[Ganoksin] [Issue #101] Tips From The Jeweler's Bench

The Ganoksin Project
S i n c e 1 9 9 6
Jewelry Manufacturing Methods and Techniques
http://www.ganoksin.com

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show your support!

Put an Orchid On Your Bench.... Purchase the official Orchid Pin

http://www.ganoksin.com/splash

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In This Edition:

1. Thomas Mann - The Business of Reinvention
2. The Work of Mark Rooker
3. Cold forging of karat gold findings
4. Brepohl on White Metals and Alloys
5. A Little Help from My Orchid (CAD/CAM) Friends
6. Plier Tool
7. Home made Soldering Station Venting System
8. Cacholong - A little known opal gets a new taste of the limelight
9. Lets Talk Gemstones - Peridot

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First Annual New England Orchid Celebration.

http://www.ganoksin.com/events

When: Saturday, June 26th
Whe Metalwerx, 50 Guinan St., Waltham, MA Tel: 781 891 3855

The First Annual New England Orchid celebration is coming up fast! If
you haven't already registered for the June 26 event, please do so as
soon as possible to help us plan for the event. You can register
online at: http://www.ganoksin.com/events

The Full Day Event with Continental Breakfast, Lunch, BBQ and the
Demos is $50 per person. BBQ only is $35 per person. Demos only is
$25 per person.

The schedule for the full-day event is as follows:

9 am - Continental Breakfast

10 am - Demo - Orchid Wax Carving with Sumner Silverman
11 am - Demo - Hot Forge Twisting with Munya Upin
12 pm - Demo - Flex Shaft Goodies with Rich Bohr, 3M Company

1 pm - Lunch

2 pm - Demo - Casting Techniques with Dan Grandi, Racecar Jewelry
3 pm - Demo - Crocheting in Gold with Michael David Sturlin
4 pm - Demo - Hammer-setter Stone Setting Techniques with Joel Schwab

5 pm - Cocktails
6 pm - BBQ - Jake and Earls
8-10 pm - Hang out in the Metalwerx Bamboo Garden and talk

Join us today at: http://www.ganoksin.com/events

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We are pleased to announce the newest Ganoksin feature -

The Jeweler's Selected Bibliography pages.

Based on member recommendations, we have compiled an extensive
bibliography of books covering a broad range of gem and jewelry
topics.

Now you will have the opportunity to browse our list of Orchid
recommended titles, make your selections, and have your order
transferred seamlessly from Ganoksin to Amazon.com.

Instead of exhaustive searches through Amazon's vast offerings,
recommended titles have now been compiled into one place, including
a substantive index for easy navigation. An added feature displays
relevant articles from the libraries of Ganoksin which are shown
with your book selections.

To learn more
Please visit http://www.ganoksin.com/jewelry-books

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In This Edition of Tips From The Jeweler's Bench
http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/tip_sear.htm

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1. Thomas Mann - The Business of Reinvention

Not so many years ago Thomas Mann figured that 2002 would be his
year to retire. But the projected date has come and gone, and Mann
is busier than ever with reinvention instead of retirement. The
publication in 2001 of the monograph Thomas Mann: Metal Artist may
have summarized his career as a jeweler, but it didn't bring down
the curtain his performance. If anything, he's busily proving F.
Scott Fitzgerald's assertion that American lives lack second
acts.....

Complete Story:
http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nenam/thomas-mann.htm

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2. The Work of Mark Rooker

Missiles chase one another around Mark Rooker's Circular Reasoning.
Beneath the smoke plumes, lustrous silver water ripples on the
bracelet's surface and separates two island nations, each with a but
and a nearby hatch that opens to launch another exchange of
missiles. Rooker describes Circular Reasoning as 'a diagram' of
political madness. Tiny ladders lead us through the cross section,
extending from the huts, down through the bracelet, to the system of
loaded missile silos visible on the bracelet's interior.....

