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Here is your next issue of E-BENCH.
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The E-Mail Newsletter
for Bench Jewelers
September 2005
Volume 6 Issue 9 circulation over 3,800
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<=> <=> ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER <=> <=>
E-BENCH is a FREE monthly newsletter for Retail
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Kraftwerks 2005
October 29 & 30
The Kraftwerks Invitational Jewelry Manufacturing Seminar Series, where we invite some of the world's finest jewelers, casters, setters, and designers to share and teach certain rare skills that otherwise might be otherwise lost to the trade.
Speakers Include:
Arthur Skuratowicz, & Jim Binnion
http://www.thekraftwerks.com/
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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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Southeastern Findings
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Your Home for Southern Hospitality
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<=> <=>
Tips for Jewelers Who Do Repairs
From Alan Revere
GETTING INTO THE GROOVE: How to Make a Groovy Bench Pin
As the focal pint of the jeweler’s bench, the bench pin is a reflection of how you work and what you do. It is the central holding device, and it can be customized to better serve your needs. The bench pin can be filed or sawed to hold various pieces of metal. A handy modification that you can do to your bench pin is to carve precision cross grooves that hold metal rod or wire for sawing or filing.
To accomplish this, use a machinist’s square to lay out three parallel lines across the bench pin; they should be perpendicular to the side of the pin. Remove the bench pin and place it in a mounted vise. Use square files to carve precise grooves along the lines in three different sizes to accommodate a range of diameters, from about 1mm to 4mm deep.
Now, when you need to cut off a section of rod or wire of any shape, place the metal into the appropriate groove and saw across, using the side of the bench pin as a guide. You can also use the grooves to stabilize metal if you are trying to file a perpendicular surface on the end.
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 <=> <=>
Inside of a ring or out, ain't nothing wrong with going down. It's staying down that's wrong.
Muhammad Ali
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Jewelry Dealers
World Trade Network
http://www.JewelryDealersNetwork.com
<=> Bench Jeweler
Discussion Channel <=>
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ongoing discussions, or just read and
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Membership includes: Topical Discussion
Channels, including
Bench Work, CAD-CAM, Stone Setting, and many
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Buy/Sell Channels, Plus Much More.
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<=> <=> <=> FEATURE ARTICLE <=> <=> <=>
Design Considerations for Earrings
Earrings are one of the more difficult pieces of jewelry to
make and make well. When designing
earrings you should always make the earrings as a mirror image. I know it's often easier to just make two
duplicate pieces, but when worn they look off balance and it just doesn't look
as professional. If you are going to
take the time to make a pair of earrings then take the extra time to do it
right and make two mirrored images. Then
when worn, they’ll look like they match and are well balanced.
One of the biggest problems for earrings is that they are
suspended from the back of the piece, and if they're not well made they tend to
fall forward and bend the ear lobe back, instead of sitting straight on the
ear. Because of this balance problem you
need to be careful in designing earrings.
In placing the elements within the design you do not want the
piece to be top-heavy because then it will fall forward and if it is bottom
heavy it can push back on the ear lobe and also tilt downward. The best is to keep the weight centered and
balanced, and the earring low to the ear.
On button earrings, the center of gravity should be close to
the center of the earring and, as low to the ear as possible. If it's a larger earring that extends below
the ear, move the bottom portion of the earring back under the ear a bit, then
the weight is directly below the ear lobe and that will help it to sit
straight.
On pierced earrings the post should be placed slightly above
the center of gravity. This will help
hold the earring straight. If the post
is placed too close to the top of the earring it will look like the earring is
falling off the ear, and the weight of the earring will cause it to bend
backwards. If the post is too low the
earring will be top heavy and fall forward.
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<=> <=> QUOTE WORTH RE-QUOTING <=> <=>
That some achieve great success, is proof to all that others
can achieve it as well.
Abraham Lincoln
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<=> <=> <=> E-BENCH SPONSOR <=> <=> <=>
Bench Jewelers SHOW
ME HOW Seminars
Seats still
available!
Holiday Inn - Intercontinental Airport
Register Online Today!
http://www.bwsimon.com/Conference/ShowMeHow
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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
When remounting diamonds from an old ring, it is usually somewhat difficult to clean them. For a quick and easy solution, place a small amount of table salt into your hand and add the diamonds.
Rub the salt and diamonds together. The abrasiveness of the salt will clean the stones without scratching them. Once they are clean, just rinse the salt away using warm water.
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<=> <=> QUOTE WORTH RE-QUOTING <=> <=>
If you wait to do everything until you're sure it's right, you'll probably never do much of anything.
Win Borden
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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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<=> <=> <=> FAVORITE TIPS <=> <=> <=>
Here's an easy way to tighten channel set stones. Using a line graver on the inside edge of the channel, push tiny
"fingers" of metal straight down onto the stone. This
type of graver is less likely to slip and damage the stone because it
will "grab" the metal. The lines of metal can then be
smoothed over the stone with a burnisher.
