Speed shopping in the desert: Tucson 2014
Tucson, how I love thee…
Palm Trees and Blue skies: The show at Inn Suites is always a great visit for lapidary artisans and mineral collectors.
Originally Published 3-1-2014
A Tucson 2014 haiku:
New stone was desired
Too short time; distant travels
Winter delayed me
For some reason, my area of the country has been cursed as the dumping ground for winter's fury. I was looking forward to Tucson just to get warm, but even there it was chilly. There was such a short time on the ground when I got there that I power-shopped with the cold efficiency of a leopard pouncing in from the underbrush to make a kill. Boom! Kent's Tools and the acquisition of stuff for 80 student kits was conquered in less than an hour. One thing I have learned about going to Tucson: a strict budget tied to a well-organized shopping list is king.
Sadly, this year I didn't have lots of "funny money" to spend -- it was all business for me. But, that didn't stop me from looking -- which is one of the last remaining free things left in the world. It felt great to walk around in the midday sun, check out some "new" cutting rough at Electric Park, see some interesting tools (check out my May/June Cool Tools & Hip Tips column for more on that) and catch up with my friends.
Usually, I try to find a "trend" when I get to Tucson, but this year it was too short a time to tell, so I motored through my visit list and did the best I could in the time I had. Getting an extra day because of snow didn't hurt, either, but there is never enough time it seems.
Here are some photo highlights from my adventure. Enjoy!
The Teacher chronicles
Cutting a seat for a flush set stone
You'll notice that a setting bur has virtually the same profile as a standard, round, faceted, brilliant cut stone. Never bur deeper than the upper limit of the setting bur.
Originally Published 1-20-2014
I have been preparing like mad for several spring teaching engagements, and I have finally gotten my head above the water. With just two weekend days and evenings per week to get ready, it's been a race to the finish – because my first classes are almost upon me. The last thing I have left is to prep my comprehensive shopping list to take to the Tucson Gem and Mineral Shows. I've got half-packed kits all over the studio, instruction sheets to print, and little boxes and bags of demo pieces all over the place. I love teaching, but it is inevitable that when my mind is sharply focused on what I am soon to teach, something comes up for a student from a class I already taught. Then, I end up juggling questions from students about last year curriculum and questions from organizers about soon-to-come curriculum simultaneously. My brain hurts.
One of those questions came up last week about my "One Hour Rings" video:
"Hello Helen. My name is David. I watched your video (One Hour Rings) and I was left with a few questions. For starters, where can I buy a sanding disk? I can't find one anywhere. Secondly, you said to quench the metal in water after soldering, can I do that with white gold? Somebody told me that I can't. I would appreciate it if you could get back to me. Thanks again for such an informative video!!"
And shortly after he replied to say it was OK to answer his question here, David sent me a second email, with a link to a website, picturing a titanium ring:
"Hello. It's me again. I just had one last question. I have been wanting to make myself a ring for a while now. I finally found one I want to make, but I wouldn't know how to set the stones like that. It can be viewed here. It is the picture on the left. I was wondering if you had a video or could explain how I could make a ring like that and set the stones like that. I would really appreciate it. Thanks!"
Really, I don't suggest copying someone elses work, but in this case, the ring pictured was a plain, half-round band with a flush set stone. The only real challenge to fabricating the ring in question was the metal: titanium. But, back to the original question first:
1. Sanding discs (search for brass-center snap-on sanding discs) – my preferred brand is Moore's. I get mine from either Kent's tools in Tucson: www.kentstools.com or from Rio Grande: www.riogrande.com. Don't forget a mandrel for them -- they require a square center mandrel for easy switch outs, which is why I love them.
2. Quenching Gold – don't do it. Especially white gold, because it will cause extreme brittleness in the metal. For hard-wearing jewelry like rings, weak metal is not a good idea. Weak metal is never a good idea, actually. Just let your gold air cool on a steel block. Then, pickle it before proceeding.
3. The ring in question – features plain, ordinary half-round stock and a flush set stone, sometimes called a "Gypsy setting." I've never fabricated Titanium, so I can't help you on that, but any really good reference on stone setting will give you step by step instructions on how to create a flush setting. However, I am a firm believer in "Show, don't tell," so, up in the box above, you’ll find the proverbial “picture is worth a thousand words” shot...
And here's an ultra-simplified bullet point process on how to do this:
• Fabricate a band thicker in gauge than the deepest part of the stone – measuring from table to culet.
• Use a drill to start a centered hole in the band, then switch to a setting bur the same size or slightly smaller in diameter than the stones girdle.
• Cut the seat to the depth that causes the girdle to be just below the surface of the metal. Sticky wax will be your best friend here, as you’ll need to repeatedly insert and remove the stone as you test the seat.
• Set the stone in the seat, then bouge the metal in and up to the girdle of the stone with a soft setting punch to set it securely in place.
Fair warning: it's a lot tougher than it sounds here. It takes a lifetime of practice to set stones professionally, but there is no reason not to try. I'd suggest practice with CZs on brass, and really reading up on stone setting. Again, it's fun, but it isn't easy. There are loads of books on the topic out there, as well as Ann Cahoon's brand-new and fabulous video called Introduction to Gemstone Setting. I was at the filming for that video and for her next one, and Ann is a real pro!
And, to my 2013 "Rotary Tools Demystified" students -- I finally got your resource list ready.
Email me if I missed you, or if you still need one...
Thanks for asking!
Originally Published 12-8-2013
I live for questions. Not only do I love to ask them, but as a teacher, I live to answer them. A favorite time of my son's childhood was when he started to ask me those really complex and profound questions of life, and in my career as a newspaper artist, each day I practically begged for any opportunity to produce a "How" graphic -- because I am the kind of person that needs to explain concepts with diagrams and sketches. Many of you it seems are also members of this tribe -- we need to show and see to understand something fully. So, this week I have decided to answer an interesting question I received about my book. Here is the email that started it:
Hi Helen!
