Behind the Scenes; Making our 10th Wedding Anniversary Heart Dish
Getting your hands on a handcrafted gem from a small business, instead of something churned out and imported by a faceless Corporation is so much more meaningful to all involved, from the buyer, to the recipient, and certainly the maker. We believe showing what happens behind the scenes makes it all the more special. That's right, we're pulling back the curtain to reveal all the magic!
We love working with tin for numerous reasons, but crafting tin gifts for our customer's 10th Wedding Anniversaries is a standout for us! As tin is the traditional gift to give to celebrate 10 years of marriage, we're in a great position to create some wonderful pieces to celebrate this milestone occasion.
We've spent quite a few years cultivating our collection, and it has really flourished! One of our favourite and most popular 10th Anniversary Gifts is our Heart Ring Dish. It's particularly symbolic for us, being one of our first Tin Anniversary designs. In fact, this ring dish sparked our journey into mastering hand stamping and personalising our pieces.
We would love to share how we create this piece; the materials, methods, machines and skills used, from raw tin ingots to a beautifully boxed ring dish. The complete handcrafting journey, from beginning to end. We hope you enjoy learning how we create this piece. Get ready to dive into the exciting world of our creative process!
First Stage: Centrifugal Casting
The process begins with a raw tin ingot, solid, heavy and silver in colour. We heat the ingot in a melting pot to around 270 degrees, until the metal turns to liquid. Liquid tin is bright silver in appearance and runs smoothly - looking very similar to the T-1000 robot in the Terminator films!
We take a trip to our mould room and select the 2 part vulcanised rubber mould that contains the heart dish impressions. Using a soft brush, we gently wipe over the moulds to ensure it's completely free of detritus. We then dab a bag containing a fine dry lubricant known as parting powder over the mould, which will eventually help the metal release from the mould. Traditionally a talc powder would've been used, however questions have been raised as to the carcinogenic dangers of using talc, so these days a marble dust is used instead. In theory, using this powder should also increase the life of the mould.
The mould is then placed inside the centrifugal machine. Located in the top of the machine lid is an open spout, leading directly into the centre of the mould, which has a hole cut out of it's top half, allowing access into the mould.
The machine is switched on and set to run at around 500rpm. The molten tin is then ladled from the melting pot and poured into the moulds via the spout. The machine spins for approximately 45 seconds and the tin is forced out into the impressions via tiny feeds cut out of the mould to allow the metal to reach every part of the impression.
Now we come to the interesting part. When the machine comes to a halt, the mould is removed and left to cool before it's opened and the castings are displayed.
Now, it has to be said, not every cast goes to plan! There are a number of factors to consider when perfecting the casting process. It very much depends on the item in question, it's size and intricacy. Every mould has it's own particular 'sweet spot' and will run best at a certain speed, temperature & spin direction. Getting to know what each mould wants can be time consuming to start with but beneficial in the long run, as it results in consistent, good quality castings. Of course, when the castings don't come out fully made, or they're missing definition, all that's really lost is time, as the castings simply go back in the melting pot, ready for the next cast. However, it certainly saves a lot of time by getting to know what each mould requires for the perfect cast.
Once the mould has been opened, assuming we have a successful cast, the heart castings are displayed, still attached to the sprue (the main feed into the centre of the mould). The metal has cooled, quickly turning from liquid to completely solid in a matter of moments. Larger pieces will take a little longer to harden, especially if the mould has been running for a while. The longer a mould is used, the hotter it becomes and the longer it will hold it's heat. Gloves are a must!
Once opened, the metal continues to retain it's heat for a while, so the hearts are removed one by one with a gloved hand. While it's hot, the metal is far more malleable so it can be easier to remove the hearts from the sprue before the metal has completely cooled. However, it's also very easy to bend the casting out of shape, so experience is necessary when deciding when to remove the pieces. The freshly cast tin is now a dull silver colour with a rough, uneven finish, which leads us nicely onto the next stage.
Fettling and Finishing.
The raw castings then need to be cleaned up. Any large pieces of excess metal are removed using either a sharp knife or wire cutters. A belt linisher is then used to file down and neaten the edges of each heart.
We then move onto the first machine polish. For this, we use a scotch brite wheel and an abrasive compound designed to remove any remaining casting residue and to create a smooth, uniform surface finish. At this point, the heart now has a matt satin finish, and is a somewhat muted silver colour.
