Crafting Copper

Q I understand from talking with other Arts and Crafts collectors that some copper pieces were made by a process called “spinning.” While I did not understand completely what was involved, I grasped enough of the concept to determine that “spun” pieces are not considered as valuable as those which, I presume, were hammered by hand. Can you shed some more light on the process and how prevalent it was during the Arts and Crafts movement?

A While wood-turning lathes have been around for centuries, the concept of utilizing a lathe to form a thin sheet of metal, particularly copper, silver, brass and aluminum, into a particular shape did not become widespread until the late 19th century.

All metals can be formed into a desired shape by a number of different means, several of which were employed at the turn of the century. The traditional and most well-known method is that of “forging,” wherein the craftsman, like a blacksmith, heats and hammers an ingot of metal on an anvil or over a “stake.” The iron and copper hardware on most Gustav Stickley and Roycroft furniture, for instance, was forged by hand. Copper accessories, such as Roycroft desk sets or Dirk van Erp table lamps, were made by hand, but we typically refer to them as being “hammered” rather than “forged,” although the terms carry the same meaning. It should be noted that repeated hammering actually strengthens the metal at a molecular level, so that a bowl “raised” from an ingot by hand-hammering is much harder to dent than an identical bowl made by other means.

Another time-honored way to work metal is casting—melting it, then pouring it into a mold. Most L. & J. G. Stickley furniture features molded hardware. The brass candlesticks of Robert Jarvie were also cast in molds, as were handles on some sterling pitchers.
With the industrial revolution came machines that took in ingots of metal and extruded flat sheets, giving rise to new methods of shaping. For instance, thin sheets could be stamped over a form. This practice was widespread among Victorian furniture makers wanting inexpensive, ornate brass drawer pulls to compliment the machine-produced wooden ornament tacked onto the frame. As you would expect, this was one of the practices that the Arts and Crafts proponents openly criticized.

“Spinning” is used to create larger, hollow, round pieces, such as vases, plates, or bowls; as a process, it falls somewhere between hammering and stamping. A solid form in the desired shape was attached to the stationary end of a lathe. The operator (it is difficult to call him a “craftsman”) then attached a thin circular sheet of metal to the shaft of the lathe. Once the shaft and the metal disk started turning, the operator used tools to apply pressure against the outside of the spinning disk, forcing it against the form. As the tool pressed the thin metal against the form, the metal took on that shape, a bit like a pot on a potter’s wheel. The operator would then remove the finished piece, replace it with another flat disk and start the process again.
Spotting a spun piece of metal is not difficult. Most are lightweight and have no hammering marks; occasionally a piece of spun metal will have shallow planishing marks, added afterwards solely for effect. In addition, many spun pieces have a series of faint concentric circles rippling out from a center point on the bottom of the piece.

Though the result was a less durable product, spinning gained popularity with major craft shops in the 1920s, a time when many of them, including the Roycroft Copper Shop, were struggling to stay in business. Just as all of the major furniture workshops began spraying their finishes in the 1920s, I suspect the metal shops also began experimenting with spun pieces to save costs, improve efficiency and maintain consistency. Unfortunately, spinning reduced the necessity to train young men and women how to actually use a hammer and anvil. The practice of spinning pieces of copper, brass and silver, while it has widespread commercial applications, never achieved lasting popularity with craft makers. I doubt seriously if, after close inspection, you would be fooled into thinking a spun piece of “Arts and Crafts” metal had been raised by hand.