To inlay copper on silver; make the form you want out of copper wire
and keep it as flat a possible, solder it to the silver with silver
solder (med is best) but just using small pallions of solder starting
at one end, and maker the solder follow the flame, then add more
pallions etc. until the entire length is soldered. You can add more
forms and use various sizes of wire, and when you are done, simply
turn the material over and hammer the back evenly. The wire will
spread according to size. Turn back over and check the hammering.
Now flux the material and heat until you see the solder flow to the
top. Then file and sand smooth. This process is called ONLAY and was
developed by Albert Palley, famous metalsmith and jewelry maker. I
have used it on some of my boxes. When soldering gold wire to silver
great care must be used not to overheat as the gold will disappear
into the silver. This application best to use low or easy solder.
Rolling just deforms the material in one direction.
Hi - Just wanted to add something to John’s reply. When soldering
the wire forms on, (if you have a rolling mill) roll the wire forms
slightly to flatten them. Then sweat solder them onto the flat sheet
metal. It looks a bit neater and makes the soldering easier. Once I
do this, I hammer them in with a planishing hammer, and after
annealing, roll it through the rolling mill a couple of times to make
it flush. It comes out quite nicely without much distortion. Good
luck - Sarah