Complete Story:
http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nenam/mark-rooker.htm

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3. Cold forging of karat gold findings

Cold forging in the karat gold jewelry industry has sometimes been
referred to as stamping, coining and die striking. This process has
been used throughout history in the making of coins and medals as
well as jewelry. Cold forging basics will always be the same as they
were during antiquity; however, the fine points are constantly being
refined. The process is simply described as forming a finding by
using extreme force to drive raw material into a shaped cavity in a
steel block. While it may sound simple, there are many subtle
conditions that will effect the outcome....

Complete Story:
http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nena...ld-forging.htm

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4. Brepohl on White Metals and Alloys

In practice an experienced eye will usually be able to determine by
color and luster whether a piece is made of silver, a base white
metal such as nickel silver, or a precious white alloy such as white
gold or platinum. If this can be determined by eye, it's usual to
proceed directly to the qualita tive test....

Complete Story:
http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nena...tal-alloys.htm

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5. A Little Help from My Orchid (CAD/CAM) Friends

Carpal tunnel syndrome nearly ended Jesse Kaufman's career as a
bench jeweler and goldsmith. But CAD/CAM technology, [Orchid] a
supportive online jewelry community, and a strong commitment of time
and money gave Kaufman the tools he needed to return to work as an
artisan.....

Complete Story:
http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nenam/jck-cad-cam.htm

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6. Plier Tool

This is a great modification of pliers to give you a tool that
mimics the shape of your thumb and forefinger meeting, but can get
into places where your fingers are too large to go....

Complete Story:
http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nenam/plier-tool.htm

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7. Home made Soldering Station Venting System

A selection of illustration showing an efficient home-made soldering
venting system....

Complete Story:
http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nena...entilation.htm

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8. Cacholong - A little known opal gets a new taste of the limelight

Even in the wide and varied world of gemstones, cacholong is pretty
obscure. The stone has certainly generated its share of confusion.
Also known as kascholong, the stone is actually a variety of opal,
but this hasn't stopped it from being listed as an agate on more
than one occasion. It has also been described as either chalcedony
or hydrophane opal. The fact that it is sometimes known as "mother
of pearl opal" only adds to the complexity....

Complete Story:
http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nenam/cacholong.htm

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9. Lets Talk Gemstones - Peridot

Peridot, often called olivine and chrysolite, is a gem variety
occurring in the solid solution series between fosterite (Mg2SiO4)
and fayalite (Fe2SiO4). The members of this most common solid
solution series of the olivine group are the primary crystallization
products of silica-poor but magnesium and iron-rich magmas. Olivine
frequently coexists with plagioclase and pyroxenes in igneous rocks.
Magnetite, corundum, chromite and serpentine are its associates in
crystalline dolomitic limestone formations. It readily alters to
serpentine minerals, such as antigorite, and to talc, limonite and h
ematite.....

Complete Story:
http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nenam/peridot.htm

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Shop the most unique collection of designer Orchid Jewelry available
online!

Each delicate orchid, fabricated in wax and cast in sterling silver,
by top designers in their field, are available on the Orchid Shopping
site.

This growing collection is reproduced in stunning detail from
historical texts and by careful examination of each individual
flower in its natural form. Each orchid is painstakingly carved in
wax with some taking over 100 hours of work. These orchids are like
no other on the market and are highly sought by orchid lovers
everywhere.

These skilled jewelers, goldsmiths and metal artists have donated
significant portions of their profits to maintain The Ganoksin
Project. By offering their elegant creations to the public, they are
helping to offset the enormous server and maintenance costs by
providing access to Ganoksin and Orchid for those who need it most.

http://www.ganoksin.com/splash

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Put an Orchid on your Bench

Join the most popular online community for jewelers, The Orchid
forums at http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid

-----------------[ G a n o k s i n . C o m ]-------------------

We are here to build a strong pool of information for the benefit of
Web's jewelers and craftsmen - and those interested in jewelry and
gemstones.


Enjoy
Hanuman