Hammering the Metal
Now we have a smooth, heart shaped piece of tin, The next stage is to beat the metal, creating both the hammered faceted finish and the dished shape. Although the casting already has a very slight curve to it, we need to provide a little more depth and definition.
Using a hammer and holding the heart at an angle, we start hammering on one side and slowly work around the heart, applying varying degrees of pressure to gently manipulate the shape until the sides are upturned and the bottom lies flat.
It takes time, patience and practice before the ring dishes are consistently shaped and sitting upright. In fact, there was a frustrating period where the hearts would all slant to one side. It wasn't long before we realised the reason for these leaning hearts. Beating the metal is a tiring job, we would begin on one side, working our way around the heart, and by the time we reached the final part, well, a tired arm means less pressure on the hammer and therefore a slightly different shape to the first side! Realising this, we were able to rectify the issue and as a result now enjoy consistently shaped ring dishes.
The Polishing
Moving on to the final polish, this is where the real magic happens! We're about to go from a dull silver dish to a gorgeous shine, in just a few steps.
Again, this is a machine polish. Using a swansdown mop and a fine polishing compound, the heart is polished both front and back, concentrating on achieving an even finish over the entire surface. One of the best aspects about tin is the high polish that can be achieved with the right equipment, polishing compounds and methods.
You'd think you'd get the best finish from a new mop but that's not true in this case. Like a great pair of shoes, It can take time for the mop to wear in. We keep a dedicated mop especially for our heart dishes.
In order to create the high lustre, time needs to be taken when polishing. It requires quite a bit of manual pressure against the machine to polish effectively, and the friction from the polisher can make the heart too hot to handle for any length of time, so we tend to have a row of hearts that can be polished together, alternating between hearts is a great way to prevent burnt fingers!
The final polish produces the most amazing shine. Much of this is down to the hammering, which creates a striking faceted appearance, especially when the light hits it.
The Personalising
As the 10th Wedding Anniversary is a real milestone, we really wanted to create something special, something meaningful and relevant. Personalising this Tin Gift to the occasion was the only way to go.
We LOVE to personalise this 10th Anniversary Gift with text. Using a set of metal hand stamps, the first thing we do, is hand stamp 'Ten Years' on one side of the tin heart. Next, when a customer opts for personalisation, we will add the couple's name onto the opposite side of the heart. To add an extra special touch, we sometimes include special dates, places or phrases. We're always happy to accommodate special requests. We've had plenty of romantic and sentimental requests - along with a few wild ones that have certainly made us smile!
Hand stamping this heart can be tricky as we're stamping along the slightly upturned edge, which means taking time to hold the heart firmly to prevent it from moving during the process of striking each letter. It's not uncommon to strike the piece at an awkward angle and have the letter stamp take flight, ending up on the other side of the room, scratching or denting the heart in the process!
As well as holding the piece in the correct position, the location of stamping is also important. Neat and accurate and stamping is only possible when there is a firm, stable surface beneath the item. This means positioning the heart at an angle, and holding it firmly when striking it to ensure it doesn't move and we don't end up with a shadow stamp. A rickety table is definitely not going to produce good results!
To enhance the lettering, we spread a special enamel over the text, and after a few moments, wipe it away with a soft cloth. The enamel sitting in the lettering indents is left behind, enhancing the text and making it stand out against the silver colour.
A final hand polish with a blue silver cloth, wipes away any remaining polishing compound, enamel and fingerprints. It also helps to add shine and lustre, before boxing.
The Packing.
Finally, it's time to box and pack. We offer a range of gift box options, however, our foil printed 10th Wedding Anniversary box is the perfect commemorative option for this piece. To ensure the tin heart is securely packed, we researched suitable packing solutions and decided to use recycled wood wool. We were particularly drawn to this option due to the eco friendly nature of the wood and the fact it is recycled from offcuts is a bonus. We pop in a small card explaining the ring dish is handmade, then it's put into a white organza bag and sent out on it's merry way.
This piece is definitely one of our favourite 10th Anniversary gifts to make. It was a learning curve, however we enjoyed the challenge and came out with more new skills to use. We may have hit a few bumps along the way, but It's all about the journey, right?
The official seal of approval comes from our lovely customers, who, at the time of writing, have left us over 120+ five star reviews for our heart dish.