Have been enjoying The Jewelry Maker’s Field Guide! On page 129 you mention a tip for cuff bracelets being wider than 1”… I cannot picture what you are meaning by the narrow “V” that conforms to a taper…you wouldn’t happen to have a photo…(guess I’m a visual learner!)
Thanks in advance! ~Tamra S. Kriedeman
What a great question!
And yes, I would love to show you the answer.
Narrow cuffs don't need to be tapered.
The important thing to remember about bracelets and rings and any jewelry object that encircles the body is this: The wider they are, the more consideration must be paid to comfort -- because for the most part, human limbs and digits are not really shaped like sausages (I can hear those eyeballs rolling and some snide remarks from the mid-life female members of my readership). The wider a ring band is, the more it must be sized up to allow for knuckle clearance and tapering of the finger joint. For cuffs, it is the same. To prove it, use a tape measure on your wrist at the place just above the wrist bone and then again a few inches up from there on your arm. See? For a wide cuff to be comfortable, you should taper it. Here are two sketches that show this concept, because I told you I have to explain things with drawings.
The wider the cuff, the more it needs to be tapered to match the wrist curvature
Wider cuffs are more comfortable to wear when tapered.
Luckily, bracelet mandrels are typically tapered just for this reason. On a wide cuff, you won't need to flip the bracelet around and remove the taper -- you'll want to preserve it, both for the comfort of the wearer, and for the metal too! Here's why -- a bracelet without a taper is more likely to be stressed and work-hardened more and more by the wearer as she struggles to get it on and off her wrist. That means cracking or fracture lines, or creases or bends, so do yourself, and the wearer a favor, and allow for the taper of the wrist. And, it goes without saying, that depending on the design of your cuff, a plain, ordinary rectangular blank of metal might not do the trick -- you might have to cut out a wedge-shaped blank instead. To figure out your pattern, tape a sheet of paper around the mandrel and draw the shape of the cuff you'd like to make in the round. Then, untape and flatten the sheet of paper to use it as a pattern to cut out your metal.
Get out of my studio, NOW!!!
Originally Published 11-17-2013
It's early on a gorgeous fall Sunday, and I just had a coffee in my new kitchen -- otherwise known as the remodel from hell. What a black hole on your time that sort of job can be! It seems so simple when you start -- just save for years, plan well, tear the old one out, and put the new one in. Wrongo.
You see, I live in an old house, and things always take 42 times longer than you expect because of that. In my idealistic, perfect-plan, pre-demolition dreams, the studio would be the temporary receiving department for maybe two weeks, and after everything was done, life would go back to normal. Yeah, right.
I expected the dirt, trash, homeless dishes, pots and pans all over the house and the cooking on a hot plate. Short-term stuff, right? But, in reality, my two week blitz-it timeframe turned into a five-month job. There has been a huge pile of cabinetry, materials, and a new refrigerator blocking my soldering station and bench for the better part of the summer. Worst of all, I didn't mentally prepare for the seemingly endless parade of strangers traipsing through my private space to measure, deliver, reschedule, hammer, drill, reschedule, plaster, wire, reschedule, plumb and build and reschedule.
I am a private person, and this part of the remodel experience was total torture. I couldn't escape at all -- there was not one normal place in the entire house where I could quietly sit and comfortably focus, think, or create anything -- and it made me a terrible person to live with. Crab. Be.
Now, the house is quiet again and the only uprooted thing left standing in my creative space is the old refrigerator, waiting to be picked up Thursday by my state's green recycle program. Life is peaceful again, it's somewhat clean, and things are basically organized and back to normal. And, good grief I really. Really. Urgently. Need to make some work. NOW.
However, I am still unsettled and distracted. I really LOVE my new kitchen, but I can't seem to be able to work. It's odd, because mentally, I just can't get back to a place where I want to work. Maybe it's fatigue, stress, sleep deprivation or some kind of crazy, kitchen-induced-the-book-is-finally-done-and-your-life-is-yours-again, post-partum-like depression or something. And worrying over it only makes it worse.
Whatever it is, I want it gone so I can get to work, and boy, am I tired of waiting for it to go away. You'd think the homemade bread baking in the oven, pumpkin soup on the stove, and really, really good coffee would get me started. But, I am still not ready to sit at my bench, and the new kitchen clock ticks. It's my audible reminder of passing time that brings me closer and closer to my deadline...
There is no try
Originally Published 9-6-2013
I just finished a fun teaching stretch at BeadFest Philadelphia for two fully loaded "Rotary Tools Demystified" classes. My students were super, and very eager learners. I think/hope they left with full brains and the courage to use their Dremel (and other) tools fearlessly. That's really all any teacher can hope for.
As a teacher, it is fun seeing your students enter somewhat cautiously at the beginning. After a class, and due to a little guided practice, I truly love seeing them swagger (tiredly, but happily) out of the room -- all fired up to use the new things they just learned in the class. Often, as a teacher, all I need to do is stand by mindfully and get someone to take action. Like Yoda said, "Try. There is no try. Do. Or not do." It's like setting a spark and watching a fire kindle and grow. Awesome. And, so gratifying.
So, thanks, students! You totally rocked it, and your courage gave me the courage to submit more teaching proposals for next year.
See you soon...
Todays tip: Is straight from my Rotary Tools Demystified handout: Next time you stay in a hotel, grab one of those thick little hard bars of soap they leave at the sink. It makes a great in-a-pinch lubricant for your steel burs.