or not. Carbon steel must be heated to a critical temperature and allowed to cool slooowwly to anneal. Havn't much experience with silver. Is it german or sterling silver?

[Doc]

Was thinking about pounding out a few coins to practice.  Just thinking a small moon to start with.
Doc

[Gaeckle]

What coin are you planning on using? A dime will be pretty thin, a quarter flattened out may get thin as well. For me, a thin inlay is hard to put in and if it something like a moon with two small points, then it's a bit more difficult. To overcome this, I like to use thicker stock.

When I make an inlay (as opposed to using a store bought one) I fashion the shape out of paper, when I am satisfied with the shape, I place the inlay on the stock to consider how it would look, placement or determine if any alterations need to be made. Once I am satisfied with the paper inlay I trace the paper inlay onto another peice of paper and this one I glue to my metal stock I intend to use for the inlay. I keep the original paper inlay as a backup in case I need to start all over.

After the glue has dried (2-3 hours, and I use Titebound white glue) I carefully cut the inlay and then file to shape. I then place the cut inlay on the stock, decide if I like the work and begin to cut it in. I have found that this method works pretty good for me, and I hope this helps for you.

Here's a sample:

[Hungry Horse]

Make sure the coins you use are coin silver, and not the modern laminated junk. You will have to anneal quite often if you are working on something quite thick. Also remember to file a bevel on the back side edges so you don't wind up with gaps.

  Hungry Horse

[Mark Elliott]

Cooper, Brass and Silver (sterling to fine) are all heated till they just glow red,  allowed to air cool to black, and then quenched so that you can work them right away.   This procedure works as a practical matter.   I had done it this way with few problems for many years.  The only caveat is that you can overheat and actually harden the material.   I only just learned that but it explains a problem I had a number of years ago with some investment cast brass mounts that hardened instead of softened.   Just be sure to heat in a subdued light so that you don't overheat.

[Doc]

Wow, thanks everyone, awesome info! !

Doc

[Mike Brooks]

I use mostly coin silver for inlays and pound them out. Never have had to aneal although the silver does harden quite a bit. Sure does engrave nice once it's hard.