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<=> <=> <=> <=> E-BENCH <=> <=> <=> <=>
The E-Mail Newsletter
for Bench Jewelers
January 2007
Volume 8 Issue 1 circulation over 4,500
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CALL FOR ENTRIES
The third annual Bench Jewelers Passion Award Design Competition will be held in conjunction with the Bench Jewelers Conference & Expo April 26 – 29 in
of the finished jewelry or CAD renderings are to be submitted over the Internet. Jewelers may enter one piece per category in up to three categories in each Division.
NEW Categories for 2007- Laser Welded Jewelry and Design Team.
Deadline for submissions is
http://www.bwsimon.com/DesignContest/
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<=> <=> ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER <=> <=>
E-BENCH is a FREE monthly newsletter for Retail
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daniel@spirerjewelers.com
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4th
Annual
Bench Jewelers
Conference & Expo
Pre-Conference
Seminar April 26th
For More Information & to Register log onto:
http://www.BWSimon.com/Conference
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<=> <=> <=> TIPS FOR JEWELERS <=> <=> <=>
Tips for Jewelers Who Do Repairs
From Alan Revere
THE TINIEST TIP:
USING HYPODERMIC NEEDLES FOR TORCHES
Jewelers use torches for everything from heating metal when casting ingots to soldering jump rings, repairing small chains, and retipping. But no bench torch can do it all, since a flame that can heat 5 ounces of metal will be too large to solder jump rings.
Fortunately, most bench torches can be easily adapted for even the smallest soldering operation. If you want to control a very tiny flame, but your torch tips do not go down small enough in size, try using an old hypodermic needle. These needles come in a range of sizes, and they fit perfectly over many torches, including the Meco Midget.
You can get old needles form a veterinarian as well as tool suppliers, among other sources. To prepare one, use a separating disc to cut off the sharp, tapered end, and then twist a small bur in the end to remove the flashing on the inside. Remove the flashing on the outside as well, using a needle file.
Now just press the plastic end onto the nozzle of the torch. Open the gas a bit, light it, and then make fine adjustments with the oxygen and gas until you have a small, well-shaped flame, one that is perfect for the tiniest soldering job.
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 <=> <=>
It often requires more courage to dare to do right than to fear to do wrong. Abraham Lincoln
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<=> <=> <=> E-BENCH SPONSOR <=> <=> <=>
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<=> <=> <=> COLORED STONES <=> <=> <=>
Learn all about handling colored stones from
gem stone cutter
CORUNDUM
Part 1
Corundum is the mineral name for aluminum oxide. In gem quality it is called sapphire, and occurs in almost every color of the rainbow. A red sapphire is, by definition, ruby but all other colors besides red or intense pinkish-red are called sapphire. Sapphire and ruby are among the hardest and most durable of all gem stones and, in the natural world, only diamond is harder. Blue sapphire is the most popular gemstone in the United States and, in its finer qualities, can be quite costly especially in sizes over three carats. Aside from fine ruby, the most expensive color is padparadscha (lotus blossom), an intense orangey-pink.
Almost all sapphire and ruby is treated in one way or another. The most common and accepted form is heat treatment. Depending on the chemistry of the individual stone, heat treatment of various types can be used to lighten overly saturated stones, intensify pale ones, and diminish the silk (usually fine crystals of rutile) so common in corundum, thereby improving the clarity. The amount of heat involved is higher than what will be encountered in the shop ordinarily, so the cautious use of a torch and some form of heat protection is usually all that is needed when working with sapphire that has only been heat treated.
Unfortunately, many other forms of treatment are becoming more prevalent, and these can cause trouble. Most rubies being mined are not only heat treated, but are heated with a borax compound which forms a glass at high temperature that fills the numerous cracks and fissures so common in the material available today. This is a quite ordinary glass, often nearly invisible, and is easily melted or partially melted by the torch. When that happens, a distinct haze or whitish frosting appears on the surface, and must be polished out.
Sometimes, and perhaps more commonly, a lead or bismuth compound is used to fill the surface reaching fractures, making them invisible. This is similar to fracture filling in a diamond, and it takes very little heat to damage such a stone. I strongly suggest that ruby be removed from the mounting before work involving heat commences.
You can contact
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<=> <=> QUOTE WORTH RE-QUOTING <=> <=>
I am a great believer in luck and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.
Thomas Jefferson
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<=> <=> <=> E-BENCH SPONSOR <=> <=> <=>
For over 60 years,
jewelry supplier, has provided quality
products, unsurpassed selection and legendary
service to help professional jewelers succeed.
* Gems & Findings division offers finished
jewelry, findings and gemstones
* Display & Packaging division offers
innovative display and packaging
* Tools division offers equipment and supplies
Call us at 1-800-545-6566 or visit us at
http://www.riogrande.com
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<=> <=> Tips & Tricks from
3M Wet or Dry Tri-M-Ite Polishing Papers, which are available from most jewelry industry tool suppliers are my personal favorites for finishing platinum. These polishing papers come in six different grits ranging from 400 to 8,000 which are ideally suited for preparing platinum for polishing using up to the 1200 grit, or using all the way up to the 8,000 and polishing your platinum jewelry without any polishing compounds. The following bench made tools help in making it easier to use these polishing papers.
