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<=> <=> <=> <=> E-BENCH <=> <=> <=> <=>
The E-Mail Newsletter
for Bench Jewelers
June 2005
Volume 6 Issue 6 circulation over 3,600
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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.
We encourage you to forward this newsletter to
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<=> <=> <=> TABLE OF CONTENTS <=> <=> <=>
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.
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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<=> <=> <=> E-BENCH SPONSOR <=> <=> <=>
101 Bench Tips for Jewelers by Alan Revere
Alan Revere—acclaimed designer, author, and educator—now shares his most valuable bench tips and tricks in 101 Bench Tips for Jewelers. Based on the monthly column in AJM, this book will help any jeweler speed production, improve quality, and raise profits at the bench. Filled with helpful illustrations, this publication covers all aspects of bench work, from soldering to stone setting, piercing to final polish. This book is sure to be a resource you’ll reference for years to come.
For more information, visit
www.ajm-magazine.com/pub_press.php
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<=> <=>
Tips for Jewelers Who Do Repairs
From Alan Revere
AN EASY WAY TO FILL SMALL HOLES IN METAL
Let’s say that during the final polishing of a cast, opal-set ring, you discover a pit in the metal that’s too big to burnish closed. Or maybe you fabricated a hollow ring with a small air hole in the back, to allow gases to go in and out during soldering, and you now need to close the hole. In either case, you cannot fill the hole with solder, nor can you bur out and then solder in a plug. What do you do?
Here is a surefire way to fill a small hole in metal, either in a fabricated or cast piece. Begin by drilling through the hole with as small a drill bit as possible. Now select a piece of round wire made of the same alloy as the piece, but slightly larger. Using a file, taper the wire so the tip will go in the hole.
Now place the wire in a pin vise and slowly jam it into the hole, twisting it as you force it in. When the wire will not go in any further and fits the hole tightly, cut it off and file it down until it’s flush with the ring. Sand, polish, and voilá—you have totally hidden the hole. There isn’t even a solder seam to discolor.
This Tip is from “101 Bench Tips for Jewelers"
written by Alan Revere and published by
MJSA/AJM Press.
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<=> <=> QUOTE WORTH RE-QUOTING <=> <=>
Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back – given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting is the way. Generosity
begets generosity.
Luke 11:36
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<=> <=> <=> FEATURE ARTICLE <=> <=> <=>
Flush Setting Baguette Stones
By Brad Simon
In this project we will discuss flush setting baguette stones. The same process to set these stones can be used to set any stone that has straight sides and pointed corners. Years ago this was a very popular style of setting baguettes on the sides of gents’ rings, but now it has become popular in many styles of jewelry.
To begin, lay the stone table down on the surface of the gold in the precise location that you want to set it. You need to secure it to the gold so that you can scribe around it accurately. I like using just a little superglue on the table of the stone to glue it to the mounting. Once you are done you can easily lift the stone off of the gold by placing the point of your tweezers under the girdle of the stone and a little pressure will break the stone loose, or you can remove the stone by placing the piece in acetone. You want a line the exact shape and size of the stone drawn onto the gold. It is very important that this line is accurately drawn because this will be your guideline for cutting the seat for the stone.
Next, set your dividers to one half millimeter and draw a line around the inside of your guideline. The distance between the two lines will create the seat for your stone to sit on.
Once you have this line drawn, drill a hole through the gold to feed a saw blade through. Cut out the center section with your saw, and cut right up to the inside line. Piercing through the gold will make it easier to clean behind the stone after it is set and will make cutting the seat easier. Be careful as you saw that you saw straight through the gold or if you have to saw on an angle be sure to saw toward the center of the stone as you do not want to cut on an angle and make the bottom of the hole larger than the stone. If you are setting the stone in a ring be careful as you saw that you do not saw into the opposite side of the shank.
The next step is to begin cutting the seat. I use a regular straight-sided setting bur the same diameter as the width of the stone. If you are setting a straight baguette, cut straight down in the center of the cutout to the depth that you want the seat cut. The seat should be cut so that the table of the stone is level or ‘flush’ with the surface of the metal. Then move the bur back and forth cutting the seat to the length of the stone. Our objective is to cut the seat the exact width and the exact length of the stone. Because our burs are round they cannot cut into the corners, but we can cut the sides and the ends of the seat at this time.
