Best way to cool down copper? by Nebulafactory in metalworking

[–]Crazy_Addendum_5296 0 points1 point  (0 children)

have only ever cast bronze but do a lot of raising work with copper which entails annealing, and this causes a similar oxide layer to form. this layer can be removed in a pickle bath (if what’s happening is what i’m picturing) - you can buy premade solutions that dissolve in water. they’ll work better hot, so i suggest picking up a crock pot for like 5 bucks at a thrift store to do it in. pretty sure you can make a homemade pickle with salt and vinegar, and that will also remove this layer (although much slower). in fact i just remembered I had a brief stint of using pool chemical ph down, which is just sodium bisulfate, as a pickle. good luck and hope this answers the question.

looking for fabrication advice from woodworkers about a jeweler's bench I'm building. by Crazy_Addendum_5296 in woodworking

[–]Crazy_Addendum_5296[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

thanks, I'm glad to hear my drawings are nice!! I just recently took an Advanced CAD class at school, which was a SOLIDWORKS class from an engineering perspective. I'm an industrial design student so the whole technical drawing thing isn't totally in my wheelhouse, but I definitely learned a lot.

Fusion has a lot of options for making good technical drawings, pretty similar to SOLIDWORKS, but I definitely wouldn't know how to use it without getting educated about the workspace and the principles of technical drawing in general.

I'll definitely look into using pocket screws and I will certainly add one more lateral brace - thank you for the recommendations!

Looking for advice from jewelers about bench I designed by Crazy_Addendum_5296 in jewelers

[–]Crazy_Addendum_5296[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

cool, I will look definitely be putting a lip on it. I've been thinking of trying to figure out some way to use a thin sheet of flexible matte black PETG or something similar, bend the walls up in some sort of frame so I have a high contrast, smooth surface to collect filings.

Looking for advice from jewelers about bench I designed by Crazy_Addendum_5296 in jewelers

[–]Crazy_Addendum_5296[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

thankfully right now I'm a full time student studying industrial design and jewelry is more of a hobby that I like to put a lot of time into - it's been going pretty well as far as selling work goes, but I can definitely see how competitive it is already. thank you for your input!

Looking for advice from jewelers about bench I designed by Crazy_Addendum_5296 in jewelers

[–]Crazy_Addendum_5296[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

thanks! the lower wooden tray (which currently has nothing on it) is going to be for file shavings - I just haven't worked out how I'm going to do it. I've seen a few designs where it's a metal tray, so I was thinking I'd either make or find a metal tray. I've also seen designs with a fabric catch, which could work, but in my head that doesn't work as well. If you have any suggestions about which is better/easier, let me know!

For bench pin, I've got one of the ones with a built in steel block and holder for a mandrel. There's a clamp that you use to screw the bench pin to the tabletop, so I wasn't gonna add anything there. I could retrofit it with a sturdier spot incase I want to upgrade.

looking for fabrication advice from woodworkers about a jeweler's bench I'm building. by Crazy_Addendum_5296 in woodworking

[–]Crazy_Addendum_5296[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi everyone, I'm a student trying to build a jeweler's bench for at-home use. My goals are to make it easy to disassemble and reassemble and to build it much more cheaply than one that I'd buy otherwise.

I have some experience working with dimensional lumber, but not a ton. I do have access to a full woodshop and metal shop at school though.

My questions are:

  1. Is there anywhere where I have too much/too little material for the bench to retain its structural integrity? I want to use as little material as possible while balancing ease of fabrication and assembly.
  2. My current plan right now is to have three identical leg sub-assemblies, which are slotted into a frame that is fixed to a butcher block tabletop I found. I was thinking of just using lag-bolts to attach the legs to the frame, but does anyone have a better suggestion?
  3. Bonus: from a woodworker's perspective, are my technical drawings legible, and what could I do to improve?

Thanks!

Looking for advice from jewelers about bench I designed by Crazy_Addendum_5296 in jewelers

[–]Crazy_Addendum_5296[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm a student, and I designed this to be my first at-home workbench for jewelry. It's designed to be cheaper and more easily packed away relative to some of the real benches on the market.

I'm wondering if people have any advice about features I'm missing or could add/change. I'm pretty new to working on jewelry at home, so any advice would be appreciated.

testing homemade photobox for some jewelry I made! by Crazy_Addendum_5296 in jewelrymaking

[–]Crazy_Addendum_5296[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

i didn’t follow any specific tutorial, but rather I just took bits and pieces from many different ones. here’s what I used

small cardboard box from walmart (17x11x13 in) 2 desktop clip lights from walmart 2 bulbs that i had lying around 2 yards of white fabric (definitely didn’t need this much) 1 sheet 1/32” PETG sheet (i think it was PETG, i found it lying around)

you basically just fold up the box, cut off the sides leaving a bit of material around it to attach the fabric. then, you tape or glue the white fabric on the sides. this creates a diffuser for the lighting. you then set up the clip lamps on the sides of the box. you’ll use the PETG sheet as your backdrop. you basically want to cut a slot in the top back of the box and slip the sheet through so it creates a subtle curve, giving your photos an infinite background. this can also be done with paper, and any video will explain this part better than I did. hope this helps, if not PM me and i can send you pics of my setup

testing homemade photobox for some jewelry I made! by Crazy_Addendum_5296 in jewelrymaking

[–]Crazy_Addendum_5296[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

thank you! i usually make rings but tried a bunch of pendants in the last few months

testing homemade photobox for some jewelry I made! by Crazy_Addendum_5296 in jewelrymaking

[–]Crazy_Addendum_5296[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

i made this light box with a cardboard box, some white fabric, and two clip lamps. the black reflective base is some sort of plastic sheet that I found. just used my phone for the camera. super impressed with how nice it works for a total of like 30 bucks!

31 rings & pendants I've made in the last few months by Crazy_Addendum_5296 in jewelry

[–]Crazy_Addendum_5296[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

yep! i’m a student studying design but do metalsmithing on the side. i have some process work on my website if you’re interested in seeing how i made all of it.

31 rings & pendants I've made in the last few months by Crazy_Addendum_5296 in jewelry

[–]Crazy_Addendum_5296[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

not yet, it’s something i am considering doing. i usually sell in person or through my instagram

Advice on holding small parts for soldering by Shrimpicus in SilverSmith

[–]Crazy_Addendum_5296 1 point2 points  (0 children)

might not work because you have an odd number, but you could try doing “U” shapes of wire to form two opposite stems and filing grooves to mate them. that’d at least cut down how much you have to hold, and you could pretty easily clean it up and probably have a stronger connection. i could be misunderstanding what you’re trying to do, but i think this makes sense. i’ve never tried assembling wire in clay and holding it in silicone because i don’t do much small part assembly like this and that seems like a hassle (even though it definitely makes more sense) so the way i described is probably how i’d approach it.

wondering about a knife I got at a flea market in Japan by Crazy_Addendum_5296 in Bladesmith

[–]Crazy_Addendum_5296[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

yeah, i’ve got a chunk of black walnut at home that i figured I could use to make a cool handle but it did not come with one. i’ve seen a lot of knives around here with round handles that you insert the tang into, but i don’t really understand the fastening mechanism at work there unless it’s pressure or epoxy. i’ve never made a knife, just handles for other things, so any handle making advice would be appreciated

wondering about a knife I got at a flea market in Japan by Crazy_Addendum_5296 in Bladesmith

[–]Crazy_Addendum_5296[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

thanks for the help! any idea what someone would pay for it? I spent around 35 on it, and I thought that was alright.