$1,000.00 Wish List

Let me put it another way....
If your budget to set up a jewelry studio (initially) was one thousand
dollars - which is about what I have - what would you buy?

My main interest, at this point is metalwork - silver, copper brass.
I like the work of Sydney Lynch among others.

So, how can I make do, on such a limited budget, and begin?

Thanks in advance!

Raane

Raane,

Assuming your $1K was for tools and equipment only (not supplies), I'd
budget it kinda like this:

1. Flexshaft (Good basic one, foredom) ~ $250 including handpiece,
rheostat, motor, maint' kit, and a bunch of starting-out tips and polishing
wheels

2. Smith Air-Acetylene Torch and B-tank for acetylene. My first setup
included the torch, regulators, tank, a bunch of firebricks, an old metal
kitchen table, and a homemade ventilation system (made from metal dryer
flexi-duct, aluminum flashing, and a high-power ventilation fan). I got all
of the tip sizes for the torch, so I wouldn't be without the ones I needed.
Total cost for the setup was a bit under $500. You're not having to worry
with the explosion danger and added cost of Oxy, and the tanks (and refills)
for acetylene are cheap. This torch will give you all of the control of the
small tips and can range up to the big #4 tip for melting decent-sized
chunks of metal for casting. Lots of flexibility, not a lot of complexity,
particularly starting out.

3. Polisher/grinder (again, made my polisher by converting a 2-sided bench
grinder, so i've got the grinder on one side and polisher on the other.)
Grinder, $30. Tapered arbor $12 or less. Mounted on a "throwaway" wooden
bedside table with drawers for storage. Ventilation for it is, again,
homemade -- based on a small shop vac ($20) with the polishing "box"
homemade (you can make it from wood, plastic, heavy cardboard, etc.

4. GOOD LIGHTING. If the area that you're using isn't already set up with
good shop-lights, install them -- they're not hard to install and definitely
worth it. They're cheap, ranging from $30 - 100 depending on the type and
size. THEN, get a few really good task lights that you can focus on
specific areas depending on how your shop is set up. You will need good,
direct lighting on your main bench area and your polishing area. Good
lighting is also needed at the soldering bench, but make it the type you can
turn off for some types of work. Ott Lites and their clones are great for
this type of work as they are "full spectrum" and "natural daylight" lights
that won't distort colors and will reduce eye strain.

5. I would spend the rest of the money on buying GOOD quality tools that
you can't make or adapt yourself easily:
* Sawframe
* Flat-headed planishing hammer
* Domed planishing hammer
* Heavy-headed brass hammer
* Rawhide mallets (small and large)
* Good quality jeweler's files (large 1/2-round and needle files)

6. At a toy store or craft store, you can find a kids' rock tumbler. They
typically have a plastic barrel with about 1 - 2 cup capacity. They run
about $20 - 25. That and 1 lb of mixed-shape STAINLESS STEEL shot (don't
get carbon steel -- it will rust and drive you nuts) will work to get you
started with tumble-hardening your silver and other pieces. With care, it
will last a good long time and stand up to an amazing amount of abuse until
you're ready for a larger-capacity "pro" tumbler.

7. You can make your own pickle pot by going to a 2nd hand store and
getting an old hot plate and a used deep corning ware casserole with lid.
Quench pots and rinse pots and liver of sulphur pots, likewise, are
incredibly cheap at thrift stores. You'll also find a bunch of useful and
adaptable tools there if you browse through the cookware and tools sections.
Also check out yard sales and garage sales, flea markets and places where
people sell used/old tools. You'll be amazed at what you can find and adapt
to your work as you get more experienced at envisioning "just the right
tool" for the job.

Have fun!

KG


"Raane" wrote in message
...
Let me put it another way....
If your budget to set up a jewelry studio (initially) was one thousand
dollars - which is about what I have - what would you buy?

My main interest, at this point is metalwork - silver, copper brass.
I like the work of Sydney Lynch among others.

