Friday 31 October 2025

In this first session with Miriam, we discussed the design of the trumpet garland and the sorts of tools that would be required to carry out this kind of chasing work (predominantly a multitude of bespoke punches and various repoussé hammers). I had already made a computerised illustration of the William Bull trumpet (Warwick) garland to use as a guide. Miriam gave an overview of the processes that would be required, including scribing and tracing the design from the outside, forming the repoussé from the inside, and the final planishing and texturing techniques.

I selected a small part of the trumpet garland design to enlarge and transfer onto a flat sheet of brass: this would be my first test piece and I would be using Miriam’s pitch, pitch bowl, repoussé hammers, and punches. From that starting point, and I must note that working at a larger scale to begin with was a wise choice, I was able to try out the tools and techniques required in order to work towards making a complete garland similar to those seen on the silver trumpets made by William Bull in the late 17th or early 18th century.

After annealing, pickling, and cleaning the metal with pumice powder, I scribed the design onto the surface and Miriam introduced me to tracing. With the workpiece set in her pitch and pitch bowl, she demonstrated this technique, using the hammer to ‘walk’ the chasing punch along the scribed lines. Miriam noted that another technique of ‘hovering’ the punches would be used later, especially for the repoussé and texturing processes. She recommended, at least to begin with, working towards yourself while tracing so that you can see the scribed lines more clearly as you work.

It was a real treat to use Miriam’s own chasing tools, as well as her pitch and pitch bowl. Working with her well-established set-up gave me confidence that if anything was not working, the fault would be entirely mine. This had been my philosophy when learning the trumpet: to acquire the best instrument I possibly could so that any shortcomings were clearly my own rather than those of the equipment. 

While I practised and worked on the tracing, Miriam took note of the tools I favoured and went into the adjacent workshop (used for toolmaking or other noisy and dirty tasks such as filing, grinding, and polishing, in contrast to the main workshop which she uses for silversmithing, engraving, annealing, soldering, teaching, and chasing and repoussé) to make reproductions for me. I cannot thank Miriam enough for the extraordinary care and attention she brought to her teaching: while patiently guiding me through the various processes, she was simultaneously thinking ahead about the tools I would need further down the line in order to continue developing independently. Her level of attentiveness and generosity is rare, and the tools she made have already proved to be invaluable. 

Incidentally, many of the tools in my gradually expanding collection now carry something of an autobiographical story: one I made with Ray Walton, another made by Miriam, and a fluting tool I used extensively at West Dean College all trigger helpful memories, and I am beginning to differentiate between tools that once all looked so similar, to the untrained eye, by the slightest of physical differences.

‘The better the tracing, the better the chasing’, Miriam explained. There are several reasons for this: first and foremost, the process of tracing transfers the outline of the design to the inner side of the metal, and the lines show where repoussé will be required once the workpiece is inverted in the pitch. Tracing also work hardens the metal on the outline, which means that just that part of the metal is less likely to move when the repoussé is undertaken, so it effectively acts as a defined border. This is almost like icing a detail on a cake: the border of the shape is piped first and the inner area is then flooded with icing which occupies the space between. That space, I soon learned, would be pushed back from the inside in the process known as repoussé. 

I had been using Miriam’s pitch bowl and pitch so far, and we deemed it important to make sure that the pitch I would be practising on at home was fit for purpose. We set up my pitch bowl, with the cream-coloured ‘chaser’s pitch’ that I had brought with me. The pitch was very hard, so we transferred it to a small saucepan and softened it with beeswax. Pitch is much more commonly black, and mine took on a few bits from the pan or its patina; we referred to this speckled pitch after the ice cream it came to resemble, ‘Madagascan Vanilla’.

It was great to set the pitch bowl up while I was with Miriam because I would not have known what to look for when it came to softening the pitch to a good consistency. It was good to do this together as I learned more about how to manage this viscoelastic substance. It is a little bit like handling a wet sourdough mixture: there are various knacks to be learned, and you invariably make a bit of a mess the first couple of times you try! I was glad to do this under supervision as, unlike sourdough, it can burn you, so care must be taken when manipulating it. Once my pitch had cooled, I melted the surface again and pressed my workpiece into it, ready for the repoussé.

The French word repoussé (meaning ‘pushed back’—the past participle of the infinitive verb repousser meaning ‘to push back’) literally adds a whole new dimension to a workpiece, as relief is pushed through from the back. Miriam’s golden rule for repoussé is to use the largest possible tool for the job; this avoids larger or deeper areas taking on a lumpy appearance by attempting to use a plethora of ill-fitting punches, though I would learn more about this on my next visit. Miriam also mentioned the importance of keeping the tools and workpiece clean; plaster or cement dust from the pitch can end up on the tools and this can mark the work. Also, iron from the steel tools can be left behind in the work and rust at a later stage, so it is important to keep everything clean and dry, and to work with polished tools. 

After the repoussé, we removed the workpiece and cleaned it. We used a cold hammer head to gather up hot pitch from the sides of the bowl into the centre, so that we could be sure that the hollow internal parts of this small workpiece, now back the right way up, were supported with pitch beneath.

