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<=> <=> <=> <=> E-BENCH <=> <=> <=> <=> The E-Mail Newsletter for Bench Jewelers
March 2004 Volume 5 Issue 03 circulation over 2,800
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<=> <=> ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER <=> <=>
E-BENCH is a FREE monthly newsletter for Retail Jewelry Store Owners, Shop Managers, Bench Jewelers and Anyone Else That Is Interested.
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E-BENCH is a BENCH MEDIA Publication BENCH MEDIA is a B W Simon Company Bradney W Simon – Publisher Daniel Spirer - Proofreader
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<=> <=> <=> TABLE OF CONTENTS <=> <=> <=>
REVERE’S TIPS FOR JEWELERS Tips for Jewelers, Who Do Repairs from Alan Revere
FEATURE ARTICLE Learn how to make your shop more profitable, a new technique, or brush up on basic skills.
STEWART'S BENCH TIPS Bench Tips from Stewart’s International School for Jewelers
AT THE PLATINUM BENCH Tips for working on Platinum from Platinum Guild International
FAVORITE TIPS Tips and Tricks to make your work on the bench a little easier and more productive from Bradney W. Simon CMBJ and E-BENCH Readers.
GERRY’S GEMZ Stone setting tips from Gemz Diamond Setting
WORKSHOP SAFETY FOR JEWELERS Tips from Charles Lewton-Brian
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April 23 - 25 2004 to Chicago IL
Exciting New Workshops – Seminars - Demonstrations Networking Opportunities - Exhibitor Show
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<=> <=> REVERE’S TIPS FOR JEWELERS <=> <=>
Tips for Jewelers Who Do Repairs from Alan Revere Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts
MAKING A FILE-GRAVER
A great tool adaptation is to turn the tip of a needle file into a graver, so that it can both gouge and abrade. This can be done with any shape needle file (round, square, flat, etc.)
Take a sharp fine-cut needle file and, with a sharpening stone, grind a facet at the end as you would on a graver. (I prefer to use a middle-grit India pre-soaked sharpening stone.) Once you have a flat face, sharpen it just as you would a graver, at an angle of about 55°.
You now have a file that cuts like a graver—or a graver with file cuts on the belly. Either way, this cool hybrid tool removes more metal faster and with greater control than either a file or a graver alone. By holding the file- graver at a low angle against the metal and pressing downward on the forward stroke, it cuts like a graver. Then, by decreasing the pressure and lowering the handle, you can file with control and precision—and have the benefits of two tools in one.
This Tip is from the forthcoming book "101 Bench Tips for Jewelers" written by Alan Revere and published by MJSA/AJM Press.
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Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly. Langston Hughes
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<=> <=> <=> FEATURE ARTICLE <=> <=> <=> TIME ROBBERS A Bench Jeweler’s Guide to Handling Interruptions
By Bradney W. Simon
A major area of wasted time for the bench jeweler is interruptions. Interruptions are a normal part of anyone’s work day, a necessary part of doing business, and can never be completely eliminated. However, when they become excessive, unnecessary, or when they are not handled properly, they have a detrimental effect on the productivity in the shop. Without a doubt, interruptions are one of the biggest Time Robbers that jewelers face.
Often the bench jeweler is interrupted with questions. This is not because they are the best person to ask, but because they are the easiest person to ask. Since they are sitting at their bench everybody knows where to find them. Because they are quietly working it is assumed they don’t mind being interrupted. However, to disturb a jeweler while working at their bench is just as much of an interruption as asking a salesperson a question while they are selling jewelry to a customer.
Salespeople taking in repair work should be familiar with what can be done in the shop and with the store’s price sheet. They should be able to give price estimates on most routine jobs without asking for the bench jeweler’s assistance. Then interruptions to the jeweler can be minimized. During the day, however, there are situations where technical assistance is needed, or where the jeweler must figure price estimates. On these occasions, one should not hesitate to bring this to the attention of the jeweler for their assistance. There are also occasions where additional work must be performed, interrupting the jeweler's schedule. This work may need to be done while the customer waits, or finished in a few hours.
While You Wait Jobs
When bench jewelers speak of interruptions they are usually referring to situations where salespeople come back into the shop with a special request for a customer. This is NOT an interruption to your work; IT IS YOUR WORK!
