[Jewelry making - Article 01412] - Re: [Orchid] Will a stonesetter's flexshaft cover all the bases?

[John Donivan]

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>     It also follows than a beginner, not even knowledeable about
>     tools, torque and techniques should not imply 

    Although I do not know R.E., we've had some correspondence. Not one
    to be riled, I'd say!! Anyway, here's the whole point of everything
    jewelry: We had a tour from CCAC here, and I said the same thing, and
    the instructor (Marilyn DaSilva) just sat there nodding her head.
    I've been making jewelry professionally for about 35 years. You can
    look at my work on my website, if you like. The most valuable piece
    I've worked on was around $1 million. That's not the point, though. I
    have a shop (and at home) stuffed full of tools - thousands, if you
    count every little thing. 99.9% of my work is done with pliers,
    hammers, files and saws. Throw in gravers and the flexshaft. On the
    flexshaft I use drills, ball burs, cone squares, inverted cones, hart
    and cup burs for setting. I use chain nose pliers, round nose, and
    side cutters 99% of the time. I have ring bending pliers and
    lineman's pliers for some ummph now and then. Oh, and setting pliers.
    I use #1, #00 and #6/0 sawblades for most everything. We don't buy
    any sheet or wire, we make everything with the rolling mill and
    drawplate. I don't own anything by gravermeister, I don't have any
    gizmos or gadgets on my bench - a benchpin and a steel benchpin for
    saw work, that's it. Pliers, hammers, saws and files and a place to
    work. Meaning that, while you may find a tubing cutting jug to be
    very handy, as I do at times, you don't NEED to have it. You don't
    NEED to have some fancy Swedish hammer or most any of that stuff.
    Tools are really handy and useful. There are some things you can't do
    without the proper tools - you'll never engrave without gravers. But
    it's not the tools, it's the person behind the tools that means
    everything. Buying that Swedish hammer will make your life easier if
    you know how to use it, but it won't make you a jeweler in any way,
    shape or form. Oh, yeah - we have torches. They make flames. For
    casting we use a kiln that gets hot, and a centrifuge that has a
    spring and goes round and round. It may sound like some rant, but
    it's not. I use Lindstrom chain nose pliers because they are
    everything I want in a chain nose. If you're a jewelry student, you
    don't know enough about pliers to need to spend $50 on them - you
    might want to, but you don't need to. I personally don't like holders
    and gizmos and things because they take me away from the work. My
    holder, unless there's some certain need like engraving, is my left
    hand. Ultimately it's for the students and people who ask things
    like, "What flexshaft should I buy?" that get a deluge of confusing,
    good advise. Just buy a flexshaft, and then customize it for your
    needs as you discover those. Same with all of your tools. The fact
    that there does exist a hydrogen propelled ring mandrel doesn't mean
    that you NEED to go out and buy it.. 

http://www.donivanandmaggiora.com
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