The next step is to remove the metal from the corners. In this particular case I find it easier to use a flat graver to trim the metal out. You could use a hart bur held perpendicular to cut the corners, but I find it easier to just use a graver. You want a nice, cleanly cut, seat that is even and smooth on the sides and corners. At this point, place your stone in the seat to be certain it fits tightly and does not rock in the seat.
Then remove the stone and drill a small hole in all four corners with a small drill bit. This will keep any metal from touching the point of the stone and protect it from chipping while tightening the stone.
Now place your stone back into the seat. Using a small steel burnisher begin to burnish the edge of the metal down and out over the stone on a 45 degree angle. Begin with your burnisher at the center of the stone and rub toward the corner. Do not rub back and forth or you may burnish too much metal away from the corners. You want as much metal as possible over the corners at this point. If you end up with extra metal you can always trim some away, but if you finish setting the stone and the corners are not covered it is difficult to cover them with metal and make the setting look neat and professional. Work from the center of the stone to one corner then go to the opposite corner and burnish metal over it. By working opposite corners you will keep your stone straight and level. Continue until metal is over all four corners.
Then begin to rub back and forth along the sides of the stone and the ends of the stone. Burnish the entire length of the stone to make sure that the metal is down over the stone evenly and that you create a nice smooth bevel from the surface of the metal down to the stone.
This process is a little more time-consuming than it is to flush set a round stone because we do not have a bur to cut a square seat and the corners present a little extra problem in burnishing the metal over the stone. This setting procedure takes precise craftsmanship and is one of the more difficult setting jobs that you'll encounter as a stone setter.
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<=> <=> QUOTE WORTH RE-QUOTING <=> <=>
There is no scarcity of opportunity to make a living at what you love to do, there is only scarcity of resolve to make it happen.
Wayne Dyer
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VISION
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<=> <=> AT THE PLATINUM BENCH <=> <=>
Tips that make working with Platinum or
working at the bench in general - easier from
Jurgen J. Maerz CMBJ,
Director of Technical Education
for Platinum Guild International
http://www.pgi-platinum-tech.com
Platinum Investment
Using the right investment is especially critical when casting platinum. Imagine a metal entering your flask with 20 to 40 G’s of force, at temperatures exceeding 3,500 F into a material that is expected to give you an exact replica of the wax model without problems or flaws. You can see why choosing the right investment is a key to successful platinum casting.
Platinum investment, which is much stronger and can take higher heat and pressure than gypsum investment, comes in two basic types: phosphate-bonded and acid-bonded. Typically, acid-bonded investments give you better reproduction, but they have much longer mixing and burnout cycles.
Some of the acid-bonded investments contain acid powder (usually silicic acid or organic acids such as oxalic, malaeic, or lactic), which activates when mixed with water. Others require the addition of liquid phosphoric acid to work. Usually the acid is mixed with distilled water at a specific ratio, with the powder then added to the mixture. The acid powder formulations are easier to prepare because you only add water, but powder particles can settle to the bottom of the investment in the drum, requiring careful mixing of the investment before use to ensure a homogenous mix. Whichever one you choose, mixing should take about 1 to 2 hours.
Either type of acid-bonded investment will provide excellent reproduction, but both take a long time to set and burn out. For that reason, many smaller casters are turning to phosphate-bonded investments. Widely used in the dental industry, these investments set quickly. Unfortunately, they are also expensive and, because of the very short setting time, cannot be mixed in large quantities for high volume production. They are well suited for the small shop, however. While their reproduction quality is not as good as those of other investments, they will serve for most general designs.
The choice of investment is really a personal decision. Try several brands under comparable conditions before deciding on one; most manufacturers will be happy to provide a small quantity of their brands for you to sample at no charge.
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<=> <=> QUOTE WORTH RE-QUOTING <=> <=>
This one step, choosing a goal and sticking to it, changes everything.
Scott Reed
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This special offer is for E-Bench subscribers only. Orders must be placed by August 31, 2005 and you must use the link above to order.
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<=> <=> <=> FAVORITE TIPS <=> <=> <=>
Learn to separate 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
interruptions.
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Describe
a stone by color, size, shape only —
never
write what type of stone you think it is
on the take in envelope.
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When using burs and drills keep the cutting
edges cool. To do this,
always use a lubricant
while using your burs and drills. You can use
oil based or solid wax based cutting
lubricants. This helps keep
the cutting edges
cool, thereby prolonging tool life. Also it
helps the metal chips flow away from the
cutting edge preventing the teeth from
clogging.
