Rene, a good place to look at a wide variety of stake designs is Otto Frei-
http://www.ottofrei.com/store/home.php?cat=270
They are VERY expensive, especially in pesos- but you can see the variety of stake designs, and then could have them made for you there in BsAs.
I have not done any silver, but when I make 3 dimensional forms in sheet metal, I use a leather bag filled with shot- this is the auto panel beaters technique, as discussed by artisans like Ron Fournier-
http://www.fournierenterprises.com/toolsxxx.html
His book is excellent regarding larger scale raising and metal forming. He is not a jeweler, but he is as skilled a metalsmith as the best of them in his own way.
And the leather bag is cheap and versatile. You still need stakes for planishing, however.
I think it will make the most sense to make, or have made, stakes there in Argentina. The raw material, the steel, is cheap, and the labor there is much cheaper than US prices for finished stakes.
I am sure there are Herrero's there who could easily make you one.
I have not had a chance to search out and meet Porteno blacksmiths yet, but from browsing on TodoAr, I know there are several commercial blacksmiths still in BsAs, and I intend to meet them as time goes on, and I spend more time there.
Rene, a good place to look
Rene, a good place to look at a wide variety of stake designs is Otto Frei-
http://www.ottofrei.com/store/home.php?cat=270
They are VERY expensive, especially in pesos- but you can see the variety of stake designs, and then could have them made for you there in BsAs.
I have not done any silver, but when I make 3 dimensional forms in sheet metal, I use a leather bag filled with shot- this is the auto panel beaters technique, as discussed by artisans like Ron Fournier-
http://www.fournierenterprises.com/toolsxxx.html
His book is excellent regarding larger scale raising and metal forming. He is not a jeweler, but he is as skilled a metalsmith as the best of them in his own way.
And the leather bag is cheap and versatile. You still need stakes for planishing, however.
I think it will make the most sense to make, or have made, stakes there in Argentina. The raw material, the steel, is cheap, and the labor there is much cheaper than US prices for finished stakes.
I am sure there are Herrero's there who could easily make you one.
I have not had a chance to search out and meet Porteno blacksmiths yet, but from browsing on TodoAr, I know there are several commercial blacksmiths still in BsAs, and I intend to meet them as time goes on, and I spend more time there.