It is the responsibility of the bench jeweler to balance the salesperson’s pressure for priority service and completing work already in the shop, and should always strive to see that any additional work is executed with the minimum amount of disruption.
Jewelers need to keep in mind that change is inevitable. Customer’s requests are NOT an interruption to their work, it IS their work. This does not mean however that every request can be accomplished. There are times when a request can not be met, and the bench jeweler needs to say NO. Saying no up front can save many problems down the road. Do not accept a job you know you cannot finish in time. For example, if the salesperson states that the customer will be back in 30 minutes for the job and you know it will take you at least an hour or more, it’s best to say that up front. Otherwise when the promised time arrives it must be explained to the customer why it is not finished on time; and the customer’s work that was delayed in an attempt to finish the new work may not be completed when expected either.
You might also have the situation where you are trying to finish jobs for other salespeople. You need to explain that you already have these other jobs that customers are waiting for and you have another job that the customer has been calling about it for the last two days and you will not be able to get to another request right now. Sometimes in these situations the store owner or manager needs to be brought in to set some priorities. If that happens, take the jobs they want you to put off out of your daily work tray, go to the safe and put them back into your work box. There is no reason to have those jobs in your daily work tray staring you in the face adding to your stress during the day.
Remember, everything you say “YES” to, is a “NO” to something else. Keep the following in mind: Never make a promise you can’t keep. Never say YES without thinking about it first. Learn to pause before you say “Yes”. Give yourself at least a moment to think through what the job involves, and what effect it will have on your schedule. The next time you are tempted to say ‘YES’ stop and think, What am I doing? What should I be doing? What should I be doing next? What should I not do?
A useful device used in many stores is a while- you-wait envelope. The envelope is filled out and placed on the jeweler’s bench. The jeweler has all the information needed to complete the job and exactly when the customer will return for it. They can then work the job into their schedule. This is done without disturbing the jeweler to hand them the jewelry and verbally explain what needs to be done.
Just because you CAN do it doesn’t mean you should do it. A prime example is changing watch batteries. Often the bench jeweler is called upon to perform this simple task. Changing batteries in one or two watches has little effect on a jeweler’s schedule. However, in larger stores with several salespeople all bringing watches to the jeweler it can become a major problem.
One store’s solution to this problem was to train all the salespeople how to change watch batteries. When a customer came in with a watch, the salesperson would give it to another salesperson that did not have a customer at the time, to change the battery. Then, the first salesperson could stay on the sales floor showing the customer jewelry from the cases and the jeweler was not interrupted with the menial task of changing watch batteries.
Bench Jewelers need to learn to discern the necessary from the unimportant. Often we do not have time to complete the necessary work because we spent too much time on trivial tasks and true interruptions.
Plan for Extra Work
Practical steps can be taken to maintain efficiency. When setting a schedule for the day the jeweler should allow for flexibility. In this way change can be accomplished with little effect on productivity.
If you work an 8 hour day, plan on only 5 or 6 hours of work. Then when the new rush job comes in, you have time for it and won’t feel you are putting off other customer’s work you already have. If you do not get any rush jobs or just a few simple ones, you can always go back to your work box and pull out a few more jobs later in the day.
Stock jobs make great schedule filler. Instead of leaving holes in your schedule as above, plan a full day’s work scheduling stock jobs for later in the afternoon. Then, if you receive several ‘while you wait’ jobs you can put the stock jobs off until the next day without effecting the scheduling of customer’s jobs.
Schedule more difficult work that requires concentration (such as setting emeralds or intricate fabrication) during times when the store is quieter. The chance for interruptions is diminished during these times. Plan to work on simpler jobs (such as chains or ring sizings) during times when the store may be busier (during lunch for example). Then, any new work brought to you during those times will have less effect on your productivity.
Inform the sales staff on days that are particularly busy. Explain that you have a large amount of work to accomplish. Express your appreciation for them to keep interruptions to a minimum.
Whenever possible, tend to the interruption between groups of work. It is less distracting from the work you were doing. It also serves as a break, instead of being an interruption; it becomes a welcomed change of pace from the rest of the work.
True Interruptions
True interruptions are when someone interrupts you with something other than work related issues, such as phone calls from friends or family, co-workers talking about activities outside the store, reading through the mail, etc.
