<> <> <> <> <> <> <> E-BENCH <> <> <> <> <> <> <>
A New Method of Learning in a New Millennium
December 2001
Volume 2 Issue 12
circulation over 1,400
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WE HAVE MOVED
Our offices are now located at:
B W Simon
106 Pinepoint
Spartanburg, SC 29302
<> <> <> <> ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER <> <> <> <>
E-BENCH is a FREE monthly newsletter for
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<> <> <> <> <> PLATINUM SPONSOR <> <> <> <> <>
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<> <> <> <> <> TABLE OF CONTENTS <> <> <> <> <>
REVERE FINDING TIPS
Useful tips to help you find things in the studio from Revere
Academy of Jewelry Arts
TRADE SECRETS
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.
SIMON SEZ SEMINARS
See and hear Bradney W. Simon in person
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
GERRY’S GEMZ
Stone setting tips from Gemz Diamond Setting
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<> <> <> <> <> REVERE FINDING TIPS <> <> <> <> <>
Here are some useful tips to help you find things in the
studio
from Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts
Finding Burs
By Alan Revere
Devote one drawer of your bench to burs (it must be deeper
than
the length of your longest bur.) Cut a piece of wood, thick foam
core, alligator board, ceiling tile, etc. to fit exactly into your
drawer. Now carefully lay out and drill lots of holes in a grid, all
the way through the board. Use a drill barely larger than the
diameter of your burs. Place some of the holes farther away, for
large wheels, buffs, etc. Place some of the holes closer together
for smaller burs. Slip the wood into your drawer and place all
your burs in the holes, organized by type and then by size. Now
you have a row of round burs, setting burs, bud burs, etc.,
graduated by size.
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<> <> <> <> <> <> GOLD SPONSOR <> <> <> <> <> <>
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and platinum. Crafford’s team
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or www.crafford.com
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<> <> <> <> <> TRADE SECRETS <> <> <> <> <>
When using a laser welder with silver use silver solder sheets
and cut thin strips to use as welding rods. By using silver solder
you don't need to use a magic marker to keep the silver from
ricocheting; it’s less messy, you get a good solder joint and you
are able to do almost any silver solder job that might be
impossible with traditional methods (inlaid, enamel, etc.). By
using the silver solder strips instead of silver wire you can easily
use this technique on any silver jobs (jump rings, spring rings,
sizing) and any jobs where soft solder may have been used. It
also makes gold filled glasses stronger and more pliable than
using gold. Settings always vary, but a good starting place using
this method is 280v/3.5ms/50 beam.
Tim Dickens - Iowa City Iowa
< < < < < <> > > > > >
Try Styrofoam instead of cardboard under your polishing motor.
It absorbs more impact...sometimes the piece just sticks where it
hit. Don't forget to line the back of the hood, too. The white
Styrofoam also reflects light, and makes it easier to see inside
the hood while polishing (I like to see EVERY scratch while I'm
still at the polisher). I hang a postcard inside the hood, just
above the buffing wheel and slightly resting on it. It acts like a
mud flap, to keep the dust from coming around with the wheel
and flying into my face. I also hang an old 2" paint brush next to
the polishing hood. When I'm finished, I dust the inside of the
hood and all around the motor. I keep my polishing area as clean
as a kitchen counter. Keeping this area clean does more than
prevent buffs from becoming contaminated. It makes the task of
polishing more a part of the creative process, rather than the
dirty dungeon I have seen in some shops (YUCK!!!). I also found
that the disposable masks that dentists wear are great for
keeping my lungs clean, too, and far more comfortable that the
hardware store variety.
Too often, polishing is seen as a
"necessary evil" to be
completed as quickly as possible. I try to devote as much time to
careful polishing and finishing as I do to fabrication and
stonesetting.
Doug Zaruba
< < < < < <> > > > > >
Here is a trick for chair repair: - Take a small piece of copper
sheet and drill or punch small holes of various sizes in it. Lay the
chain being soldered on a charcoal block, and place the copper
sheet over the chain with the link you are soldering visible
through a hole in the copper sheet. Use a hole that will allow
you to see only the link that you want to solder. When you apply
the torch flame, the copper will act as a heat shield to prevent
the adjacent links from getting hot. This little jig will make easy
work of repairing those extra light micro chains and hollow
chains that always seem to come in for repair.
Doug Zaruba
< < < < < <> > > > > >
To solder jump rings use sheet or wire solder and clip into small
chunks and place on the soldering block. Hold the jump ring in a
pair of soldering tweezers with the joint down. Flux the solder
snippet, the jump ring, and the attachment point. Melt solder into
a ball and pick up with the jump ring as you would with a
soldering pick. Heat the piece until the flux turns liquid and touch
the jump ring to the piece. When solder flows remove heat
quickly. It helps to have a good solid rest for your wrist.
Jerry Holt
< < < < < <> > > > > >
To make soldering jump rings easier you might try this
technique: roll out a narrow strip of solder in the rolling mill or cut
and pound a strip of solder very thin. Cut the strip into small
snippets. Insert the appropriate size snippet into the seam of the
jump ring using tweezers or pliers, (it should be thin enough to
not force the join open). Heat the joint until the solder flows. It
makes a perfect seam every time, as the solder cannot jump to
one side and flow away from the seam. This isn't practical for
soldering dozens or hundreds of jump rings at a time, but if you
need to control exactly where your solder flows this is a handy
alternative to using a solder pick.