So, how can I make do, on such a limited budget, and begin?

Thanks in advance!

Raane

I'm kinda doing the same thing.
My 2 cents:
Dremel tool instead of foredom, cost about 70 dollars. Works well for me.

A 8 inch grinder from Lowes etc, get a 6 inch scotch bright wheel off ebay
for one side. I swear you will love this wheel.
Buffs go on the other side. Hint, keep buffs clean and seperate. Any sanding
or grinding dust on them will cause smears.
Small air compressor and el cheapo sandblaster to do matt finishes with
glass beads.
An ounce of all solders, hard to extray easy.
The torch.....we vary widely on opion here. I like oxypropane for gases.
Little torch is too little to be your only torch.
Never buy a tool because you think you will use it! Spend the money on tools
you need to make the part you are working on now.
First things I got were a saw and blades. Stone setting gravers. Dremel kit.
Small tips for torch I had. Rolling mill off ebay. Draw plate for round
wire. 10 oz silver and various lab grown stones to "play" with. Ring mandrel
if you make rings.

Second hand store I got a poporie(sp) pot for pickel, I use sodium
metabisulfate from hardware store. (near pool and hot tub stuff).

Again, to make the money go far, only buy what you have to have to make what
your working on. Search ebay to get an idea what stuff costs.
Haunt pawn shops and second hand stores.
Buy scrap jewerly and remelt for gold. I got .999 silver off ebay for $7.5
an ounce dilvered.

Excuse my poor spelling please.

Les

Hi KG,

Thanks for your input about the things that I should
buy to begin my home studio. I hope you won't mind my
writing to ask for clarification about two things.
Regarding the air-acetylene torch; is it possible to
put a Y connector on the tank and have one full-sized
handpiece/tip setup and one "little torch"
handpiece/tip setup? I can't seem to find a Smith
Little Torch that does not require dual gases/two
lines. I would like to use a air-acetylene set up, if
only because it is what I have been using in my
classes, so I have some level of comfort with it. But
I also need to be able to solder some super-fine
chain, jumprings etc. If I can find a little torch
available that uses air-acetylene, that would be
perfect.

About using steel shot and a rock tumbler, you
mentioned using it to harden silver. I've been
reading about using those same components to polish
finished pieces. Do you know about that and, if so,
what type of stainless steel shot to use, for how
long, etc?

I apologize for my profound inexperience. I have been
wanting to do this for a very long time and I love it
as much as I knew I would. I want to know everything
NOW, and of course, there will always and always be
more to know.

Thank you so much!

Raane



"KG" wrote in message
. ..
Raane,

Assuming your $1K was for tools and equipment only (not supplies), I'd
budget it kinda like this:

1. Flexshaft (Good basic one, foredom) ~ $250 including handpiece,
rheostat, motor, maint' kit, and a bunch of starting-out tips and polishing
wheels

2. Smith Air-Acetylene Torch and B-tank for acetylene. My first setup
included the torch, regulators, tank, a bunch of firebricks, an old metal
kitchen table, and a homemade ventilation system (made from metal dryer
flexi-duct, aluminum flashing, and a high-power ventilation fan). I got all
of the tip sizes for the torch, so I wouldn't be without the ones I needed.
Total cost for the setup was a bit under $500. You're not having to worry
with the explosion danger and added cost of Oxy, and the tanks (and refills)
for acetylene are cheap. This torch will give you all of the control of the
small tips and can range up to the big #4 tip for melting decent-sized
chunks of metal for casting. Lots of flexibility, not a lot of complexity,
particularly starting out.

3. Polisher/grinder (again, made my polisher by converting a 2-sided bench
grinder, so i've got the grinder on one side and polisher on the other.)
Grinder, $30. Tapered arbor $12 or less. Mounted on a "throwaway" wooden
bedside table with drawers for storage. Ventilation for it is, again,
homemade -- based on a small shop vac ($20) with the polishing "box"
homemade (you can make it from wood, plastic, heavy cardboard, etc.