Sanding Stick
Cut the 3M polishing papers into 1 inch strips 12 inches long (the length of the sheets) using a paper cutter. Stack the strips, in order, with the finest grit on the bottom and the coarsest on top. Place the stack on top of a wooden paint stirring stick (obtained from any paint or hardware store) with half the length extending past the end of the stick. Using a stapler, fasten the end of the stack of polishing papers to the stick. You may need to cut off the end of the paint stir before applying the stack of polishing papers if it is extra long. Fold the loose ends of the polishing papers over the end and down the back side of the paint stir.
To use the sanding stick hold it, using your index finger to hold the loose ends down tightly, and sand using the side of the stick that is stapled down. Fold it down out of the way exposing the next grit paper when you are finished with the coarsest grit. Continue in this manner until you reach the desired finish on your platinum. When the papers are worn out on the stapled side, remove the staple holding the papers and turn the papers around. Re- staple the good end of the papers to the paint stir and wrap the worn out section over the end to be held by your index finger.
This sanding stick is useful for sanding any flat surface or the outside of curved sections.
Sanding Drums
Cut the 3M polishing papers into strips one half inch wide and 6 to 8 inches long using a paper cutter. Tape one end of the strip to the rubber drum of a 1/2 inch rubber sanding drum mandrel made to use in your flex-shaft. Wrap the remainder of the strip around the rubber drum. Use a different rubber sanding drum for each of the different grits of polishing papers.
Place the sanding drum in your flex-shaft or micro-motor to clean and polish the inside of curves or holes in your platinum jewelry. Different size strips of polishing papers can be cut and used on different sizes of rubber sanding drums for a variety of sanding applications.
This is particularly useful for cleaning up and polishing the inside of ring shanks. Using these sanding drums in your flex-shaft which can reach or exceed 15,000 RPM or a micro-motor which can reach 35,000 RPM is much more efficient than using the inside ring buff on a polishing motor which only reaches speeds of 3,400 RPM.
You can contact Brad at Brad@BWSimon.com
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<=> <=> QUOTE WORTH RE-QUOTING <=> <=>
A man is not idle because he is absorbed in thought. There is a visible labor and there is an invisible labor.
Victor Hugo
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MJSA Expo
Cutting-edge technologies, the latest
equipment, new supplies, in-demand services,
the finest gemstones in the AGTA Pavilion, and
a premier selection of finished products in the
MJSA Gems & Jewelry Showcase, all at one
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trade show in the
manufacturing (more than 400 exhibits), and a
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manufacturing techniques and technologies in
action at no additional cost.
MJSA Expo
For more information or to register online,
visit: http://www.mjsa.org
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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
Through a Glass Darkly:
Protecting Your Vision – Without Limits
When soldering and welding platinum you MUST have proper eye protection. The melting temperature of platinum alloys can reach as high as 1,780 degrees C and only #5 safety goggles will do. However, goggles can sometimes limit your vision, which in itself can be a hazard. What is a good solution? Attach a protective lens to your light fixture. Now you can view the work being done behind the lens with full vision, and maximum safety.
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<=> <=> QUOTE WORTH RE-QUOTING <=> <=>
The secret of joy in work is contained in one word - excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it.
Pearl S. Buck
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A substantial library of articles,
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online forums for jewelers.
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<=>
<=> WORKSHOP SAFETY FOR
JEWELERS <=> <=>
Workshop Safety Tips From
ACIDS
Jewelers have traditionally used sulfuric,
nitric and hydrochloric acids as well as
mixtures of the last two as aqua regia. All
are dangerous to have around. All require
splash goggles, gloves, rubber aprons, and fume
hoods to use them. Note
that a basic rule when
carrying bottles of acid is always keep one
hand under the bottle at all times. I heard of
someone carrying a gallon of nitric acid down a
stairwell without doing that, the bottom
dropped out, soaking them in acid. By pure
chance they happened to be standing under an
emergency shower as it happened. They pulled
the shower, the water flooded over them and
there they stood, naked and hairless as their
clothes fell off in shreds-but unburned.
There is very little need for concentrated
acids in most jewelry workshops any more.
Pickles and etchants can be provided by
using
salts that form dilute acids, electro-etching
allows one to use very dilute acids and even
plain salt water to etch many metals with, and
acid testing of metals can be replaced to a
great extent by electronic metal testers.
If you have to use acids: use proper
precautions and a fume hood, use them dilute,
use hardware store ones rather than industrial
strength, and treat them with care.
Salts That Dissociate
Many acids have now been replaced by salts that dissociate in water to form a constant dilution of acid, such as sodium bisulfate which gives you a steady sulfuric acid content or ferric chloride which does the same for hydrochloric acid. Although sodium bisulfate pickle is very safe by comparison with mixing straight sulfuric acid solutions it too can be replaced.
A weak solution of alum works well and does not seem to outgas as much-jewelers used to use it- that is why we call it pickle! Some jewelers are using citric acid solutions and report good results, albeit a little slower. Vinegar and a little salt work as well.
For more information on Workshop safety from
http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/safety.htm
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<=> <=> QUOTE WORTH RE-QUOTING <=> <=>
Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. Proverbs 15: 22
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United is a full service refiner for Gold,
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Technical assistance on all phases of
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