The best way to deal with these types of interruptions is to treat them as a break. If the phone is for you come quickly to a place you can stop your work or inform them you will call them right back. Then call them back as soon as you come to a natural place in your work that you can stop. When the mail comes place it aside until you take your next break and then look through it. Don’t stop what you are working on to read the mail.
Treat co-workers who want to talk the same as phone calls. If the situation is that you can easily stop your work without having it affect work flow, then stop and take a break and spend a short time chatting with them. If you are in the middle of something that really requires your concentration and you need to finish before stopping, say something like, “Give me a minute to finish this and I’ll be right with you.” Learn to excuse yourself graciously from unnecessary chit-chat when important work is waiting on you, and develop the self-discipline to do so.
Remember: Interruptions will happen. They are the normal part of anyone’s workday and a necessary part of doing business. An efficient, productive shop results when salespeople keep them to a minimum, and jewelers learn to handle them properly.
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A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. Proverbs 11: 25
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<=> <=> STEWART'S BENCH TIPS <=> <=>
Bench Tips from Stewart’s International School for Jewelers http://www.stewartsintlschool.com/
CHAIN REPAIR by Jim Stewart
Take time to clean the chain because the oils and hairspray that get inside the hollow links can affect the ability of solder to flow. You may have to clean the chain using a tablespoon of Red Devil Lye to a few cups of water at 180F. You will need ventilation while doing this. You can cut through one link on both sides using an ultra thin cutoff disc or you can lay the gold chain down on a flat piece of copper and cut the links with an X-ACTO knife. It is less costly to replace an X-ACTO blade than a flush side cutting pliers. Now weave links together and solder using paste solder. Paste solder is not necessary but it is a little faster.
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There is no expedient to which a man will not go to avoid the real labor of thinking. Thomas Edison
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New from MJSA/AJM Press The AJM Guide to Lost-Wax Casting
Learn from the masters how to achieve smooth, porosity-free castings! The AJM Guide to Lost- Wax Casting offers an abundance of best practices, handy tips, and troubleshooting techniques. How to create trouble-free master models to proper breakout procedures.
Contributing experts include: Charles Lewton-Brain, Jurgen J. Maerz, Gregg Todd, Michael Bondanza, and many more.
For sample chapters and more information, go to http://www.ajm-magazine.com/pub_press.php
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<=> <=> AT THE PLATINUM BENCH <=> <=>
Tips for working on Platinum from Jurgen J. Maerz CMBJ, Director of Technical Education for Platinum Guild International http://www.pgi-platinum-tech.com
SIZING A PLATINUM/COBALT (Pt/Co) RING
Pt/Co is slightly magnetic and can be easily detected at the bench with a magnet. Sizing a platinum ring is normally done with the welding method, as long as there are no stones nearby. The exception is Pt/Co, as cobalt oxidizes. To size a Pt/Co ring, 1700 seamless solder is recommended.
Roll the solder paper thin; wedge it into a very well fitting seam, and heat. The seam should be very, very thin. When welded with a torch, Pt/Co may oxidize slightly. This can be removed by firecoating the object after the initial welding and re-heating it to about 1000F. or by pickling in a 10% solution of nitric acid. The oxidation will not reappear during wear. Next, use a file to remove excess solder, and burnish the seam with a Tungsten burnisher. This should remove all traces of the seam. Now polish and clean the ring. With its good hardness, Pt/Co takes on a great polish.
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The man who starts out going nowhere, generally gets there. Dale Carnegie
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<=> <=> <=> E-BENCH SPONSOR <=> <=> <=>
SIMON SEZ SEMINARS
Bradney W. Simon is a JA Certified Master Bench Jeweler with over 26 years experience on the bench. He is the Editor and Publisher of E-BENCH, BENCH Magazine, and BENCH ROM, and is an accomplished platform speaker, providing Keynote Speeches, and Educational Seminars.
Topics include: Shop Management Bench Tips Jewelry Demonstrations
For information on having him speak for your organization, log onto; http://www.BWSimon.com/SimonSez Seminars
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<=> <=> <=> FAVORITE TIPS <=> <=> <=>
Use an annealed beading tool when bead setting colored stones. You will have to reshape the tip often; however the softer tool will not abrade the stone as easily if you happen to rub against it while forming the bead.
