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E-BENCH <=> <=>
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The E-Mail Newsletter
for Bench Jewelers
May 2005
Volume 6 Issue 5
circulation over 3,600
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ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER
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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
anyone that you think may benefit from it,
provided you forward all of it without
modification and not just portions of it.
This document may NOT be distributed for
profit. E-BENCH is a
copyrighted newsletter
and all rights are reserved!
We assure you that your email address is kept
strictly confidential and is not shared with
anyone for any reason.
E-BENCH is sent to you each month FREE of
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SPONSORS. Please
support them with your
purchases.
E-BENCH is a BENCH MEDIA Publication
BENCH MEDIA is a B W Simon Company
Bradney W Simon – Publisher
Daniel R. Spirer - Proofreader
daniel@spirerjewelers.com
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<=>
<=> <=> TABLE OF CONTENTS <=>
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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 <=>
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Bench Jewelers SHOW
ME HOW Seminars
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International to bring you a fantastic line up
for a one day seminar. This seminar will be
held in 4 cities across the
Instructors Include:
Topics Covered Include:
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Come to the seminar and spend Labor Day weekend
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Tips for Jewelers Who Do Repairs
from Alan Revere
The Sky’s the Limit
To work with control and exactness, you have to
be able to see like a hawk. You need to see
when surfaces are flat, when corners are
square, when prongs make full contact – and to
recognize a difference of 0.1 mm!
Here is one way to look at jewelry so that you
can see the finest, most precise details: Hold
your work up against a bright shy – or a bright
wall or light, so that all you can see is the
silhouette of the work piece. Now turn and
examine the silhouette, because it is very
revealing. Using this technique, you can see
the sliver of light under a prong. You can
clearly see if an edge of gold is flat when
held against a steel ruler. And you can see if
the two sides of a seam are really flush. And
once you see them, you can correct them.
Apply this simple technique, and you’ll add
precision in everything you do. And the more
exacting you are the more success you’ll
achieve – in fact, the sky’s the limit!
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
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Why is it that I
don't have 60 seconds to put
something away
but I have 60 minutes to look
for it?
Gaylord SoHayda
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<=> E-BENCH SPONSOR <=>
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The AJM Guide to
Lost-Wax Casting
Learn from the masters how to achieve smooth,
porosity-free castings!
The AJM Guide to Lost-
Wax Casting offers an abundance of best
practices, handy tips, and troubleshooting
techniques. How to
create trouble-free master
models to proper breakout procedures.
Contributing experts include:
Charles Lewton-Brain, Jurgen J.
Maerz,
Gregg Todd, Michael Bondanza, and
many more.
For sample chapters and more information, go to
http://www.ajm-magazine.com/pub_press.php
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<=> <=> FEATURE ARTICLE <=>
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A Pain In The Neck
You start to turn and there it is again. You
go to stand up from your chair and it happens
again. It's that nagging pain in your neck or
lower back. After several years on the bench,
jewelers often develop chronic neck or back
injuries.
Bench jewelers will spend most of the time in
the workshop seated at their workbench.
Therefore, time is well spent in adjusting and
arranging it. A poorly adjusted chair and
workbench will not only cause discomfort,
fatigue, and muscle cramps that reduce worker
efficiency, but more importantly, it may
develop into leg, back, or neck injury.
Many varieties of workbench styles are
available from jewelry tool and equipment
suppliers. Unfortunately most all benches come
in a standard height of 39” to 40” and are not
adjustable. This one size fits all bench
height fits worse than one-size fits all
clothing. Since jewelers are not all the same
height, the workbench MUST be adjusted to fit
them properly.
Adjusting Your Chair
In order to achieve the proper workbench height
you must first start with the chair. A jeweler
may sit in their chair for over eight hours per
day, every day, and even longer during the
Christmas Season. A quality chair designed to
be sat in for long periods of time and
ergonomically designed is essential. Your
body, limbs, spine, and neck are supported by
and affected by the chair you sit in. Pain
associated with seating may develop slowly,
often over many months or even years. A good
chair will go a long way toward preventing
these problems.
When selecting a chair do not be fooled by the
visual appearance. For example, a soft, overly
padded chair may look inviting. When you sit
in it for the first few moments, it may feel
comfortable and soothing. Over an eight-hour
workday, however, this chair may not support
your back, legs, and spine properly.
Once you have purchased a chair, you must
adjust it. The best chair in the world is
worthless if it is not adjusted correctly.
Adjust the height of the chair so that when
seated with feet flat on the floor the tops of
your thighs are parallel to the floor. You
should be able to feel the seat of the chair
along the back of your thighs. You should feel
enough pressure to support your upper legs, but
not too much pressure as to cut off or restrict
circulation. The angle between the torso and
the thighs should not be less than 90° or
greater than 110°. From this position, you need
to adjust the height of the workbench. DO NOT
adjust the height of the chair to the
workbench.
A chair too high is awkward for shorter
jewelers, and it is hard to reach the foot
pedal for the flex shaft. It puts pressure on
the thighs, restricting circulation in the
legs. Improper support of the legs and thighs
leads to chronic back injury.