4. GOOD LIGHTING. If the area that you're using isn't already set up with
good shop-lights, install them -- they're not hard to install and definitely
worth it. They're cheap, ranging from $30 - 100 depending on the type and
size. THEN, get a few really good task lights that you can focus on
specific areas depending on how your shop is set up. You will need good,
direct lighting on your main bench area and your polishing area. Good
lighting is also needed at the soldering bench, but make it the type you can
turn off for some types of work. Ott Lites and their clones are great for
this type of work as they are "full spectrum" and "natural daylight" lights
that won't distort colors and will reduce eye strain.

5. I would spend the rest of the money on buying GOOD quality tools that
you can't make or adapt yourself easily:
* Sawframe
* Flat-headed planishing hammer
* Domed planishing hammer
* Heavy-headed brass hammer
* Rawhide mallets (small and large)
* Good quality jeweler's files (large 1/2-round and needle files)

6. At a toy store or craft store, you can find a kids' rock tumbler. They
typically have a plastic barrel with about 1 - 2 cup capacity. They run
about $20 - 25. That and 1 lb of mixed-shape STAINLESS STEEL shot (don't
get carbon steel -- it will rust and drive you nuts) will work to get you
started with tumble-hardening your silver and other pieces. With care, it
will last a good long time and stand up to an amazing amount of abuse until
you're ready for a larger-capacity "pro" tumbler.

7. You can make your own pickle pot by going to a 2nd hand store and
getting an old hot plate and a used deep corning ware casserole with lid.
Quench pots and rinse pots and liver of sulphur pots, likewise, are
incredibly cheap at thrift stores. You'll also find a bunch of useful and
adaptable tools there if you browse through the cookware and tools sections.
Also check out yard sales and garage sales, flea markets and places where
people sell used/old tools. You'll be amazed at what you can find and adapt
to your work as you get more experienced at envisioning "just the right
tool" for the job.

Have fun!

KG


"Raane" wrote in message
...
Let me put it another way....
If your budget to set up a jewelry studio (initially) was one thousand
dollars - which is about what I have - what would you buy?

My main interest, at this point is metalwork - silver, copper brass.
I like the work of Sydney Lynch among others.

So, how can I make do, on such a limited budget, and begin?

Thanks in advance!

Raane

On Mon, 09 Feb 2004 08:05:34 -0800, in rec.crafts.jewelry
(Raane) wrote:

is it possible to
put a Y connector on the tank and have one full-sized
handpiece/tip setup and one "little torch"
handpiece/tip setup?

yes.

But
I also need to be able to solder some super-fine
chain, jumprings etc. If I can find a little torch
available that uses air-acetylene, that would be
perfect.

the smith torch can take a fairly small tip, good enough for many small jump
rings, but if you're working with smaller, such as commercial chain, then
you'll likely need something like the little torch. This type of torch is only
available in a dual gas setup, so if you want that, you'll need to add the
oxygen tank and regulator. You can work with a setup that has the smith air
acetylene and the little torch both running off the acetylene, and a little
torch with an added oxygen tank. One possible way to do this for a little less
money initially, and good only if your needs for the little torch are only
occasional, is that the little torch can be had with "regulators" designed to
fit disposable tanks such as the propane bottles normally used with hardware
store type plumbers torches, rather than normal full sized tanks. It would be
possible to cobble together a setup so your little torch used these small
disposable oxygen tanks plus your acetyelene, when needed. But though this
saves money initially, buying oxygen (Sears sells the tanks, among other
places) in these small disposable tanks is far more costly than buying it in
larger standard tanks from welding supply places.


About using steel shot and a rock tumbler, you
mentioned using it to harden silver. I've been
reading about using those same components to polish
finished pieces. Do you know about that and, if so,
what type of stainless steel shot to use, for how
long, etc?


