I enamelling on the method called champleve, the cells to receive the enamel are cut out of the metal by means of scorpers. The metal used should be fairly stout, at least 3/32 of an inch in thickness, and in view of the probability of the enamel being fired in a crucible, the work should be small. Buttons are very suitable for this method of work; although brooches, buckles and clasps may be made, they need more space and should be fired in a muffle furnace. Either copper or silver may be used, and both have a good appearance, especially the copper if it is burnished. The first thing the enameller has to consider is the design to be worked on the surface of the button and it may be either a conventional arrangement of leaves, a flower, or a geometal. The metal should be thoroughly cleaned with fine emery cloth before the design is transferred on to it and also should be slightly domed to give a shape to the button. The transferred lines should be scratched with a fine scriber and then should be mounted on an engraver's block or a suitable stand, covered with cement. The cement should be the same used for repousse, and made up of Swedish pitch, plaster of paris, and a little tallow and resin. A very suitable form of stand is shown in Fig. 4, the stand being made out of a bradawl handle, with a square piece of hard wood 3/8 in. thick. The illustration shows a section through the holder showing the metal in position. To mount the button, warm the pitch and press the piece of metal, metrical form, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Another excellent method of ornamentating buttons is to utilize the arms and other portions of heraldry. Fig. 3 is a suggestion for the use of a shield in the centre of the button and ornamented with a cross.

This shield is attributed to the Saxon kings, and the cross is represented charged on a shield azure, the cross being gold. A study of heraldy will give the designer an unlimited store of suitable suggestions for design and so much of it extremely useful in enamelling.

We will take for a commencement the design shows in Fig. 1, and will presume we have a fairly stout piece of copper, cut to a circular shape with a diameter of 3/4 in. The design should be accurately drawn out on a piece of drawing paper, traced on ordinary tracing paper and then transferred with carbon paper to the which should also be warmed, into the pitch and when quite hard is ready to use. The spaces are cut out with suitable scorpers, about half-a-dozen different shapes being useful, but a lot of work may be done with the three shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7. Fig. 5 is a pointed scorper, Fig. 6 a square, and Fig. 7 a round, and as they need to be kept very sharp, an oilstone or slip should be kept at hand to keep them in good condition. It is better to get the scorpers fairly short, as they are usually too long when new, and it often pays to grind them down short enough to hold in the palm of the hand and reach to the end of the fingers. We will start by firmly holding the stand by the handle in the left hand and rest it against the bench or table. Next hold the scorper; for a start use the pointed one in the right hand, with the arm resting on the bench, the blade between the thumb and forefinger, and the handle in the hollow of the palm as near as possible to the joint of the little finger. The point of the tool is held at an oblique angle to the work and is guided by the thumb and pressed from the palm of the hand.

The use of the graver is not easy, and the worker will be well advised to practice on an odd piece of copper until he gets into the right way. Before cutting, wet the top of the tool and then make a sloping cut round the borders of the parts to be sunk. Fig. 8 shows the first stages of the cut, the deepest part being just inside the line. Next take the round pointed scorper and take out the middle of the spaces to a depth of 1/32 of an inch. This is done by taking small parings off until the bottom is reached and forms the second stage of the work, as shown in Fig. 9. To finish the bottom of the space, the square scorper should be used, leaving the space as shown in Fig. 10. If the enamel is to be opaque, the bottom of the spaces should be roughened, the edge of the flat scorper being pushed over the ground with a side to side rocking motion, making a zig-zag cut; it makes the enamel hold well, but should not be used with a transparent enamel as a rule, as it gives the ground a mechanical effect, which is unpleasant. The best way of thoroughly keying transparent enamels is to slightly undercut the edge, as shown in Fig. 11.

We will now suppose the cutting finished and ready for the enamel, which should be pulverised, as shown in a previous article. Place the enamel in the cells as suggested for cloisonne, dyry it over a spirit flame, and then make a cradle of sheet iron, pierced with some small holes, to fit underneath the button, and covered with loam or whiting and pipeclay. Place the work in a crucible with the lid on and fire it well, using a blow pipe and bellows, or if a muffle furnace may be used, fire it for preference in it. The cells will probably not be full after the first firing, although filled up with the enamel at first, so they should be refilled and re-fired until quite full. File up the surface quite smooth with a corundum file, wash the work in a solution of hydrofluoric acid and water, taking care to use rubber finger stalls when using the solution, and then finally retire the work. The finish should be given by means of rouge, thoroughly well polished. The ring under-neathe may be soft soldered on, but may, if desired, be soldered on with hard solder before the enamelling is done; in this case the work should be covered with loam or the whiting and pipeclay mentioned above, or a mixture of plaster of paris and borax, otherwise the solder would run during the firing. In making the shield shown in Fig. 3, the cross should be left in the metal and being of a gold color, if made in copper and burnished, the effect will be nearly correct. Proceed in the same way as before, cutting out the whole of the shield with the exception of the cross, and then after roughing the ground, fill in with a deep blue and fire, refilling and refiring until the work is fiished.

In working out other heraldic forms, a silver effect may be worked on copper by using a clear flux over a piece of silver foil and a brilliant gold by using gold foil on a, layer of clear flux in the same way. When ' foil is used it should be pricked ful of fine holes, and the means of doing this is to set a bundle of the finest needles in a cork and use the points as a pricker. If great brilliancy of color is required, it may always be gained by first covering the gound with a layer of clear fiux, firing it, and then adding the colors afterwards.