A chair too low is uncomfortable for taller
jewelers. Their knees are raised too high
eliminating any support of their thighs. This
causes compression of the lower spine and body
organs. Alternatively, they bend their legs
awkwardly under them, causing fatigue and
cramping. Both lead to
chronic back injury.
A backrest on the chair is necessary to help
support the spine. The backrest should support
the lower and middle of your back, from your
waist to just below your shoulder blades. Less
than this does not give adequate support; more
than this restricts movement. Adjust the
backrest up or down to give this support. Then
adjust the backrest forward or backwards so
that there is 2" to 4" of clearance between the
front edge of the seat and the inside of your
knees. Just like your thighs against the chair
seat, you should be able to feel the support of
the chair backrest along your back. While
sitting your spine is supported either by a
backrest or by your muscles. Avoid fatigue
from muscular backache and get a chair with a
properly adjusted backrest.
Adjusting Your Bench
To determine the proper workbench height, sit
comfortably in a properly adjusted chair. Sit
up straight with your back against the
backrest. In this position, your bench pin
should come to the center of your breastbone.
If it does not, you need to adjust the height
of your bench. Buying the proper chair and
adjusting it correctly will do you no good if
you hunch over your work because your bench is
too short!
If your bench is too tall, you can cut the
required amount off each leg. Be certain to
cut exactly the same amount off each leg so
that the bench does not wobble. If the bench
is too short, glue a block of wood to the
bottom of each leg to raise the bench.
Visors
Many magnifying visors available in the jewelry
industry hold the magnifying lens plate out
directly in front of your eyes. This forces
you to look straight ahead, not down at your
work. To see your work on your bench pin you
must bend over your work. This also leads to
chronic back and neck injury.
Many jewelers further complicate this problem
when someone comes to talk to them while
working. Rather than raise the visor, they
bend their necks back and look down under the
visor to see the person. Over time, a jeweler
develops a whiplash type injury from this
extreme bending of the neck.
A better alternative is to use a magnifier that
sets lower in front of the eyes, such as
reading glasses. To use, you look down through
the glasses and only need to bend your head
forward slightly, if at all. Then to see
someone you can look straight out over the
glasses without bending your neck.
Chiropractor
Last, but certainly not least, visit a
chiropractor. Find a chiropractor that works
with occupational injuries and provides
maintenance care. Chiropractors that only work
with acute injuries (such as auto accidents)
may not be as proficient at working with
chronic injury that bench jewelers develop. In
addition, find a chiropractor that will take
x-rays of your spine before making any
adjustments. Any competent chiropractor will
want to see just what condition your spine is
in before making adjustments.
By making a few ergonomic adjustments to your
shop and work habits as well as receiving
chiropractic maintenance; your back will begin
to feel good as new and you will have one less
Pain In The Neck!
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QUOTE WORTH RE-QUOTING
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People with goals succeed because they know
where they are going...
It's as simple as that
Earl Nightingale
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<=>
<=> <=> E-BENCH SPONSOR <=>
<=> <=>
Jewelry Dealers
World Trade Network
http://www.JewelryDealersNetwork.com
<=> Bench Jeweler Discussion Channel <=>
>
Ask questions, share tips, and take part in the
ongoing discussions, or just read and take in
all the advice from many excellent jewelers
from around the world.
Membership includes: Topical Discussion
Channels, including
Bench Work, CAD-CAM, Stone Setting, and many
more. You may buy, sell
and trade on the
Buy/Sell Channels, Plus Much More.
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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
The Burnout Oven
Since wax must be completely burnt out to
ensure a clean and trouble-free casting, the
burnout oven (or kiln) is a crucial part of the
process. The kiln must be able to reach the
high temperatures required for platinum
casting, hold the temperature it is set to
achieve, and do heat ramps as programmed to
eliminate the wax from invested flasks.
One factor to consider is that steam dewaxing
often used in gold casting, cannot be used in
platinum casting because it will cause most
platinum investments to break down. That means
all wax must be eliminated in the kiln, making
it crucial to have adequate air flow through
the heating chamber so the wax vapor can be
carried out the exhaust.
Because of this need for good air flow, gas
kilns have some advantages. Gas jets
distribute the heat more evenly and, unlike
electric coils, require a great deal of oxygen
to bum; consequently, good air flow is always
part of a gas kiln’s design. For a small shop,
however, a good electric kiln will work fine.
There are even electric kilns made especially
for platinum casting that offer excellent air
flow. (If your kiln does not have adequate air
flow, you might be able to drill a few holes in
its top or bottom. Check with the kiln’s
manufacturer.) In addition, be sure to place
the flasks at the center of the kiln, leaving
enough space around each one so the temperature
is as evenly distributed as possible. (This
will also help you avoid hot spots caused by
having the flasks too close to the heating
spiral.)
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QUOTE WORTH RE-QUOTING
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Our attitudes control our lives. Attitudes are
a secret power working 24 hours a day, for good
or bad. It is of paramount importance that we
know how to harness and control this great
force.