If your work is reasonably pre finished, steel shot will burnish it nicely.
that not only work hardens the surface, but puts a decent finish on it as well.
whether it's good enough for a final finish depends on what you're looking for.
It's not the equal of a buffed, rouged, high polish, but then that may not be
what you want in any case, as such highly polished surfaces, while pretty,
don't last all that long (only till someone touches it...) The steel shot
burnished finish is used by some as a final finish, but most of us who use it
consider it only a part of the finishing process, to be at least touched up
with additional buffing or work. The choice is yours. You can also add
additional types of tumble finishing, such as tumbling in light weight media
like ground corn cob treated with rouge or similar polishing compounds. In a
small rotary tumbler, this is quite slow, needing several days to get any
decent results, but it can improve a steel shot burnished surface a little, if
you wish. More costly vibratory tumblers are faster for this type of media.
but even these types of media are not quite as good as what one can get with
hand finishing. Still, it's often used in commercially produced, lower priced
jewelry.

I apologize for my profound inexperience. I have been
wanting to do this for a very long time and I love it
as much as I knew I would. I want to know everything
NOW, and of course, there will always and always be
more to know.

don't apologize for inexperience. We were all there once, and to one degree or
another, all of us still have things we don't know. It never ends. The only
stupid questions are those that should have been asked, but weren't, or those
that have been asked and answered over and over, but the answers not listened
to. If you've not yet done so, visit a good library or book store, and arm
yourself with one or more good books on jewelry making. They will make much of
your learning process easier. There are quite a good number of them in print,
or in the library, ranging from very much beginner level, to things like the
recent english translation of a classic german text which few of us will ever
cokjpletely master...

cheers

Peter


"KG" wrote in message
...
Raane,

Assuming your $1K was for tools and equipment only (not supplies), I'd
budget it kinda like this:

1. Flexshaft (Good basic one, foredom) ~ $250 including handpiece,
rheostat, motor, maint' kit, and a bunch of starting-out tips and polishing
wheels

2. Smith Air-Acetylene Torch and B-tank for acetylene. My first setup
included the torch, regulators, tank, a bunch of firebricks, an old metal
kitchen table, and a homemade ventilation system (made from metal dryer
flexi-duct, aluminum flashing, and a high-power ventilation fan). I got all
of the tip sizes for the torch, so I wouldn't be without the ones I needed.
Total cost for the setup was a bit under $500. You're not having to worry
with the explosion danger and added cost of Oxy, and the tanks (and refills)
for acetylene are cheap. This torch will give you all of the control of the
small tips and can range up to the big #4 tip for melting decent-sized
chunks of metal for casting. Lots of flexibility, not a lot of complexity,
particularly starting out.

3. Polisher/grinder (again, made my polisher by converting a 2-sided bench
grinder, so i've got the grinder on one side and polisher on the other.)
Grinder, $30. Tapered arbor $12 or less. Mounted on a "throwaway" wooden
bedside table with drawers for storage. Ventilation for it is, again,
homemade -- based on a small shop vac ($20) with the polishing "box"
homemade (you can make it from wood, plastic, heavy cardboard, etc.

4. GOOD LIGHTING. If the area that you're using isn't already set up with
good shop-lights, install them -- they're not hard to install and definitely
worth it. They're cheap, ranging from $30 - 100 depending on the type and
size. THEN, get a few really good task lights that you can focus on
specific areas depending on how your shop is set up. You will need good,
direct lighting on your main bench area and your polishing area. Good
lighting is also needed at the soldering bench, but make it the type you can
turn off for some types of work. Ott Lites and their clones are great for
this type of work as they are "full spectrum" and "natural daylight" lights
that won't distort colors and will reduce eye strain.

