ORDER VIII.—WORKERS IN PRECIOUS METALS AND ELECTRO PLATE

Sub-order 1.—Workers in Precious Metals and Electro Plate

287.—Silver and White Metal Smiths

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albata worker

a silversmith q.v. working in albata, i.e., a white metal.

assembler

see maker-up.

brazier

joins together by process of brazing, i.e. soldering with a brass solder or spelter, component parts of goods which are to be electro-plated.

britannia metal article maker, britannia metal smith

as for silversmith.

British plateworker

general term for persons working in British plate, i.e., pewter, and includes stamper (286), spinner, mounter (288), chaser (283) q.v.

casting dresser

see filer.

cropper

see cutter-out.

cruet hand, cruet stand maker ; jelly hand

general terms for any operative engaged in mounting or fitting together cruet stands; may be a silversmith q.v. or a mounter (288) q.v. or a pierce worker (286) q.v.

cruet top maker

puts hinges and knobs on spun or stamped rims and covers of pepper and mustard pots, sugar dredgers, salt pourers, etc., using blow pipe and solder and small hand tools.

cutler, silver

a silversmith q.v. who specialises in assembling blades and handles of silver knives, which have been stamped out by pressworker (286) q.v., using blow pipe and solder and hand tools; sometimes also stamps out blades and handles.

cutter-out ; cropper, shearer

cuts metal from which electro-plated articles are to be made, with hand or power-driven shears, or under dies.

dish cover maker

(i) a spinner q.v. engaged in shaping bodies of dish covers;

(ii) assembles and fits beading, handle, or knob on stamped or spun body to make dish cover, using hand tools, blow pipe and solder, etc.

filer ; casting dresser, grinder

removes with a file, by hand, or on an emery wheel, rough edges and surface inequalities from cast, blanked out, or stamped articles, such as cutlery or jewellery; sometimes specifically designated according to material used, or article worked upon, e.g., silver filer, spoon and fork filer, etc.

fitter

see maker-up.

flat hammerer ; hammerman, planisher, raiser, silver raiser

shapes articles from sheet metal by beating them with a hammer or mallet on an anvil, or shaping bench, and various stakes and heads.

fluter ; raiser, silver raiser

(i) fills teapot or other article with special "chaser's" pitch, and attaches to pitch block; allows pitch to set firmly, and makes fluting in article by gently tapping a steel chasing tool along set lines; (where fluting is raised, article is made so that whole area to be fluted is raised, and flutings are obtained by making regular indentations over this area);

(ii) flutes sides of teapot or other article by gently tapping snarling iron, one end of which is fixed in vice and the other held against inside of pot.

grinder

see filer.

hammerman

see flat hammerer.

handle maker

fits, and brazes or solders together, stamped embossed parts of handles of teapots, coffee pots, etc., and files and cleans the handles ready for fitting; sometimes specifically designated according to material used, e.g., German silver handle maker, nickel silver handle maker, silver handle maker.

handler

fixes, pins with wire, and cements handles on teapots, coffee pots, etc.

hollow-ware maker (electro-plate)

a silversmith q.v. engaged in making electro-plated hollow-ware.

jelly hand

see cruet hand.

jobber and repairer

as for jobber and repairer (284) q.v.

maker-up, jeweller's maker-up, silver maker-up ; assembler, fitter, putter-together, silver putter-together, wireworker

a silversmith q.v. who solders, on wire, or rivets together bodies and parts of silver or other white metal articles after they have been cast or shaped by hand, by spinning, or by stamping; cf. mounter (288).

modeller ; pattern maker

a goldsmith (284) or silversmith q.v. who makes models, by hand, in plaster, wax, or metal, i.e., gold, or silver or other white metal, from his own or from other designs, drawings or figures, or from plaster casts, to be used as patterns for die sinkers and tool makers in fashioning dies or cutting and piercing tools for medals; cf. designer (298).

mount maker, silver

cuts out from silver plate, with hand cutting tools, mounts for articles such as pipes or walking sticks; spins them to shape on a spinning lathe, or bends them to shape by hand; solders together ends of mounts after they have been bent, using blow pipe and solder, and sometimes fits them on article; sometimes further designated according to article made, e.g., pipe mount maker, stick mount maker.

nevada silver worker

a silversmith q.v. working in composite metal known as nevada silver.

nickel worker, nickel silver worker

a silversmith q.v. working in nickel silver.

pattern maker

see modeller.

planisher

(i) see flat hammerer;

(ii) see wheeler.

putter-together, silver putter-together

see maker-up.

raiser, silver raiser

(i) see flat hammerer;

(ii) see fluter.

repairer

a silversmith q.v. engaged on repair of articles of jewellery, plate, etc.

set worker

a maker-up q.v. who specialises in production of articles in sets, e.g., teapot, sugar basin, cream jug, etc.

shearer

see cutter-out.

silversmith

makes articles of silver, or of various white metals, e.g. britannia metal, albata, nevada silver, etc., by hand, either by heating them out from sheet metal, or by assembling and soldering together cast or stamped parts; uses some or all of a great variety of large and small tools, including blow pipe and solder, files, hammer and anvil, moulds, lead cakes and similar devices for obtaining various shapes, piercing saw and bench vice, etc.

smith, bright

as for silversmith; cf. tinsmith (264).

smith, german silver ; white metal smith

as for silversmith.

solderer, hard

solders together component parts of jewellery, plate, etc., made of gold or other precious metals using a silver or brass solder, i.e. a solder nearly as hard as the metal on which it is used, and obtaining the necessary heat by means of a blowpipe or a muffle furnace; cf. brazier.

solderer, soft

solders together component parts of cheaper goods, usually made of nickel silver or copper, using a soldering alloy of lead, or of lead and zinc, which fuses at a low temperature.

spinner

shapes sheet metal articles, such as bowls, dish covers, etc., by pressing a bluntly pointed polished steel tool against sheet metal as it revolves in a lathe, and so forces it to take shape of a revolving mould or pattern.

spoon and fork worker

stamps out blanks of spoons and forks in a power-driven or hand press, cf. press worker (286); hammers blanks to shape by hand, on special moulds.

thimble maker, silver

receives thimble in the rough, after it has been pressed into shape, by machine, by pressworker (286) q.v.; cuts it to required size oil a lathe and finishes off by holing, skimming, and burnishing by hand.

wheeler ; planisher

smooths metal surfaces on a hand-operated or power-driven wheeling machine, consisting of two revolving wheels, between which metal is passed to remove bubbles and other surface irregularities that are left after stamping.

white metal worker

as for silversmith .

wireworker

see maker-up.

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From: A Dictionary of Occupational Terms Based on the Classification of Occupations used in the Census of Population, 1921,
Ministry of Labour, 1927. Digitised by Peter Christian, August, 2016.   This text is in the Public Domain.