Rebecca Harris
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< < < <> > > > > >
When I am working, and have
a small mishap in which I suffer a small nick or cut that bleeds or could be
irritated by accumulating dirt, I treat it by sealing it closed with super glue
(doctors do this, too). Once it dries in a minute or two, it will not bleed or
get dirty, and it is unaffected by water-- or alcohol flux (ouch!)
Noël Yovovich
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< < < <> > > > > >
To resize a
patterned bangle or ring, anneal it to dull red and drop it onto a cold
mandrel it will cool a good half size larger. Don’t forget to do it both
ways to allow for the mandrel taper. This can be done a few times and it
seems to not stress the metal as a ring stretcher does at the spaces between
the stretching blades.
Bernie Santen
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To keep my solders organized and safe from contamination I use
a seven-day pill dose container from the local pharmacy and label each cubicle
for the various solders you use. I grind
off the day's name with a cylinder sanding drum. Then, rather than cutting the pennyweight
sheet into pallions ahead of time, I prefer to just
cut them in halves, so they will fit into the bins easier.
These little pill dose containers are quite handy, and
occasionally can even be obtained for free from the pharmacies.
Mark Greenbaum
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To retrieve a stone that has fallen out of a piece of jewelry in the ultrasonic get a foam paint brush and gently swipe it on the bottom of the ultrasonic. Go from one end to the other and pull it up the side of the cleaner so you can see if you got the stone. If not, repeat the process by moving over a little for the next pass. Of all the things I’ve tried over the years, this is the easiest and fastest method. It sure beats draining the cleaner and it’s cheap!
James S. Cantrell CMBJ
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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 <=> <=>
All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.
Proverbs 14:23
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<=> <=> <=> E-BENCH SPONSOR <=> <=> <=>
United Precious
Metal Refining
United is a full service refiner for Gold, Silver, Platinum, & Palladium. We specialize in Refining for the jewelry Industry, processing everything from sweeps to karat scrap.
Technical assistance on all phases of manufacturing and jewelry casting is only a phone call away. Call us today at 1-800-999-3463 or visit us online at
United Precious
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<=> <=> <=> GERRY’S GEMZ <=> <=> <=>
Stone setting tips from Gemz Diamond
Setting
http://www.gemzdiamondsetting.com/index.html
by Gerald N. Lewy
Protecting the culet is one of the most basic and most over
looked areas of setting any size of stone. As this part of the diamond is one of the most vulnerable areas, it can
chip easily. So how do we adjust for
this potential calamity on claw settings? I always use a #009 round bur, nothing too large, but small enough to
‘free’ the culet from touching any metal. I will literally dig down to the depth the ball. I will also visualize the location of the
intended culet and check if the hole is well positioned? Will it free the culet? Will the hole interfere with the security of
the adjoining claws?
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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 <=> <=>
There is one quality that one must possess to win, and that is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants, and a burning desire to possess it.
Napoleon Hill
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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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<=> <=> WORKSHOP SAFETY
FOR JEWELERS <=> <=>
Workshop Safety Tips From Charles Lewton-Brian
EYES
Aside from protection from sharp objects, flying chunks of metal, dust, splashes, and chemicals, we have to deal with glowing materials (infrared light), the blue flame of a high temperature torch (ultraviolet light) and 'sodium glare'. These are the three kinds of non-ionizing radiation that we worry about.
Good quality eye protection against infrared radiation is recommended. Most glasses and polycarbonates will stop the ultraviolet. The infrared is stopped by a 'shade', a number 2 and up has been suggested by a welding institute source. It is important that one understands that a "tinted' lens does not offer infrared protection - only a shaded lens offers protection.
Glasses and Contacts
Polycarbonate glasses are much more shatter resistant than regular glass. There are reports of glasses shattering upon impact. There are also reports of bits of plastic or polycarbonate flying into the eyes if the frames are bent to try and fit when they are too small for the head.
If you wear glasses you can have safety glasses with safety
frames made at the optometrist which are prescription, bifocal, or whatever you
need. Some metalworkers wear
polycarbonate safety glass over their regular glasses. “There are many different styles of safety
glasses that will fit over prescription glasses”. (Mark Williams, Artmetal list,
It is advisable to have safety glasses with side shields to protect against things bouncing in from the side of the head. They should also fit well, particularly at the brow. Talk to your Uvex rep.; they seem very educated and helpful. They can fit glasses to all facial types.
From everything I have read and heard it is not a good idea to wear contacts in a jewelry shop. The dust and chemicals can get stuck under the contact and scratch the eye, some fumes can permeate certain contacts.
We only have two of them so we need to take care of our eyes.
For more information on Workshop safety from
Charles Lewton-Brian log onto:
http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/safety.htm
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Information provided in this document is
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For editorial suggestions, comments, ideas
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Copyrighted, 2005, BENCH MEDIA.
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