5. I would spend the rest of the money on buying GOOD quality tools that
you can't make or adapt yourself easily:
* Sawframe
* Flat-headed planishing hammer
* Domed planishing hammer
* Heavy-headed brass hammer
* Rawhide mallets (small and large)
* Good quality jeweler's files (large 1/2-round and needle files)

6. At a toy store or craft store, you can find a kids' rock tumbler. They
typically have a plastic barrel with about 1 - 2 cup capacity. They run
about $20 - 25. That and 1 lb of mixed-shape STAINLESS STEEL shot (don't
get carbon steel -- it will rust and drive you nuts) will work to get you
started with tumble-hardening your silver and other pieces. With care, it
will last a good long time and stand up to an amazing amount of abuse until
you're ready for a larger-capacity "pro" tumbler.

7. You can make your own pickle pot by going to a 2nd hand store and
getting an old hot plate and a used deep corning ware casserole with lid.
Quench pots and rinse pots and liver of sulphur pots, likewise, are
incredibly cheap at thrift stores. You'll also find a bunch of useful and
adaptable tools there if you browse through the cookware and tools sections.
Also check out yard sales and garage sales, flea markets and places where
people sell used/old tools. You'll be amazed at what you can find and adapt
to your work as you get more experienced at envisioning "just the right
tool" for the job.

Have fun!

KG


"Raane" wrote in message
...
Let me put it another way....
If your budget to set up a jewelry studio (initially) was one thousand
dollars - which is about what I have - what would you buy?

My main interest, at this point is metalwork - silver, copper brass.
I like the work of Sydney Lynch among others.

So, how can I make do, on such a limited budget, and begin?

Thanks in advance!

Raane

To update you - instead of being good, and patient, and waiting for my
tax return to actually arrive...I ordered some of my things on my
credit card and by the time the bill arrives, my return should be
right behind.

I settled on a Little Torch using acetylene/oxygen with the idea that
later I will add a standard acetylene/air tank/handpiece. I also
bought a moderately powerful externally venting kitchen range hood to
put over my soldering area.

You guys are all FABULOUS - so generous with your knowledge. Thank
you!

Raane

On Mon, 09 Feb 2004 19:05:00 -0800, in rec.crafts.jewelry
(Raane) wrote:

I settled on a Little Torch using acetylene/oxygen with the idea that
later I will add a standard acetylene/air tank/handpiece.

It's simpler than I think you realize. the air/acetylene torches like the
smith, or prestolite, don't need an air tank. Just the acetylene tank you've
now bought. They simply mix atmospheric air with the fuel at the torch tip.
No air supply is needed. All you need is the Y connector, and the torch
itself.

Peter

KG wrote:

Raane,

Assuming your $1K was for tools and equipment only (not supplies), I'd
budget it kinda like this:

1. Flexshaft (Good basic one, foredom) ~ $250 including handpiece,
rheostat, motor, maint' kit, and a bunch of starting-out tips and polishing
wheels



Absolutely not! Do not ever buy a flexshaft with your first set of tools. Not
only will it take a severe bite out of your budget, it also will take away your
oportunity to learn how to use your hands and learn how to really file and
sand. In the school I attended, the Goldschmiedschule in Pforzheim (arguably
one fo the best schools in the world for learning the trade, we were not
allowed
to use flexshafts. We had one for 25 students in the class room.

2. Smith Air-Acetylene Torch and B-tank for acetylene.

I disagree again. Get a propane tank and a blow torch. A "mouth blown" blkow
torch that is. I still use it today.

My first setup
included the torch, regulators, tank, a bunch of firebricks, an old metal
kitchen table, and a homemade ventilation system (made from metal dryer
flexi-duct, aluminum flashing, and a high-power ventilation fan). I got all
of the tip sizes for the torch, so I wouldn't be without the ones I needed.
Total cost for the setup was a bit under $500.

Acetylene is a great deal more expensive. If you follow this advice, you will
have spend well over $750.00 for a flex shaft and soldering equipment already,
but you do not have ANY tools to MAKE jewelry.


3. Polisher/grinder (again, made my polisher by converting a 2-sided bench
grinder, so i've got the grinder on one side and polisher on the other.)

