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Thimble: the Pitted Iron Thimble Gilt Inside (Rouy and Berthier, Ure 1839)
The Paris method of Rouy and Berthier: thin sheet-iron discs, red-hot, punched step by step into a cup through five ever-deeper hollows, then turned, pitted and annealed on the lathe, gilt inside with gold leaf pressed on by a steel mandril, and banded outside with a gold fillet.
Variable: closed (pitted round end) or open (no end, for tailors).
Source: Andrew Ure, Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines (1839), 'Thimble'. Picture: a modern pitted thimble (Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0).
Advanced
Unknown
Instructions
1
1
Punch the blanks
Punch the blanks
Cut sheet iron 1/24 in thick into strips sized for the thimbles. Run them under a punch press to cut discs about 2 in across, left joined by a tail, a dozen to a strip.
Materials for this step:
Iron Sheet (Hammered)1 1/24 inTools needed:
Punch Press2
2
Sink the cup
Sink the cup
Heat the blanks red-hot and lay each on a mandril fitted to its size. Strike the middle with a round-faced punch about as thick as a finger to sink it into the first hollow, then drive it through a block with five hollows of increasing depth until it has the thimble's shape.
Tools needed:
Forge
Tongs
Unknown Metal
Hammer3
3
Turn and pit on the lathe
Turn and pit on the lathe
Chuck the rough thimble in the lathe, polish the inside, turn the outside, mark the rings for the gold band, and press in the rows of pits with a milling tool.
Tools needed:
Metal Lathe
Knurling Tool4
4
Anneal, gild and band
Anneal, gild and band
Anneal and brighten the thimbles. Line each inside with a thin cone of gold leaf, bonded to the iron by the hard pressure of a smooth steel mandril. Turn an annular seat outside, lay a gold fillet in it and press its edges into a fine groove cut on the lathe.
Materials for this step:
Gold Leaf1 liningUnknown Metal1 gold filletTools needed:
Forge
Mandrel RodMetal LatheMaterials
3- 1 1/24 inPlaceholder
- 1 liningPlaceholder
- 1 gold filletPlaceholder
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