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Use an 8/0 sawblade to make a relief cut in prongs. Then they will be easier to push over fragile stones. Make the cut on the inside of the prong at the top edge of the girdle of the stone.
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Do not coat gold chains with boric acid before soldering. Place a small amount of flux on the joint to flow the solder. The slight oxidation on the chain from the heat will help keep the solder from flowing to the other links.
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To clean off flux and oxidation from a chain, hold the chain across your bench pin and clean with a scratch brush in your flex-shaft. A small satin finish brush, brass brush, or the new Radial Bristle Disk from 3M are excellent for this purpose.
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Prong retipping is probably the most under- recommended repair, and one of the most important. Whenever you take-in jewelry with stones, examine the prongs, and if they’re thin, broken, or missing, recommend retipping in addition to the other repairs. Any prong worn to less than one-fourth the original thickness must be retipped or the security of the stone is in jeopardy.
Inform the customer of the possible consequences of worn prongs, and encourage them to examine the prongs under magnification. If the customer declines retipping after being informed of worn prongs, state on the envelope the condition of the prongs, the customer’s desires, and that you will not be responsible if the stone is lost. Not only are shop profits increased from the additional work, but also store liability from stones falling out after the customer picks up their jewelry is reduced substantially.
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If you have a tip you would like to share with our readers send it in an e-mail to
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What we can easily see is only a small percentage of what is possible. Imagination is having the vision to see what is just below the surface; to picture that which is essential, but invisible to the eye.
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The Ganoksin Project
www.ganoksin.com
The Gem and Jewelry Pre-Eminent Online Resources. Open to the
public
Free of Charge.
A substantial library of articles, publications, reports, and technical data on gem and jewelry related topics; as well as a sizable collection of art and jewelry galleries, for both the casual visitor and the professional, also host the popular Orchid online forums for jewelers.
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<=> <=> <=> GERRY’S GEMZ <=> <=> <=>
Stone setting tips from Gemz Diamond Setting http://www.gemzdiamondsetting.com/index.html by Gerald N. Lewy
Don’t limit yourself to one graver for bead- raising. I use 4 or 5 different ones at my setting bench. Some beads just need a heavier pushing action while others just need a little piece of metal to hold the stone. I prefer a simple Onglette #2 and shape it to my specifications. One is thin, some are thicker and some have a larger face.
When attempting to raise beads, visualize a square or “picture frame” around each diamond. At the corners of the frame is exactly where the bead should be placed. A straight line should be formed from the outside of the bead to the edge of the stone and to the outside of the next bead. Then the bright-cutting can be done without damage to the beads.
Always clean your gold shavings with a nylon brush after drilling. The reason is that when the shavings are left inside the hole and the diamond is placed into it and beads are raised, you might think that the diamond is secured. However, when the item is placed in the ultra- sonic cleaner, the shavings are released and the diamond becomes loose!
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Stop telling God how big your storm is. Instead tell your storm how big your GOD is. Robert Black
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Run Your Shop Without It Running You A Practical Guide To Efficient Shop Management
With over one hundred and fifty pages of information, illustrations, and worksheets, this is the most comprehensive book on Shop Management available today.
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<=> <=> WORKSHOP SAFETY FOR JEWELERS <=> <=>
Workshop Safety Tips From Charles Lewton-Brian
Tell your doctor what you do for a living and what metals and chemicals you are exposed to. Silver dust for instance forms black stains in the body. Did you ever wonder what those black inclusions in your fingers were? It can show up on x-rays if you had a lot of exposure and can cause misdiagnoses. If you were being hired by a large jewelry company you would be required to have a base-line medical exam to test your lung function, and general health before starting to work so that you can more easily decide if something in the workplace has affected you later. This is not a bad idea for the small shop as well.
Do a chemical audit of your workshop. List everything and decide if you need it or not. Don't forget the household chemicals. Then create a chemical inventory so you know what is there, how much, how long it has been there etc. If nothing else put this information on labels on all containers with chemicals.
For more information on Workshop safety from Charles Lewton-Brian log onto: http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/safety.htm
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<=> <=> Thank You for Reading <=> <=>
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Information provided in this document is provided ‘As Is’ without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information concerning the subject matter covered. It is provided with the understanding that the author or publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.
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Copyrighted, 2004, BENCH MEDIA. All rights reserved.
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