Real "smart", to have a polisher and a grinder on the same motor. I had a
metalsmith share my studio once for several months some years ago. She worked
a
great deal in Titanium, and coloring it. She had very little skill and used a
grinding wheel exclusively to shape her metal, on one of the arbors of my
polishing motor. All my polishing buffs got impregnated with titanium grit. I
had to throw out over $200 of buffs. I threw here out of my studio too!


Grinder, $30. Tapered arbor $12 or less. Mounted on a "throwaway" wooden
bedside table with drawers for storage. Ventilation for it is, again,
homemade -- based on a small shop vac ($20) with the polishing "box"
homemade (you can make it from wood, plastic, heavy cardboard, etc.

4. GOOD LIGHTING. If the area that you're using isn't already set up with
good shop-lights, install them -- they're not hard to install and definitely
worth it. They're cheap, ranging from $30 - 100 depending on the type and
size. THEN, get a few really good task lights that you can focus on
specific areas depending on how your shop is set up. You will need good,
direct lighting on your main bench area and your polishing area. Good
lighting is also needed at the soldering bench, but make it the type you can
turn off for some types of work. Ott Lites and their clones are great for
this type of work as they are "full spectrum" and "natural daylight" lights
that won't distort colors and will reduce eye strain.

5. I would spend the rest of the money on buying GOOD quality tools that
you can't make or adapt yourself easily:


What rest of the money? With the suggestions you have given, he'll have about
a
buck 25 left over for "GOOD quality tools"

Here is my suggested list for a good minimum set of hand tools:

_ A saw frame
_ Hand files, coarse (the coarser the better) #00 or 0, flat, half round
narrow ring, crossing
_ Needle files, barette, square, triangle, round, crossing #'s 0, 2, 4, and 6
_ Escapement needle files, barette #'s 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8
_ A set of pliers, flat, half round, round
_ A scribe
_ A square
_ At least two pairs of dividers
_ A metric slide caliper
_ A metric micrometer
_ A metric ruler in steel, 30 cm long
_ A goldsmithing hammer
_ Two hard wooden sticks, approx. 20-25 x 4-5 x 300-400 mm to wrap sanding
paper around.
_ Solder shear
_ Solder pick
_ Self locking tweezers
_ Regular large tweezers
_ Small pointy watch makers tweezers
_ Propane tank plus propane blow torch
_ Charcoal block

You'll have money left over, ... not much though. :-)

Abrasha
http://www.abrasha.com

Raane wrote:

I settled on a Little Torch using acetylene/oxygen with the idea that
later I will add a standard acetylene/air tank/handpiece.

For brazing get an acet-air handpiece soon -- you're going to need it.

Welding is the *only* thing I use oxy-acetylene for. The raw look of gas
welded jewelry can be very beautiful, but offends conventional taste. Viva
aesthetic relativism!
--
cheers m mbstevens.com

Peter,

That I what I had thought. For some reason, when I asked the man at
the welding supply place about putting a Y connector on the acetylene
tank, he said that for the size of the tank I was getting (B) I should
probably not try to run a Y off of it. Do you agree? Should I wait
until I have a larger tank to do this? I am not sure what difference
it would make, except to use it up faster. I just took him at his
word.

Raane

Peter W. Rowe pwrowe@ixDOTnetcomDOTcom wrote in message
. ..
On Mon, 09 Feb 2004 19:05:00 -0800, in rec.crafts.jewelry
(Raane) wrote:

I settled on a Little Torch using acetylene/oxygen with the idea that
later I will add a standard acetylene/air tank/handpiece.

It's simpler than I think you realize. the air/acetylene torches like the
smith, or prestolite, don't need an air tank. Just the acetylene tank you've
now bought. They simply mix atmospheric air with the fuel at the torch tip.
No air supply is needed. All you need is the Y connector, and the torch
itself.

Peter