Michael David Sturlin - Scottsdale Arizona
< < < < < <> > > > > >
A tip for chain making: Fold a piece of copper sheet in half.
Then cut a V in the fold. Unfold to where it will stand up on its
own, and the V is at the top. Use the V to prop the jump ring up
so that the joint is visible and ready to solder. You can use
tweezers to move the chain along as you solder. This helps to
keep from soldering links together. Hope this is helpful to
someone.
Sarah Philbeck
< < < < < <> > > > > >
If you have a tip you would like to share with our readers send it
in an e-mail to mailto:Brad@BWSimon.com
< < < < < <> > > > > >
If you like Trade Secrets then you’ll love Trade Secret of the Day
a bench tip provided daily Monday through Friday on various
Internet web sites including:
http://www.jewelrydealersnetwork.com/
http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/orchid.htm
http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/Jeweller
If you know of a jewelers’ bulletin board or discussion channel
that you would like to see Trade Secret of the Day posted on,
have the administrator contact me at Brad@BWSimon.com
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<> <> <> <> QUOTE WORTH RE-QUOTING <> <> <> <>
The heights by great men reached and kept
Were not attained
by sudden flight,
But they, while their companions slept,
Were toiling
upward in the night.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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<> <> <> <> <> SIMON SEZ SEMINARS <> <> <> <> <>
Bradney W. Simon is an accomplished platform speaker;
providing Keynote Speeches, and Educational Seminars.
For information on having him speak
for your organization log
onto; http://www.BWSimon.com/SimonSez Seminars
< < < < < <> > > > > >
TRADE SECRETS - TUCSON
Tips, Tricks, and Techniques of a Master Jeweler
Tucson AZ
February 7, 2002
This one-day seminar coincides with the Tucson Gem Shows
and is the day before Catalog in Motion.
For more information go to:
http://www.BWSimon.com/SimonSez
Seminars
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<> <> <> <> <> STEWART'S BENCH TIPS <> <> <> <> <>
Bench Tips from Stewart’s International School for Jewelers
http://www.stewartsintlschool.com/
CUTTING LINKS IN A CHAIN
By Jim Stewart
To cut the links in a gold chain lay the 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.
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<> <> <> <> QUOTE WORTH RE-QUOTING <> <> <> <>
Teamwork divides the task
And doubles the success.
Anonymous
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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/
950/50 PLATINUM /COBALT ALLOY
Platinum in its pure form is very soft and needs to be
alloyed.
These Platinum alloys have different advantages and are used
for specific purposes. The flow properties of the 950/50 Platinum
/Cobalt mixtures are best suited for casting. With this alloy, very
fine pieces of excellent quality can be cast, and considerable
detail can be achieved. Pt/Co has an annealed hardness (HV) of
130 and when cold-worked achieves a hardness (HV) of 270. It
polishes well and holds its luster for a long time. 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 1000° F. Pickle in a 10% solution of nitric acid. The
oxidation will not reappear during wear. It is not possible to
torch-weld different Pt alloys together as they have different
melting points. It is always safe to solder them together using
1500 or 1700 solder. As a point of interest, Pt/Co is slightly
magnetic.
Be sure to wear #5 or #6 welding
goggles to protect your eyes.
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<> <> <> <> <> <> GOLD SPONSOR <> <> <> <> <> <>
If You Like E-Bench
YOU WILL LOVE BENCH MAGAZINE
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is Written BY Bench Jewelers FOR Bench Jewelers. Each issue
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who are masters of their craft; enhanced by line drawings, color
renderings, or photographs.
From Basic Techniques to Advanced Applications -
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Centuries Old Procedures to the Latest in Technological
Advancements, BENCH Magazine provides accurate informative
instruction from Professional Bench Jewelers. In addition, each
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the trade from the magazine staff and jewelers around the world.
Subscriptions are free to jewelers in the USA and Canada,
and
only $40 per year for overseas delivery.
To subscribe go to http://www.BWSimon.com/BENCH
BENCH and E-BENCH - Training Jewelers Worldwide
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<> <> <> QUOTE WORTH RE-QUOTING <> <> <> <>
All hard work bring a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.
Proverbs 14:23
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<> <> <> <> <> GERRY’S GEMZ <> <> <> <> <>
Stone setting tips from Gemz Diamond Setting
http://www.gemzdiamondsetting.com/index.html
by Gerald N. Lewy
High-speed steel refers to the tensile strength of the steel used
to make the burr. It must not be misconstrued for the general
usage and the turning speed of the burr. When using a high
speed steel burr for preparing the seats for a solitaire, I will make
sure that the speed of the drill is just fast enough that I can not
see the teeth of the bur turning. That gives me total control of
the burr. Remember "high speed steel" is the name for the type
of the steel the bur is made from not the speed to use it at.
Gerry!
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<> <> <> <> <> Thank You for Reading <> <> <> <> <>
We are on the World Wide Web.
Visit us at http://www.BWSimon.com
A complete archive of back issues of E-BENCH is located there.
Visit often, as we will be making changes to our site,
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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
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understanding that the author or publisher is not
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< < < < < <> > > > > >
For editorial suggestions, comments, ideas or
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Copyrighted, 2001, B W Simon. All rights reserved.
B W Simon
106 Pinepoint
Spartanburg, SC
2930
864-921-0827
http://www.BWSimon.com
< < < < < <> > > > > >