[Jewelry making - Article 00514] - Re: [Orchid] Benches - to cutout or not to cutout

[Watchman]

========[ Invite a Friend - http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm  ]========


    HI Jessica, The one main advantage of a bench with a cutout is that
    it gives you somewhere to rest your elbows for the 'fiddly' work,
    however, as this didn't work for me due to the volume of rubbish and
    unused tools my benches tend to acquire between enforced cleanups, I
    found another solution. I made a couple of shaped 'flaps' of wood
    padded with foam and covered in vinyl which I hinged to the front of
    the bench either side of my normal working position. Most of the time
    these are folded away but, when I need to have the elbow rests, I can
    hinge them forward and secure them in place by rotating flat steel
    bar braces which I have pivotted to the underside of the bench with
    screws. This makes the flaps quite firm and the padding makes them
    more comfortable than the hard wooden bench! 

    I think the use of bench cutouts originated from the need to pack
    workers into a small space in the old-time workshops and was
    justified by saying that it meant that the worker could easily reach
    everything on the bench. It did, of course, make it easy to fit the
    catch-skin in an effective manner. The only time I really appreciated
    the use of a cutout bench was when I saw silversmiths and pewterers
    working with a gas torch fixed to the left hand side of the cutout so
    that they could use both hands to manipulate their work under the
    flame. 

    As to the apron, rather than using loops and cup-hooks, you could
    use Velcro on both the apron and bench which may be even safer - it
    just wasn't easily available when I set my bench up! 

Best wishes,
Ian
Ian W. Wright
Sheffield, UK


____________________________________________________________________
T h e   O r c h i d   L i s t
Open Electronic Forum for Jewelry Manufacturing Methods and Procedures
____________________________________________________________________
Orchid FAQ:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/faq.htm
Orchid Archives:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/archive
Orchid Galleries:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/gallery.htm
Invite a Friend:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm
____________________________________________________________________
Tips From The Jeweler's Bench - Article Archive
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/tip_sear.htm
The Jeweler's Selected Bibliography List
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/jewelry-books
Buy Orchid Jewelry:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/shop
____________________________________________________________________
-Unsubscribe:
-Email: orchid-request AT ganoksin.com Body=unsubscribe subject=blank
____________________________________________________________________