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A small cotton buff for your flex-shaft can
easily be made to polish recesses, and other
areas that are small and difficult to access.
First, take an old ball bur small enough to fit
into the area. Then, wrap
cotton around the
bur by holding the bur against a small piece of
cotton while turning slowly in your flex-shaft.
Apply rouge to the cotton and use to polish the
area.
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Using
a yellow highlight marker, color the
label
on yellow gold paste solder. Then, while
working
it will be easy to distinguish between
the
tubes of yellow and white paste solder.
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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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<=> <=> QUOTE WORTH RE-QUOTING <=> <=>
The secret to productive goal setting is in establishing clearly defined goals, writing them down and then focusing on them several times a day with words, pictures and emotions as if we've already achieved them.
Denis Waitley
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<=> <=> <=> E-BENCH SPONSOR <=> <=> <=>
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
To flush set a stone in a ring, secure the ring solidly into your ring clamp. Drill a hole through the ring where you want the stone to be set. Select a round bur 80% of the size of the stone to be set and cut a hole to the depth of the seat. Use an under-cutting bur and make a seat for the girdle for the stone; remember that the table of the diamond must be flush with the surrounding metal once the stone is set. Undercut a seat all around the hole and check with a 10x loupe to make sure that the seat is at the same level. Do not over drill into the wall; you must only insert the bur until you cannot see the rotating teeth. If you are satisfied that the cutting is satisfactory, then you can ‘snap’ in the stone. Do not snap it straight in. Place the stone in on an angle and slide it in side to side. You will notice now that the diamond appears to be lower than the surrounding metal. Proceed to your brass pusher (don’t use a steel pusher as it leaves deep marks in your gold). Push over the metal in 4 equal sections around the stone. You should not compress but only push to tighten. Once the gold is evenly placed on the stone, use a pumice wheel to clean up all of the marks left by the brass pusher. For the final stage of clean-up, use a #39 flat graver. Bright-cut around the inner wall of the bezel until you achieve a nice uniform cut.
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Manual of Diamond
Setting by Gerry Lewy
This new book and CD set on diamond setting is geared to the Hobbyist, Student, Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced Jeweller/Setter. It is a compendium of 5 years of writing for Bench Magazine and has over 613 pictures taken during the setting process. This Manual sell for $69.95 US Special Price for all E-Bench Readers is only $54.95 plus Shipping and Handling.
For more information or to order E-Mail Gerry Lewy at: gemz@ican.net
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<=> <=> QUOTE WORTH RE-QUOTING <=> <=>
You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing that we call "failure" is not the falling down, but the staying down
Mary Pickford
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Instructors Include:
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<=>
<=> WORKSHOP SAFETY FOR JEWELERS <=> <=>
Workshop Safety Tips From Charles Lewton-Brian
Using Safety Equipment Can Cause Risk Taking Behavior
Let’s take the recent sneaker controversy. Injuries and injury rates were compared between the cheapest runners and expensive top brand name sneakers. The rates of injury were often higher with the more expensive, engineered, 'extra-safe' sneakers. This was not because they weren’t safe-they were, it is just that the psychological effect of using them was to encourage people to behave less safely, slamming the ground harder and so on, thus increasing the rate of overall injury.
Respirators also encourage people to act in hazardous ways because they think the equipment will protect them. When you use safety equipment make sure you are not doing worse things than you were without it.
Rossol and McCann caution that some of the supposedly safer substitutes for chemicals and processes end up being as bad or worse as the original. An example is that ceramic fibrous cloth used to replace asbestos turns out to be horrendous as well because of the small fibers it is made of. Both of them feel that the terpenes and ethyl glycols that have been accepted by industry as 'non-toxic' substitutes for solvents may have hidden dangers and lead to bad surprises in the future. Check your use of substitutes carefully.
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
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Visit us at http://www.BWSimon.com
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Visit often, as we will be making changes to
our site, adding additional useful information
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<=> <=> SUBSCRIPTION
INFORMATION <=> <=>
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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
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For editorial suggestions, comments, ideas
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Bradney W. Simon mailto:Brad@BWSimon.com
Copyrighted, 2005, BENCH MEDIA.
All rights reserved.
BENCH MEDIA
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