Tom Blandi
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<=>
<=> <=> E-BENCH SPONSOR <=>
<=> <=>
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Bench Media
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VISION
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Bench Jewelers on DVD
Each quarterly issue contains 1 hour of video
training including: Stone Setting, Jewelry
Repair, and Custom Jewelry Manufacturing. Plus
Bench Tips, Bench Visits, and New Product
Reviews.
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www.BWSimon.com/BenchVision
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<=> FAVORITE TIPS <=>
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My favorite way to polish chains is very simple
& completely safe to the polisher. I put my
Sterling Silver Chains in my vibratory tumbler
w/steel shot & burnishing compound. Leave it
in overnight & then rinse, dry. Beautiful!
Safely polished, simple!
Char
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A method to tighten
invisible set diamonds that
are loose enough that they
slide back and forth
but not so loose that they
lift up, is to use a
#50 round bottom graver
ground to a long narrow
point. From the backside of the mounting cut a
small bead from the support
channel and press
it tight against the
pavilion of the diamond.
One or two beads on each
side of the diamond
will generally hold it
tight.
CAUTION: Before doing this make certain that
the stone will not push up
above the level of
the other stone. To check this place a wax
stick on the table of the
stone and lift up.
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Take several small
well-planned breaks instead
of one longer break. Take breaks such as a
drink of coffee, or washing
your face, etc.
between groups of
work. This keeps you
refreshed and working at
maximum productivity.
Research shows that a short
break every forty-
five minutes actually increases
productivity.
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When it comes to recovering
precious metal,
nothing is worthless. However, when you walk
into many repair shops you
will find people
behaving as if it
were. Many people do not
realize what a valuable
asset their scrap is,
and have been pleasantly
surprised by the
amount of additional
revenues received from a
refiner when a clean and
orderly shop is
maintained.
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Always measure and record
finger size of rings
with cracked shanks. Then, if a piece of the
shank breaks off in the
shop, the jeweler knows
what size the ring should
be. This also helps
later if the ring does not
fit when the
customer returns.
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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
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But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind
and straining toward what is ahead, I press on
toward the goal.
Philippians 3: 13
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<=>
<=> <=> E-BENCH SPONSOR <=>
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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 <=>
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Stone setting tips from Gemz Diamond
Setting
http://www.gemzdiamondsetting.com/index.html
by Gerald N. Lewy
<=> Be careful when setting beaded diamonds
that the metal is thick enough to set the
diamond down into the metal. The absolute
minimum should be for .01 - .03 pointers is
0.75 millimeters.
<=> Before accepting items for repairs, examine
for wear on the supporting gallery. Many times
the supporting gallery is worn thin as well as
the prong tips. You will not have a
satisfactory repair if you only rebuild the
prong tips.
<=> For bezel work, it’s far easier to make a
new bezel, for the original stone than to waste
your time with the worn down gold. The
finished results will be more gratifying to you
and the customer.
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QUOTE WORTH RE-QUOTING <=>
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Every day, think as you wake up, today I am
fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human
life, I am not going to waste it. I am going
to use all my energies to develop myself, to
expand my heart out to others; to achieve
enlightenment for the benefit of all beings.
Dalai Lama
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<=> <=> E-BENCH SPONSOR <=>
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BENCH
WORLD
It’s a new name for the Bench Jewelers
Conference & Expo, but it’s the same great
Educational Conference & Supplier’s Expo
BENCH
WORLD
It’s the Best
of Our World
The World of the
Bench Jeweler
April 28 – 30, 2006 –
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<=> WORKSHOP SAFETY FOR JEWELERS <=> <=>
Workshop Safety Tips From Charles Lewton-Brian
Dilution ventilation is used in many shops,
where you open a window next to you, and
another one elsewhere, so that air passes you
on its way out. Dilution ventilation is not
generally an effective approach. What we
really want most of the time is local
ventilation, which means a sucking device, slot
or tube very close to the working area that is
generating the dust, mist or fumes so they are
sucked away as they are produced: removed
entirely from the workshop and vented safely
(i.e. not near a makeup air intake).
Jewelers cast metals frequently, in making
ingots for sheet and wire, sand casting, vacuum
and centrifugal investment casting and so on.
The investment burnout process normally occurs
in kilns, and, depending upon the wax, or even
plastic, used, the fumes can be from mildly
toxic to extremely toxic, and in many cases are
fairly polluting. Usually jewelers cast gold
and silver alloys, sometimes other metals like
platinum, brass, more rarely tin and zinc
(white metals being spin cast) in the small
workshop. Alloys may contain other metals
which produce hazardous fumes such as lead,
cadmium, beryllium, arsenic, and antimony.
Nickel, is considered a suspect metal now, and
manganese and chromium are also to be avoided.
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
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, adding additional useful information
for bench jewelers.
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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
should be sought.
< <
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For editorial suggestions, comments, ideas
or requests, please send an E-Mail to
Bradney W. Simon mailto:Brad@BWSimon.com
Copyrighted, 2005, BENCH MEDIA.
All rights reserved.
BENCH MEDIA
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