We had done a lot on our first day together, 31 October 2025: we set up my pitch bowl, softened the pitch, scribed the design on the test piece, completed the tracing, made chasing tools for specific tracing applications, turned the workpiece over in the pitch, cleaned the pitch off the piece (using heat and two towels, and if necessary once cooled, white spirit), carried out the repoussé, turned the workpiece over again, cleaned it again, and began the process of planishing, refining, and texturing the outer surface of the workpiece.

The first day served both as an overview of the whole process and as a source of confidence that I had been set on the right path. I now knew that my pitch was soft enough to work successfully, and I had begun to understand the correct posture and hand positions for using chasing tools and repoussé hammers. I could now practise independently and begin to develop muscle memory. I also came away with an important attitude towards toolmaking, imparted by Miriam: if I needed a particular tool, I would need to make it. The tools required for a specific task can rarely be purchased ready-made. I hoped to return in April with a blank silver garland, ready to begin working on my version of the Bull trumpet garland with the inscription ‘Russell Gilmour after William Bull’.

In the months that followed, I continued working on the test piece at home, chasing the background down to enhance the appearance of the repoussé. I started a new and similar (still oversized) acanthus leaf test piece and sent occasional photos of my progress to Miriam. She is an extraordinarily supportive teacher; she kept in touch and offered constructive and incredibly useful guidance to keep me on track.

As well as practising at home, I also studied some aspects of chasing and repoussé as part of my intervening lessons for the DYCP project: I attended a course entitled ‘Silversmithing - an emphasis on traditional skills with Julian Stephens’ at West Dean College where I first chased some fluted ferrules on a tube. I also had the first two of my four days with the Faversham-based silversmith Ray Walton, who Miriam had recommended as an expert in historical silversmithing techniques, with whom I chased a soldered ball. So, I was off to a really good start before returning for three days in mid-April 2026. 

Tuesday 21 April 2026

A lot has happened since I visited Miriam Hanid in October 2025, and the most exciting news is that my wife and I are expecting our first child! The DYCP project is also progressing well: I’ve had a good amount of time to practice the chasing and repoussé skills I learned with Miriam in October, and I’m learning so much about silversmithing and trumpet making in general at the moment. Having divided the trumpet’s most ornamental components between lessons with three specialists (ferrules with Julian Stephens, the decorative three-part ball with Ray Walton, and the chased garland with Miriam Hanid), I’m currently learning and refining all of these aspects simultaneously.

I’m also practising bell-making using the new Bull mandrel (refining the bell template and practising forming strong seams and working in brass before progressing to silver), and I have been working on the ornate ball both at home and also with Ray Walton at his workshop in Faversham (I visited him at the beginning of April 2026 and I will be returning for two days at the end of the month).

I returned to Miriam’s workshop on 21, 22, and 23 April 2026 and we picked up from where we left off in October, both socially and with my garland project. This time Miriam had Alice Devienne, an intern from École Boulle in Paris, working with her and it was great to meet her and share the workshop with these skilled craftspeople.

I had been hoping to work in silver upon my return, but I decided to continue using brass as I knew that I would need to make some new tools for specific applications and I wanted to be able to try these out on a test workpiece rather than on a silver garland intended for a finished trumpet. I’d also learned a valuable lesson on the Friday prior to visiting Miriam: not to rush when spinning. When I do spinning, I have to visit my trumpet-making teacher (who has a large lathe), so I am working against the clock more than I would be if I could do the work in my own workshop.

I had every intention of arriving at Miriam’s with a spun silver garland blank but unfortunately that was not to be. Instead of seeing this as a negative, I decided to view the brass version as a test piece, upon which I could work more experimentally, trying new tracing, repoussé, planishing, and texturing tools before attempting a more refined version in silver. I’m glad I did this, as I improved significantly as I progressed, and it was good to see the whole process through from start to finish on a concave cone-shaped test piece. I felt that it would be good to be free to make mistakes and remembered this quote from John Cleese’s famous lecture on Creativity In Management (broadcast by Video Arts from Grosvenor House Hotel, London, 23 January 1991).

‘If you are going to be creative you have to be in a state of play. You can’t play if you’re being careful. If you’re trying not to make mistakes it destroys creativity completely because if you have a new idea you can’t immediately say that’s a mistake until you’ve explored it’.

When I arrived at Miriam’s workshop on Tuesday 21 April 2026, we began with a general discussion of what I’d been up to since the last visit. I showed Miriam the test pieces that I had made at home (chased acanthus leaves), on the West Dean College course (fluted ferrule tubes), and with Ray Walton (my first attempt at chasing the large ball) and we discussed the plans for the three remaining days and set to work.

I had already marked out a formed brass garland with the acanthus patterns and lettering and we filled the negative space within the garland with pitch (softened with beeswax and with some added plaster) and attached it to the pitch in my bowl. I began tracing the design, once again using a hammer to ‘walk’ various metal punches along the scribed lines. Miriam suggested various tools from her extensive collection that I could use. Once again, she very kindly made facsimiles of the most useful tracing tools from spare silver steel that I had brought with me. This was invaluable, as I could continue practising tracing the garland (which was now very close to the final size of the design), while Miriam made some tools that would prove to be crucial for working at this more intricate scale.

