"Based on the monthly column in AJM, this book will help any jeweler speed production, improve quality, and raise profits at the bench. Filling with helpful, full-color illustrations, this publication offers tips for all aspects of bench work, from soldering to stone setting, piercing to final polish. Discover how you can modify common bench tools to enhance productivity; how household items such as dental floss and paper clips can become valuable bench aides; and how easy difficult repairs can be with the help of a few tricks."--Page 4 of cover.
In every field the top artisans have their favorite ways of solving common problems. Making a piece of fine jewelry is no exception. The work is intricate, but accomplished jewelers have a variety of techniques, special tools and shortcuts that are proven to save time and improve the quality of your work. This book is written as a resource for jewelers with skill levels from beginner through advanced. The bench tips come from Brad Smith's 17 years of experience in the jewelry industry, including a decade teaching hundreds of students. 101 tips are detailed and illustrated with closeup pictures as ready solutions for common problems at the bench. They include over 20 ways to save time when soldering and polishing, 8 common hazards to avoid, many ways to cut costs, 10 tips to improve stone setting skills, and the "Must-Have" tools for increasing productivity at the bench.
Charles Lewton-Brain is recognized throughout the jewelry industry as a stellar metalsmith, educator, and author, as well as one of the guiding spirits behind the famed Ganoksin Project and the Orchid e-mail forum. Now, in The Jeweler's Bench Book, he will show you how to best purchase and set up a bench operation, offering insights into everything from the basics of bench design to ingenious storage solutions for tools and supplies. Featuring dozens of full-color images as well as "tours" of working benches that have been arranged and modified for maximum efficiency, The Jeweler's Bench Book will inspire you to take a look at your bench anew.
Metalworking is generally regarded as a skill that takes years of dedication, requires a large studio space, and costs a lot of money. Fortunately, Simple Soldering proves that does not need to be the case. This handy how-to guide is complete in its exploration of the craft of creating soldered metal jewelry, including tools, techniques, and 20 beautiful projects that beginners and enthusiasts can make at home. Author and teacher Kate Richbourg demystifies basic soldering for any home crafter, showing how to create sophisticated, polished, and professional-looking jewelry pieces through simple soldering techniques. First, she instructs how to set up a jewelry workspace that fits the confines of your budget and living space. Detailed step-by-step instructions walk you through the basic tools and materials you need, plus how to use them. A sample chapter gives a host of introductory exercises that teach solid skills, allowing you to test these techniques on a small scale. Finally, you'll discover 20 finished projects that include earrings, pendants, rings, bracelets, and clasps that may also include bead or wire embellishment. Kate also demonstrates how to combine and layer techniques to gorgeous effect. She also examines common mistakes, shows how to correct or adapt them, and gives advice on when it's time to start over. Most of all, having taught thousands of classes on soldering, Kate has a "you can do it!" attitude that shines through to help even the most reluctant jewelry maker fire up the torch with ease. With Simple Soldering, the art of metal working one-of-a-kind jewelry is now at your fingertips.
Providing detailed descriptions on how to intricately craft stylish wire earrings, this beautifully illustrated guide offers simple yet elegant projects that are inexpensive and easily accomplished. Easy-to-follow instructions and comprehensive definitions guide the jewelry maker through the many elements of wire working, such as headpins, jump rings, hoops, loops, spirals, and ear wires, clearly highlighting the techniques and detailing the quality materials necessary to produce functional and innovative works of wearable art. With a diverse selection of 101 contemporary earring projects submitted from top designers, wire crafters of all skill levels will hone their talents while discovering new and inspirational ideas for producing unique and creative works in one of the fastest growing trends of modern jewelry art.
"The book examines a series of practical goldsmithing projects, each of which has been successfully completed by student goldsmiths using its instructions ... The creation of rings, chains, bracelets, earrings, and clasps, the use of specialized tools, as well as hand positions, movements, and technical data are described in lucid text and demonstrated with an abundance of detailed color photos"--Cover.
