The description of the making of a match safe by means of die sinking will explain how all die work is done: The design for the match safe is made by the artist, who turns it over to the die sinker. He, in turn, chisels out of a steel block, about 7 ins. square, a depression in which the design fits. If the match safe has an embossed design, this is all chiselled out carefully with small chisels and filed up smoothly so that when a piece of soft lead is driven into the depression it will take the shape of the match safe as designed by the artist. The lead is so soft that it takes the print readily. This lead reproduction shows to the die sinker any imperfection in the die. The imperfections, if there are any, are smoothed down. The driving in of the lead into the depression is repeated from time to time, until the mould is the exact reproduction of the artist's design.
The die is now hardened by heating it red hot and cooling in water. When taken out of the water it is placed in the hammer or press. On the ram of the hammer is keyed, directly above this die, a square block of lead. When the hammer falls, the impact of the lead upon the impression produces a reproduction of the impression. This lead piece makes the top die. A piece of thin silver is placed in the steel die over the impression. If the ram is now dropped upon the silver plate it will force the plate into the impression and will stamp the design on the silver. One half of the match box is made in this way. When two of these are made, put together, and soldered, they make a whole match box. Thousands of match boxes would be made from this one die. That is the reason why this class of work can be sold so cheaply.
The principle explained here is used for the making of tea sets, dinner sets, etc. The same thing is true of the round wood mould you made to make the copper tray in. It can be used to make dozens of trays, all the same size and shape.
GLOSSARY
Alloy: Base metal added to silver or gold for hardness or colour. Also any combination of different metals by fusion.
Annealing: Softening metal by making it red-hot and cooling slowly; for steel, brass, copper, silver, cooling quickly in water.
Backing: The coating of enamel on the back surface of box lids, to neutralize expanse and contraction, thus preventing top enamel from cracking.
Basse-taille: Low cutting of metal beneath the line of the surface, used in enamelling. The drawing or modelling of the subject is given by the different depths of cutting.
Beck iron: T-shaped anvil or stake used in hammer work. The arms of the T are long; one is round and slender, and tapering; the other has a flat upper surface.
Bossing up: Beating out sheet metal in the back into rough forms required.