It was quite different working on the curved surface of the garland, as opposed to the flat workpieces that I had been practising on. It is important to use the chasing punches at 90° to the workpiece and to ensure that the hammer makes a square contact with the top of the chasing tool. The cast iron pitch bowl was placed on a ring made from thick leather and we used some non-slip matting in between, which helped the bowl to stay in place and also deadened the sound somewhat. 

It took all day to complete the tracing, and it had taken me most of the morning before I came to Miriam’s just to mark it out, but I was making good progress and enjoying the process. It was also great to chat to Miriam and Alice throughout the day and over lunch; we had lovely weather and sat by the apple orchard in the garden at lunchtime. I was beginning to get a slightly sore neck from stooping to enhance my view of the tip of the tracing tools on the workpiece. I tried some of Miriam’s optical equipment and made a mental note to explore this area further, as I am sure it is key to producing more accurate work.

When we had finished for the day, I checked in to my AirBnb in nearby Southwold and wrote up my notes. 

Wednesday 22 April 2026

The next day, Wednesday 22 April 2026, I started tracing the lettering, which I had not managed to complete on Tuesday. I rushed this slightly, as I was keen to progress in order to see the whole process through from start to finish while I was with Miriam. I will take much more time with the lettering in future versions, as this is such an important aspect of the design. People are so sensitive to text and typefaces, and we read and evaluate these with greater scrutiny than we would with natural forms such as acanthus leaves. Organic or asymmetrical elements in a visual design can often feel expressive and characterful, whereas inconsistencies in lettering are noticed immediately and held to a higher standard.

Once the tracing was completed and I had checked for any missed lines, I melted the pitch from the inside of the garland and began the process of cleaning the pitch off the inside. This involved melting the pitch out, rubbing it with a towel, and using white spirit to dissolve any residue, before finally cleaning it with pumice powder. After that, Miriam explained how to build a wall of wide masking tape around the garland so that I could pour the pitch around it. This was easier than attempting to force it into a hollow on the pitch bowl, which would have been difficult to work with, and it meant that I could be sure, thanks to gravity, that the pitch had surrounded the outside. We left it to cool and decided on the tools that we would like to make on Thursday, my final day.

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After lunch made by Alice (delicious galettes with egg and goat’s cheese), we attached the garland by pressing the subassembly (hollow on the inside with pitch surrounding the outside) into a small mound of pitch on the surface of the pitch bowl. We left this to cool, and began experimenting with repoussé tools, which would be our main focus on Thursday. For the time being, however, we decided to use the remaining time on Wednesday to finish off one of the flat test pieces I started at home, in order for me to learn about, understand, and try the post-repoussé techniques of planishing and texturing. I used a rotary tool, a small felt wheel and Tripoli to polish the test piece and cleaned it to remove all residue. 

I used a selection of old French and English chasing tools from an old collection housed in the wooden chest that Malcolm Appleby had given to Miriam. This beautifully made collection included a series of different-sized matting or texturing tools, which I was able to try out. Miriam had not made tools like these before, and it was great to have these antique tools on hand to appreciate, appraise, and attempt to reproduce. 

After another amazing day with Miriam, I met up with my former trumpet teacher (and my current trumpet-making teacher), David Staff, and we enjoyed a fantastic pint of Adnams in The Lord Nelson in Southwold. 

Thursday 23 April 2026

On Thursday morning Miriam and I placed the tools that had worked best for my application next to a suitable piece of silver steel bar and we planned to make copies of these throughout the day. To start with, Miriam arranged the white firebricks on her soldering hearth into a kind of Stonehenge-esque formation and we began heating and forging a piece of silver steel to make a chasing tool—hammering it on the flat stake while it was red hot. I now know the meaning of the old adage to ‘strike while the iron is hot’. The large hammer we used was basically as heavy as I could physically handle, and I’ve laid track on a steam railway in the past! It transpired that using the weight of the hammer is key, and forging the chasing tool to form a tapering square section involved working it in equal blows: hammering it against the anvil and rotating it 90°, back and forth. Occasionally it was necessary to hold it flush against the anvil and hit the highest part of the steel to straighten the tool. It would then be taken to red heat again and the process repeated. This saves a lot of filing and allows the tools to be shaped without removing any metal.

We made some of the smaller tools using large files, the bench grinder, and an angle grinder (with a cutting disc at first, and then fine grit unitising discs) to remove material and refine the shape of the tool. Miriam had an idea to take some photographs, using her DSLR camera, to capture sparks trailing from the grinding machine. I set her DSLR to time priority mode, used a slow shutter speed (about a quarter of a second) and placed the camera on the workbench opposite the machine. With these settings in time priority mode, the sensor is exposed to light for longer and the glowing sparks are captured for more of their journey as a result of the longer exposure. After some fiddling, I experimented and found some good settings for the lighting conditions.