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Back to Repairing Metalware Contents Page
Essays by James R. Walker -------------------------------------
If you are a metalcraftsperson you may
be overlooking a potential gold mine right in your own shop. I was, for quite a
few years. I had to supplement my income with outside jobs. I did a lot of work
on speculation; a lot of footwork trying to develop a reputation; did a lot of
"freebees" too. It seemed for a while that I was destined to be a part-time
metalsmith at best.
Think about it, everything made from metal needs care
and attention. Metal gets dented, crinkled and cracked. It gets torn, broken and
tarnished. All of those problems, and more, need the attention of a qualified
person. For want of someone readily available many valuable pieces are simply
scrapped; with the artistic effort that had been invested in them lost forever.
If you work with metal, chances are you already have most of the skills to
provide this service, to help preserve the products of fellow metalworkers and
make good money doing it. When you repair, you isolate each problem and
solve it much like you were making the piece to begin with. Usually, though, you
have to have more of a command of the metalsmithing skills because there is less
room for error. If you are a skilled metalsmith, theoretically, you could start repairing right now. However, there are pitfalls that you should be aware of that can turn a simple job into a "can of worms". It takes skill AND specific knowledge to be good at anything and this is especially true for the repairing trade. The wisest way to get into the trade is to do it gradually; practice on 'junk' first. Then begin taking on only the types of jobs that you have mastered and can predict a good outcome. By a constant development of and a strict standard of quality, you will gain an outstanding reputation that will last a lifetime and command an enviable compensation. The "school of hard knocks" can be discouraging because there are so many twists and turns. It is also tricky; especially if you ruin someone's precious treasure by experimenting on it. Having another repairer that can teach you the tricks of the trade is about the best way to learn and the fastest. There are individuals scattered around the country who are very good at repairing. If you can find one and talk your way into being an apprentice you will receive a invaluable education. Unfortunately, the chance of finding such a person diminishes with each passing year. It is a great achievement to create something from metal. Yet in many ways to be able to re-create something is even more meaningful and challenging. To bring something back to its former beauty, to do your work so well that no one knows your services were even needed transcends the basic ideals of craftsmanship. AND people are willing to handsomely compensate those who can do it. The majority of metalware repairers I know of are so busy they can barely keep up with the demand. In the next few years the need for qualified repairers is going to become even more pressing. If you are a metalcraftsperson who has high ideals, who strives for quality results, repairing can be a means to financial stability. But beyond just increasing your income, you can also have the prestigious position of being a guardian of some of the cultural heritage in your community. What better GOLDMINE could you want than that? -------------------------------------------------------------- Repairing
metalware is an art. It is also a craft and while you are at it, also a
science. When all of these elements, correctly come together at one time in one
piece you can say that a repair is "good." But how do you measure quality of
workmanship while it is going on, ensuring high standards when it is finished? What I found was interesting. The same varying standards evident in the repairs in the exhibit are similar to what you find today. This question must go back to the time the first person repaired the first item made from metal. Conditions and needs vary, of course. One piece in the exhibit which I felt was badly done had been pinned together the repairer seemed to have been in a hurry and the pieces didn't line up at all. Maybe no one cared how it should have been repaired; maybe the owners just wanted it stuck back together in a hurry. Often there are conditions that make it hard to do good work; maybe this piece was the result of that dilemma. It's good to remind yourself that you don't know all of the details behind a bad repair job; whenever I am called upon to rework a bad repair I always try to analyze why it failed so as not to make the same mistakes. Invariably repair failures fall into the three categories mentioned above: craft, art and science. The craft element of a repair comprises all of the physical techniques that actually make up the repair. If a crack needs to be soldered "craft" is concerned with joining the metal completely and strongly. How that crack looks after it is soldered is the "art" side of repairing. It is concerned with how pleasing the job looks when it is finished. It also decides when a job is not yet finished. The best repairs are as close to invisible as possible. Since art and craft are a team they work together at the same time. If the repair doesn't look invisible yet and it could be, "art" will tell "craft" to go back and make it better. Art looks for the flow of line and other elements of design, surface texture, color and the other qualities of finish. It makes the difference between a crude and professional looking repair job. "Science" is the skeleton of repair work. It dictates what materials to use and when so the repair will be functional over a long period of time. It is concerned with internal strength. At times it may need to modify the decisions made by craft and art, if in having their way, the piece would be weakened or possibly destroyed. Back to our soldered crack: "Science" would dictate what kind of soldering needed to be done. It's good to academically review the various parts that go into repairing because the approach you take to repairing influences the outcome and quality of the job more than anything else. So to ensure high standards in the finished job even before it is started the approach should focus on at least these three elements: craft, art and science. When they work together as a team in harmony you are sure to get a "good" repair. ====================================================================
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