Clear, step-by-step directions for cleaning and repairing jewelry, and setting stones. Tools and equipment, ultrasonics, steaming, electroplating, more. 268 illustrations.
A Practical Guide to Efficient Shop Management, Run Your Shop Without It Running You offers jewelers useful advice to managing their shop. Take-In Procedures, Setting-Up a Shop, Pricing Repairs, and Productivity in the Shop are just a few of the subjects covered. With over one hundred and fifty pages of information, illustrations, and worksheets, this is the most comprehensive book on Shop Management available today. This Valuable Guide Is A Must In Every Jewelry Store Learn a variety of methods to improve profitability of the jewelry shop. Including; how to set correct prices, improve scrap material management, and avoiding costly mistakes at the take-in counter. Learn methods of increasing productivity without sacrificing quality. Including; organizing and scheduling jobs, shop design, organizing the bench, motivating the bench jeweler, and many other topics. Run Your Shop Without It Running You will show you how you can have a shop that is efficient and profitable. In the ever-changing business environment, retail jewelers are compelled to make every aspect of their business profitable. If a store is to survive in the future, not only can it not support a loss in the shop; the shop must contribute to the profits of the store. In the years ahead, the shop may very well be the most important asset for the independent retail jeweler. It Is Now More Important Then Ever To Operate The Shop Professionally And Profitably. The business environment has changed over the years, and business practices must change along with it. No longer can the shop be the Necessary Evil, the Achilles Heel of the retail jewelry industry. The shop must be able to stand on its own and provide its share of profits to the store. Then, the store will not just survive in the future, it will THRIVE. In 1999 Bench Media first published Run Your Shop Without It Running You and is the Best Selling book on Jewelry Shop Management. Here is what other has said about this book: “All in all, the book is a no-nonsense guide to running a tight repair shop – It's A Must Read.”INSTORE Magazine “For too many years jewelry storeowners have believed the fallacy the shop can't be a profit center. Brad Simon destroys that notion step-by-step with a practical book that shows owners and shop mangers the keys to profitability.”Professional Jeweler Magazine “This is the best book on setting up and running a shop that I have ever seen. It is a must for every jewelry store and every jeweler should read it.”Andy 'The Tool Guy' Kroungold “Brad is one of the few people who understand how to make a profit in the shop and how to set prices. If you have a shop or are going to install one, you should buy this book. It's great on setting things up in an orderly fashion for best efficiency, which speeds things up and lowers cost. Buy this book; it's a good one.”David Geller “This is going to be one of those classic books that comes to mind whenever someone asks about going into the trade or gets serious about making their shop profitable. There is a lot of practical business sense and many bench tips.”John Caro “Brad Simon reviews much that should be common sense, but unfortunately is often overlooked. It is good to see it laid out and explained for a bench jeweler's perspective. Thanks Brad for such an informative manual.”Tony Baldwin “Brad Simon has taken a potentially boring subject and made it interesting to read. His years at the bench are obvious from the detailed descriptions of what goes on in the shop.” David Lantz “Very well done. An excellent reference guide and tool for jewelers. Jewelers will definitely benefit from this book. I recommend it to all.”Arthur Gordon
Describes articles of jewelry by contemporary designers, with step-by-step information on how they were constructed, and offers instructions and advice on design, techniques, specialized tools, and related matters.
25 gorgeous how-to projects Interest in beading and jewelry-making continues to grow. Making Designer Jewelry from Hardware, Beads, and Gems offers DIY crafters and jewelry-makers a fun, funky approach to jewelry constructed from not only glass beads, pearls, and semi-precious gemstones, but shows how to incorporate simple stainless steel, aluminum, copper, brass and tin hardware, such as nuts, bolts, washers, and tubing, into stunning, innovative, and modern jewelry pieces. Using hardware in jewelry has become popular, and features an aesthetic twist that mixes "high" and "low" --inexpensive and common metal hardware with favorite bead-store jewels.
