Every operation is performed with the utmost care, and not until the piece is actually finished can this vigilance be relaxed, as it is the final processes that make the plating of pure silver an actual part of the spoon and insure its wearing qualities.
Striking and Bowling.—The pattern is then stamped on the handle and the bowl is shaped.
Trimming, etc.—After the pattern and the bowl have been struck, there is usually a small burr left where the metal has oozed out between the dies. This is removed by trimming. The trademark is then stamped on the back of the handle.
Polishing.—The goods are put through various operations of polishing until they are brought to a high finish.
Plating.—The articles to be plated are suspended in a frame in the silver solution. This frame is connected with the negative pole of a magneto-electro machine, while the silver is suspended in the solution from bars and connected with the positive or opposite pole of the machine, thereby forming a circuit for the electricity through the solution.
1. The blank. 2. Squeezed. 3. Blank rolled. 4. Spoon cut from blank. 5. Design struck. 6. Bowl raised. 7. Trade-mark stamped. 8. After plating. 9. The finished spoon.
A patent automatic scale, designed to weigh the silver while depositing, is balanced to the exact weight of silver to be deposited on the article. The circuit is completed by turning a switch and the plating begins.