[Jewelry making - Article 00352] - Re: [Orchid] Studio Design

[Dave Sebaste]

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    A couple more thoughts in addition to the concept of more space
    always being necessary- 

    While not really a jewelry item, one of the best things I did for
    myself recently was get a decent chair. I had been working for years
    in an old brass plated tubular steel dinette chair... if you know the
    kind I mean. Dirt cheap... I think an old roommate left it behind.
    When doing a reorganization of the studio last year, I finally got a
    great chair. I spent $150 at Costco (warehouse store) and got an
    excellent, ergonomic chair with arms and casters. To this day, I'm
    still asking myself why the heck I didn't do that a lot sooner! Makes
    a world of difference. Looking at the BenchExchange page, I had a
    chair like Dan Statman's (sorry, Dan) and got one more like Joel
    Schwalb has. Just being able to zip from station to station on
    casters, and swivel without having to get up was worth the
    investment. 

    On the studio reorg... my original layout had worked fine for about
    five years, then I started to notice inefficiencies in my work flow.
    I'm one of those folks who doesn't solder at his primary bench. I'm
    too messy, and my bench is usually too cluttered with other tools,
    works in progress, etc. I think its interesting to see who solders at
    their main bench and who doesn't. My secondary bench was raised and
    centered on the adjoining wall... and I soldered while sitting on a
    stool. By lowering the bench and sliding it to be adjoining the main
    bench, I can just swivel to solder. Much more efficient! It also
    provides immediate access to a broader selection of tools and
    supplies since that bench is now on my immediate right. This is a
    plain, unfinished pine workbench I built from a kit (about $50?) from
    the home improvement store. 

    I feel that *not* soldering at my jeweler's bench keeps it clean
    enough for all stone setting. In fact, I don't use any chemicals at
    that bench at all. I bought a couple extra bench pins for my GRS
    Benchmate (love it!), and covered one with leather for some stone
    setting tasks, like bezel setting for pendants. I cut a little
    rectangle out of the leather to make a receptacle to hold smaller
    stones. I also drilled a hole for an earring post to slip into so I
    can set them more securely and safely. 

    Moving the soldering station to the secondary bench also provides me
    plenty of fireproof elbow room. And room for all my soldering stuff.
    The pickle pot is about as far away from my steel tools as it can
    get. I have a bricks manufactured, for some reason, with two rows of
    holes in them, and I stand my tweezers, forceps, brushes, etc. in
    these holes. These bricks surround my 12x12 soldering pad, on which
    various fire bricks, charcoal blocks, third hands, annealing pans,
    and such are used. I have a four drawer plastic chest below that end
    of the bench where I store my extra bricks, pads, and soldering aids
    when not in use. 

    And a sink! I agree with others on this! I have water coming to my
    studio, but no sink! I have to decide what to take out to put a sink
    in! I could remove my library, drafting table, years of jewelry
    magazines, filing cabinet, etc., but where would I put them??? 

    Okay, time for me to go put all this wonderful stuff into use. I
    wasn't going to write in again on this, but the more I thought about
    it, I realized I had more to say. Surprising, huh?!? 

All the best,
Dave
Dave Sebaste
Sebaste Studio and
Carolina Artisans' Gallery
Charlotte, NC (USA)
dave AT sebaste.com 
http://www.CarolinaArtisans.com 

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